Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos Subdirección de Relaciones Internacionales GUIDE FOR INCOMING STUDENTS CIVIL ENGINEERING - INGENIERÍA DE CAMINOS, CANALES Y PUERTOS MATERIALS ENGINEERING - INGENIERÍA DE MATERIALES Last update: November 2014 1
Content 1. Welcome to Madrid!... 3 2. Admission, registration and enrolment... 3 3. Overview of study programmes at ETSICCP-UPM... 3 4. Specific rules of courses at ETSICCP-UPM. Your Learning Agreement... 4 5. Spanish knowledge... 5 6. Spanish language courses... 6 7. Semester dates and academic calendar... 6 8. Grading... 8 9. Health insurance... 8 10. Services for students... 8 11. Contact information... 9 12. Campus plan... 10 2
1. Welcome to Madrid! The staff of the International Relations Office at School of Civil Engineering, UPM (ETSICCP-UPM) is very pleased to welcome international students. We dedicate our best to make your stay with us as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. ETSICCP-UPM offers a large number of courses in the academic fields of civil and materials engineering. In order for you to make the most of your stay with us, please note the indications of this guide. 2. Admission, registration and enrolment Letter of admission Once your application has reached our International Office in time, you will be sent a letter of admission via e-mail (and ordinary mail if required). Registration and enrolment Before travelling to Madrid, you will receive an e-mail with the date for an appointment in our International Office. You are required to come on that date. Here we will provide you with a registration sheet that will allow you to register at the Registration Office (Secretaría). Please note that you are allowed to start attending lectures before registration. Please also note that registration is only valid for one semester, so it is very important that you register for every new term in good time. All UPM students get a Student Card. Unfortunately it can take some time until you receive it. You can ask for a tentative card at our library. In order to apply for it, we will give you the information brochure upon your enrolment. 3. Overview of study programmes at ETSICCP-UPM Study programmes at ETSICCP-UPM can be classified into Bachelor (Grado or Graduado in Spanish) or Master (Máster in Spanish) studies. Bachelor programmes have a duration of four years (240 ECTS), while Master programmes may range from one (60 ECTS) to two years (120 ECTS). International students can choose subjects from the following study programmes to complete their learning agreements. Please take into account the specific terms of the mobility programme you are applying for, as well as the requirements of section 4 of this guide. 3
Study programme Detailed description of courses Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Plan 83 (Diploma in Civil Engineering, to be discontinued: only subjects of 5 th and 6 th [Spanish] [English] years will still be applicable in the academic year 2014-15) Grado Ingeniero Civil y Territorial (Bachelor, Civil Engineering) Máster Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos (M Eng, Civil Engineering, subjects of 1 st year will be applicable in the academic year 2014-15 for the first time) Grado Ingeniero de Materiales (Bachelor, Materials Engineering) Máster Ingeniero de Materiales (M Eng, Materials Engineering) Máster Universitario Sistemas de Ingeniería Civil (research-oriented MSc, Civil Engineering Systems) Máster Universitario Ingeniería de Estructuras, Materiales y Cimentaciones (research oriented MSc, Structures, Foundations and Materials Engineering) [Spanish] [English] [Spanish] [English] [Spanish] [English] [Spanish] [English] Open link Open link Mobility programmes Erasmus, Magalhães/SMILE, Spanish-Chinese, Vulcanus, Global E3, Double degree Erasmus, Magalhães/SMILE, Spanish-Chinese, Vulcanus, Global E3, Double degree Erasmus, Magalhães/SMILE, Spanish-Chinese, Vulcanus, Global E3, Double degree Erasmus, Magalhães/SMILE, Spanish-Chinese, Vulcanus, Global E3, Double degree Erasmus, Magalhães/SMILE, Spanish-Chinese, Vulcanus, Global E3, Double degree 4. Specific rules of courses at ETSICCP-UPM. Your Learning Agreement Courses can be taken only during the semester they are offered. Please note that there are no changes from one academic year to another, i.e. courses are offered in the same semester every year. In general, the courses that you can take at ETSICCP- UPM will depend upon 1) which subject agreement you are coming to us under, and 2) your specific academic background. In order to complete the Learning Agreement, the following pre-requirements must be noted: - Bachelor/undergraduate students must do courses of Bachelor programmes at ETSICCP-UPM (Bachelor in Civil Engineering or Bachelor in Materials Engineering). - Master/postgraduate students must do courses of Master programmes at ETSICCP-UPM (Master in Civil Engineering or Master in Materials Engineering) or the 4 th year of Bachelor programmes (Bachelor in Civil Engineering or Bachelor in Materials Engineering). Subjects of the 5 th and 6 th years of the Diploma in Civil Engineering can be also done by Master/postgraduate students. Please note that the Diploma includes both full year and semester courses. Full year courses are not generally eligible by single semester students. When in doubt, please list courses you are interested in on your application and on your Learning Agreement and we will check this with the relevant department. - Diploma students (or students of 5-year programmes) should act as follows: o If they have not completed 3 academic years of their Diploma, they must follow the rules for Bachelor/undergraduate students. 4
o If they have completed 3 years of their Diploma, they must follow the rules for Master/postgraduate students. - The main number of courses you are planning to attend at UPM needs to be in our School (ETSICCP-UPM), within the subject area of the agreement you are coming to us under. If you are not sure of this, then ask your home international coordinator. - Research-oriented Master programmes (Master in Civil Engineering Systems or Master in Structures, Foundations and Materials Engineering) are not generally applicable for exchange students. If you are interested in a course of such programmes, ask us and we will inform you about the most equivalent course of available study programmes. Modifications of Learning Agreement Only one modification of the Learning Agreement will be permitted at each semester. This modification may however affect to several subjects. The deadline to give us the appropriate documentation is: - October 1 st : for modification of subjects of the 1 st semester. - March 1 st : for modifications of subjects of the 2 nd semester. Individual projects and thesis work Bachelor s or Master s projects/theses are individual works done by the students under the supervision of a professor. At ETSICCP-UPM, such projects/theses can be done in the 2 nd semester only, they comprise 12 ECTS and have specific rules for completion and examination (additional specific rules also apply for double degree students). In order for international students to carry out the Bachelor s or Master s thesis at ETSICCP-UPM, the following aspects must be considered: - Students at ETSICCP-UPM for full academic year must apply as regular students during the 1 st semester. The subject area of the project/thesis must be requested at the time of application, and a prospective supervisor identified in advance. - Students at ETSICCP-UPM for the 1 st semester cannot apply for a project/thesis. - Students at ETSICCP-UPM for the 2 nd semester cannot generally be accepted for a project/thesis. Besides Bachelor s/master s thesis, students who wish to do other individual project works during the exchange cannot receive a guarantee that they will be able to. In such cases, it is recommended to directly contact a department or professor well in advance travelling to Madrid. Anyway, no credits or ECTS will be granted from ETSICCP-UPM to such works. At most, such works can receive a particular assessment from the supervisor. 5. Spanish knowledge Spanish is the normal language of instruction at UPM, but our School offers a wide number of subjects taught in English in the programmes of Materials Engineering (the whole Master can be studied in English and the 3 rd year of the Bachelor is fully given in English). Even though only a basic level of Spanish is required for courses in Spanish, a minimum level of B1 is generally recommended to follow the lectures. 5
6. Spanish language courses UPM offers Spanish language courses for international students. Useful information can be found at: http://www.upm.es/internacional/students/exchangemobilityprograms/languages+for+ Internationalization 7. Semester dates and academic calendar Academic Year The academic year begins on September 1 st of a given year and ends on July 30 th of the following year. Semester The 1 st semester (autumn-winter) begins on September 1 st and ends on January 31 st. The 2 nd semester (spring-summer) begins on February 1 st and ends on July 30 th. Lecture period The lecture period falls within the semester and depends on the study programme, as follows (exact dates at http://www.upm.es/institucional/estudiantes/ordenacionacademica/calendarioacademi co): - Bachelor programmes. In the 1 st semester lectures take place from the first week of September to the last day of December, before Christmas. In the 2 nd semester lectures take place from the first week of February to the end of May. - Master programmes. In the 1 st semester lectures take place from the second week of September to mid-january. In the 2 nd semester lectures take place from the second week of February to the end of May. - Diploma. In the 1 st semester lectures take place from the first week of October to the end of January. In the 2 nd semester lectures take place from the first week of February to the end of May. Examination period Each subject has two examination periods. The first examination period takes place at the end of each semester. In addition, most of the subjects include midterms that may allow avoiding partial- or fully the necessity to take exams at the end of the semester. The 1 st examination period depends on the study program as follows (exact dates at http://www.upm.es/institucional/estudiantes/ordenacionacademica/calendarioacademi co): - Bachelor programmes: 1 st semester: January, during the two or three weeks after the Three Kings Day (January 6 th ); 2 nd semester: during the first half of June. - Master programmes: 1 st semester: during the second half of January; 2 nd semester: during the first half of June. - Diploma: 1 st semester: during the second half of January and first half of February; 2 nd semester: June. Full year subjects do not have final exams in the first semester; only some subjects have midterms at the end of January or beginning of February. 6
At the end of July (Bachelor and Master programmes) or beginning of September (Diploma), a second examination period is organized. Students can use the second examination period to retake failed courses from the 1 st or the 2 nd semester. Public Holidays academic year 2014-15 (tentative, refer to updates at http://www.upm.es/institucional/estudiantes/ordenacionacademica/calendarioacademi co) All Saints Day: November 1 st Our Lady of La Almudena: November 10 th Spanish Constitution: December 6 th Immaculate Conception Day: December 8 th Christmas Holidays: from December 22 nd to January 7 th Saint Thomas Aquinas Day: January 28 th Easter Holidays: from March 30 th to April 6 th Labor Day: May 1 st Madrid Region s Day: May 2 nd Saint Isidro Labrador (Madrid City s Day): May 15 th Timetables Lectures are given according to the following timetable: Study programme Lecture Sessions Details (in Spanish) Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Plan 83 (Diploma in Civil Engineering) Grado Ingeniero Civil y Territorial (Bachelor, Civil Engineering) Máster Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos (M Eng, Civil Engineering) Grado Ingeniero de Materiales (Bachelor, Materials Engineering) Máster Ingeniero de Materiales (M Eng, Materials Engineering) Morning sessions. Courses of 1 st and 3 rd academic years: morning sessions. Courses of 2 nd and 4 th academic years: afternoon sessions. Courses of 1 st academic year: morning sessions. Courses of 2 nd academic year: not yet applicable. Courses of 1 st and 3 rd academic years: morning sessions. Courses of 2 nd and 4 th academic years: afternoon sessions. Afternoon sessions www.caminos.upm.es/iccp/03/horari os.asp www.caminos.upm.es/gradoict/04/ho rarios.asp www.caminos.upm.es/mastericcp/04/ Horarios.asp www.materiales.upm.es/grado/horari os.asp www.materiales.upm.es/master/04/0 4-03-Horarios.asp 7
8. Grading Grading at the ETSICCP-UPM is based on a 0-10 scale, 10 being the best possible grade. The passing grade is 5.0. The nomenclature and classification of the grades are as follows: - SOBRESALIENTE: Grade between 9 and 10. Outstanding. - NOTABLE: Grade between 7 and 8.9. Remarkable. - APROBADO: Grade between 5 and 6.9. Pass. - SUSPENSO: Grade between 0 and 4.9. Fail. In addition, the grade MATRICULA DE HONOR (10.0) can be used in exceptional cases to distinguish a student for her/his excellence. In order to provide equivalence for grades in the ECTS system, a statistical analysis of grade distribution has been made, taking several representative courses. The results obtained are presented as follows: - A (best 10%): Grade between 8.3 and 10.0 - B (next 25%): Grade between 7.1 and 8.2 - C (next 30%): Grade between 6.1 and 7.0 - D (next 25%): Grade between 5.1 and 6.0 - E (next 10%): Grade equal to 5 - F (fail): Grade between 0 and 4.9. 9. Health insurance All incoming students are required to purchase the OnCampus health insurance. It costs about 15 and can be paid upon enrolment. 10. Services for students Library card Access to the library is on the first lower ground of the School. In order to ask for a library card, you can go to the office on the first floor inside the library from 15:00 to 20:00 and do as follows: - Show a valid ID. - Provide a mobile phone number. - Give your contact address in Madrid. The library card allows you to benefit from the library services: borrow books, laptops (to be used within the Lending Room exclusively), e-book readers, etc. The library includes the following facilities: -Lending Room (Préstamo): Here you can read, study and borrow the items mentioned before. The books are classified as Manuals (with the green dot on the upper end of the spine) or Monographs. All of them carry the "Préstamo" sticker. -Reference Room (Referencia): The items available in this Room are meant for consultation solely. In this area you can find a wide range subject matters related to Civil engineering, plus dictionaries, maps, etc. UPM student card We need you to bring us a photograph in order to prepare your UPM student card. The card shall be ready two or three weeks after your arrival. We will send you an email (to your usual email address) to inform you when it is ready. 8
UPM email account Please follow the next instructions to get an email address: 1.- Go to the web site: https://www.upm.es/gsr/correo_alumnos/solicitud.upm 2.- Identify yourself: Box DNI: type your ID (the same that you have given us in your registration). Box PIN: to access for the first time, type the following 4 numbers of your birth date: the first 2 numbers for the day and the 2 numbers of the month (e.g if you was born on January 1 st, you must type 0101) 3.- Accept the terms and conditions of use agreement. 4.- Select your email account among the possibilities offered by the system. It is usually something like firstname.familyname@alumnos.upm.es but you can choose at least two other alternatives. 5.- Choose a password (in Spanish CONTRASEÑA) and confirm it. 6.- Confirm everything to finish the process. Please note that, after having an UPM email address, you will always be contacted through it for academic questions (our International Office will still use your personal email address for other administrative matters). Other online Services You have to use your UPM email account to access the following services: +UPM webmail: https://www.upm.es/webmail_alumnos/ +WIFI network: It is possible that you have to download software or do changes in the configuration of your device. You can find a Guide for each computer system from the following link: http://www.upm.es/institucional/estudiantes/servicios_red/wifi +Moodle: Moodle is the academic electronic platform and e-learning site used by UPM. You can access the following link: https://moodle.upm.es/titulaciones/oficiales/login/login.php +UPM virtual (student s website): https://www.upm.es/politecnica_virtual/ Please keep in mind that, in order to access the previous services, you always have to type the following boxes: - Usuario (user in Spanish): UPM email account (. @alumnos.upm.es) - Contraseña (password in Spanish): the same password that you have set up for your UPM email account. 11. Contact information International Office at ETSICCP-UPM: Subdirección de Relaciones Internacionales Escuela de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos c/ Profesor Aranguren 3 Ground Floor (opposite to Room 24 http://www.caminos.upm.es/internacional/documents/waytous.pdf) Metro Station: Ciudad Universitaria, Bus lines: F, G International Office at UPM: Vice-Rector for Students. Vicerrectorado de alumnos, Servicio de Atención al Alumno y Extensión Universitaria Pº Juan XXIII, nº 11 1 st floor Metro Station: Metropolitano 9
12. Campus plan 10