Education of chemical engineering in Spain: A global picture

Abstract

The general framework of the Chemical Engineering studies in Spain includes the Bachelor's Degree (4 years), Master's Degree (the most common duration is 1.5 years) and Doctorate (3-4 years). In 2008, the Conference of Directors and Deans of Chemical Engineering (CODDIQ) was constituted with the main objective of promoting and improving the quality of Chemical Engineering studies in Spain. Currently, Faculties and Schools of 29 Spanish universities are members of CODDIQ. An analysis of the most characteristic indicators provides a representative radiography of the Chemical Engineering Studies in Spain, whose most outstanding data are: (i) 7,396 undergraduate students, 1,014 Master students and 556 PhD students, (ii) according to the gender profile of undergraduates and graduates, the percentage of women is similar to that of men, while for faculty staff, the percentage of women is 43% and 46% for Associate and Assistant Professor (respectively) and 23% for the category of Full Professor category; (iii) after completing the Bachelor studies, most of them continue their training in the MSc in Chemical Engineering, (iv) the employability after obtaining the Master's degree is very high (>75%), which in the case of PhDs is close to 100%. The studies of Chemical Engineering in Spain have a very direct relationship with society, especially in the chemical, environmental, biotechnological and energy fields. The companies that collaborate in the training of future professionals are distributed throughout the national territory, which allows a strong connection with the socioeconomic environment.