Plan de estudios

AIMS

The Master’s Degree is conceived as a means of building on earlier studies, allowing students from varying academic backgrounds to perfect their training and complement the knowledge already acquired. This is the key to tackling the two major aspects of environmental research and action: analysis and management.

Accordingly, these advanced studies aim to introduce new ideas, based on current knowledge, into each field.

It is important to take into consideration the branches from which students taking the Master’s Degree may proceed: Sciences, Engineering and Health Sciences (Pharmacy).

The aim of the Master’s Degree is to turn out professionals in land and marine Mediterranean environmental research. It allows students to specialise by acquiring research skills, linked to their area of knowledge, expertise and aptitude, through a greater knowledge of the subject matter and an advanced proficiency in experimental methods. The Master’s Degree is multi-disciplinary and oriented towards future work in environmental research. The general aims of the Master’s Degree programme are:

• To give students an integrated understanding of the environment, with a solid theoretical grounding in aspects essential to its study.
• To give students the knowledge, proficiencies and skills needed for a theoretical-practical study of Mediterranean ecosystems, for the purposes of analysis, diagnosis and action.

COMPETENCES

General Competences (CG)

• CG1:Understand the working, structure and dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems, both terrestrial and marine, as well as those areas traditionally worked to exploit their resources.
• CG2:Understand and value the diversity of all living things in every sense, not only referring to other organisms but also to social and cultural diversity.
• CG3:Be able to design and develop sustainable strategies for managing Mediterranean ecosystems, both in protected natural areas and in areas of anthropic influence.
• CG4:Evaluate global change, analysing the speed of the processes and the changes related to human activity in the region.
• CG5:Use current technologies and methods to solve environmental problems, including genomic-proteomic analysis or organisms and remote sensor technology.
• CG6:Develop the ability for multidisciplinary work in teams including specialists in different environmentally-related fields.
• CG7:Be able to solve environmental problems related to business and public administration activities.
• CG8:Oral and written communication skills in English.
• CG9:Skills related to computer tools and the information and communication technologies, as well as access to on-line databases, including scientific bibliographies, patent and legislation databases.
• CG10:Oral and written communication skills in Spanish. Capacity to prepare and defend scientific research projects.

Specific Competences:

Basic Module

• MB1:Interpret the interrelationships between environmental factors and ecological processes in the Mediterranean Sea, and their importance for the conservation and planning of biodiversity and marine resources.
• MB2:Apply the methods to quantify the main environmental, biotic and systemic descriptors of any kind of terrestrial Mediterranean ecosystem.
• MB3:Identify the basic processes of the working of a terrestrial Mediterranean ecosystem and its risk of degradation and collapse.
• MB4:Understand the importance and applications of the interactions between organisms in Mediterranean environments.
• MB5:Understand the historical process of human colonisation on ecosystems, their effects and the future of the present landscape.
• MB6:Understand the morphological processes that have modelled the Mediterranean basin throughout its history and its prospects.
• MB7:Evaluate the cultural and agricultural needs for farms in the Mediterranean context.
• MB8:Be able to assess the fertility and usage capacity of land and design conservation practices for the same.
• MB9:Be able to characterise the climate and analyse water availability problems in ecosystems.
• MB10:Use, manage and produce digital cartographic bases to obtain environmental information from the images taken by remote sensors.
• MB11:Develop models for structured populations and apply them to predict their evolution in different scenarios.
• MB12:Model time-temporal sequences of the abundance of marine resources.

Mediterranean Ecosystem Analysis Module

• AEM1:Understand the interaction processes between mankind and the environment that generate and maintain landscapes. Know how to apply Geographic Information Systems to identify and quantify landscape patterns and infer the processes leading to them.
• AEM2:Understand Soil Biology and Ecology and its implications for plant health and the working of terrestrial ecosystems.
• AEM3:Solve problems related soil biotics.
• AEM4:Identify the types of forest soils and the conditions that generate them.
• AEM5:Be able to identify the conditioning factors of soil regarding the vegetation that can grow there, as well as the vocation of soil uses.
• AEM6:Develop models for changes in soil use and plant cover. Understand the processes that determine changes in vegetation and ecological succession.
• AEM7:Understand the importance of hydrological flows in the working of woodland.
• AEM8:Understand the flows of nutrients in woodland ecosystems and their implications for management.
• AEM9:Understand the importance of the spatial organisation of populations and its implications in their dynamics. Identify and evaluate the conservation problems of threatened species.
• AEM10:Be able to propose recovery strategies, integrating demographic and genetic and habitat management processes. Evaluate the status of the ecosystems and any possible restoration strategies.
• AEM11:Understand the ecotechnological applications that could be applied in each case and their limitations.
• AEM12:Understand the main taxonomic groups of indicator species and communities in the marine environment.
• AEM13:Apply exploitation and perturbation indicators to practical cases.
• AEM14:Be able to use marine communities as environmental assessment tools. Recognise and assess the impact of fishing and aquaculture, building work, desalination and wastewater dumping on the marine environment.
• AEM15:Propose measures for the recovery and restoration of marine ecosystems.
• AEM16:Understand and know how to apply waste disposal legislation. Capacity to prepare proposals for protected marine areas.
• AEM17:Design, the structure, distribution and characteristics of artificial reefs.
• AEM18:Manage an aquaculture installation using ecological and organic criteria.
• AEM19:Capacity to carry out the environmental monitoring of benthic and pelagic communities, as well as of the physicochemical characteristics of the water.
• AEM20:Be able to use the useful models for estimating survival, mortality and life expectancy of exploited marine populations. Evaluate the models available for managing marine resources and their usefulness in specific cases.
• AEM21:Identify the physical coastal processes affecting littoral dynamics. Propose interventions in the littoral environment to recover degraded areas and/or prevent future damage.
• AEM22:Be able to use analytical and molecular technologies and methods that are useful for analysing environmental samples in ecosystems.
• AEM23:Identify the most important pathogens of marine crops. Understand the strategies for the sustainable control of Mediterranean crop pathogens.
• AEM24:Understand the ecological basis of antagonism and biological control mechanisms on a molecule, cell and ecosystem scale. Understand the strategies of biological control agents and their handling techniques.

Mediterranean Ecosystem Environmental Management Module

• GA1:Understand and be able to assess water uses and demands for different purposes in the Mediterranean context.
• GA2:Identify water management improvement strategies.
• GA3:Understand technical tools for sustainable water use and the possibilities of improving and/or innovating them.
• GA4:Be able to prepare a treatment and purification project for urban and industrial water based on new technical criteria and environmental sustainability.
• GA5:Understand the legislation applicable to the production and management of different kinds of waste.
• GA6:Ability to implement good technical management of wastes from different sources.
• GA7:Identify and quantify the environmental and legal aspects for environmental planning and spatial prospecting.
• GA8:Capacity to analyse, implant and adapt environmental management systems in different kinds of companies and/or official bodies.
• GA9:Be able to characterise the working and environmental status of companies and institutions.
• GA10:Understand and apply international standards for ISO and EMAS environmental certification.
• GA11:Be able to prepare an Environmental Impact Study and new environmental correction proposals.
• GA12:Understand and be able to apply the methodology for preparing a Strategic Environmental Assessment.
• GA13:Acquire the ability to understand, analyse and manage environmental pollution problems and find solutions to minimise these from the environmental, applicative and economic point of view.
• GA14:Be able to propose corrective measures that minimise air, water and soil pollution.
• GA15:Apply digital/statistical image processing techniques to aerial and satellite images to analyse territory and determine land use.
• GA16:Prepare innovative planning proposals based on advances in our knowledge and the use of new technologies that allow correct handling and management of space and sustainable territorial development.
• GA17:Understand the viability of ecological agriculture as a means of sustainable management in the rural environment, as well as new farming systems.
• GA18:Identify and value aspects related to biotics and environmental management as key factors in progressing with the study of natural and anthropic environments.

• Structure of the Master’s Degree - credits and subject
• Distribution of subjects by year/semester
• General course programme

MASTER’S DEGREE COURSE - CREDITS AND SUBJECTS

SUBJECTS BY YEAR / SEMESTER

Specialisation: Students are required to choose a specialisation, opting for a minimum of  18 credits (more may be taken) from among the optional subjects taught as part of the specialisation. Students are required to take at least 3 subjects from among the 16 optional subjects offered in each specialisation module.

 ⁽¹⁾ The Final Project, worth 12 credits, may be supervised by any of the teachers giving subjects on this course (see subject description sheets) from either of the Universities. The project will be defended at the University at which the student has taken the specialisation, following the rules established by Master’s Degree Academic Committee.

GENERAL STUDY PROGRAMME

The Master’s Degree is organised into a basic module, consisting of compulsory subjects, and two specialisation modules.

• The basic module offers students the basic subjects they need to complement their previous studies and successfully take their chosen specialisation module.
• Students may chose between two specialisations:
  
  • •   Mediterranean Ecosystem Analysis
    •   Environmental Management of Mediterranean Ecosystems

Subjects are optional within each specialisation module, allowing students to choose the direction their studies take.

• The final stage in the Master’s Degree programme is the Master’s Degree Final Project (PFM). This is a supervised project, in which students are required to take both a practical and an applied approach to problems. The project is an initiation into research in the areas involved, allowing students to use the skills acquired in previous modules.

The Master’s Degree is a joint project of the University of Alicante (Ramon Margalef Multi-Disciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies) and the University Miguel Hernández (Department of Agrochemistry and the Environment), Elche. Students are required to take the compulsory subjects corresponding to each of the two universities, as stipulated in the Agreement between the two institutions, and, in their second semester, are also required to choose optional subjects comprising a minimum of 18 credits. Students may take more credits in their specialisation if they wish to take extra optional subjects.

The compulsory subjects taught at UA will commence in mid-September (start of the academic year), and will be followed by the UMH compulsory subjects. Timetables will be programmed on the basis of class and lecturer availability. As each university gives a specialisation consisting of optional subjects, students enrolled at each will be taught in the corresponding centre. Subjects will be scheduled on the basis of internal criteria regarding time-tables and available space at each university.

• Entry Requirements
• Admission and Assessment Criteria
• Pre-enrolment and Enrolment
• Number of Places

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

According to the Regulations of the University of Alicante, the following requirements must be complied to have access to official taught Master’s degrees:

1. To be in possession of a SPANISH OFFICIAL GRADUATE DEGREE CERTIFICATE or other issued by an institution of higher education  within the EHEA (European Higher Education) that enables the holder to have access  to Master’s degrees in the issuing .
2. To be in possession of an officially approved  FOREIGN HIGHER EDUCATION DEGREE CERTIFICATE that had been recognised as equal to the degree that allows access to the requested studies.
3. To be in possession of a UNIVERSITY DEGREE CERTIFICATE obtained in a University or Higher Education Institution of COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE EHEA, without the prior approval of their studies. In this case, the following should be considered:

• Non- recognised degree certificates shall require a technical report showing an equivalence statement issued by the University of Alicante (ContinUA – Continuing Education Centre), for which the corresponding fee should be paid.
• Access through this way does under no circumstances imply prior official approval of the holder’s degree certificate, nor its recognition for purposes other than studying a master's degree.

The selection criteria are as follows:

• A Higher Qualification or Degree in Biology, Environmental Sciences, Marine Sciences, or related areas.
• Transcript of Academic record.
• Academic results  in subjects related to the Master’s Degree.

ADMISSION AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

1.     Admission system

This Master’s Degree is aimed at students holding qualifications in Environmental Sciences, Geological Engineering, Forest Engineering or Agroforestry Engineering (various branches), or Degrees in Biology, Marine Sciences, Geology, Chemistry, Geography or Pharmacy.  Equivalent qualifications issued within the E.U. and other countries will also be accepted.  Where applicants hold a non-homologated higher qualification from abroad, they will be required to obtain permission from the Rector, following receipt of a favourable report from the Sub-Committee for Admission to the University of Alicante.

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the Master’s Degree, any person holding a higher qualification in scientific or related areas who is interested in Mediterranean environmental studies will be considered as a potential candidate for the course.

2.     Assessment criteria                             

Note 1: Foreign degrees will considered equivalent to the corresponding Spanish degree, and students holding such qualifications will be subject to the same type of assessment criteria.

Note 2: Students holding the qualification of Technical Engineer or Diploma will be admitted to the Master’s Degree, according to current legislation.

PRE-ENROLMENT AND ENROLMENT

PRE-ENROLMENT +info

Students who intend to study for an officially recognised Master’s Degree at the UA should complete pre-enrolment in accordance with the guidelines and deadlines specified annually.

ENROLMENT +info

Following publication of the final list of those admitted to the course, an email containing a user password will be sent to successful applicants, enabling them to enrol via the Campus Virtual in accordance with the guidelines and deadlines specified annually.

In the registration process, the documents issued abroad must be official, duly notorised and translated. Further information:

• http://sga.ua.es/en/academic-regulations/legalizacion/legalization-of-documents.html

NUMBER OF PLACES

•  Focus
• Specialisation 
• Professional profile

Focus

Academic and research work in the experimental sciences.

  Specialisation

The profile of the specialisation offered  is defined by the title of the Master’s Degree and its specialisations: Analysis of Mediterranean Ecosystems and Environmental Management of Mediterranean Ecosystems.

This Master’s Degree allows students to specialise and to acquire the tools required for field and laboratory work on land, marine and aquatic environments. It has the following aims:

1. Acquisition or updating of advanced knowledge in a multidisciplinary range of environmental research aspects.
2. Introduction to the research techniques used in each of the subjects, particularly through the Final Project.
3. Research career guidance, through participation in lines of research at the University Institute or in Departments which base their doctorate programme on this course.
4. Equip students with the ability to carry out advanced studies and use models in environmental diagnosis, preservation and management.

Professional Profiles

Professions for which the degree qualifies its holder.

Although this Master’s Degree is not aimed exclusively at professionalization, it provides its holders with the training necessary for practice in professions with a multi-disciplinary environmental component.

IMPLEMENTATION

• Timescale
• Procedure
• Discontinued programmes

1. Timescale for implementation of the new Master’s Degree Course 

The Master’s Degree for which validation is being sought has been taught continuously (MO 2006-00766) since the 2006-07 academic year. The timescale for its implementation is the same as for degree courses, consisting of the following phases: Dissemination of the Master’s Degree, pre-enrolment, emrolment and commencement of classes. The dates for these phases are available in the University of Alicante official study programme (http://www.ua.es/es/alumnado/calendario/index.html).

2. Procedure for equivalence recognition, where appropriate, between the current and the new course programme.

As there have been no changes to the total number of credits, students enrolled on the current course and who wish to continue their Master’s Degree studies in the forthcoming years may do so, having their studies validated as necessary. Credits taken as part of the discontinued study programme will be validated for the new programme. Students will then be required to make up their credit numbers with subjects from the new programme.

3. Studies being phased out and replaced by the proposed degree course:

Application has been made for the Official Postgraduate Programme associated with the Master’s Degree to be transformed into 3 Doctorate Programmes, regulated by Decree 1393/2007. This Master’s Degree will prepare students for the doctorate programme.

Internal Quality Assurance System (SGIC) of the Title

• Structure of the Centre for Quality
  • Comission of Internal Quality Guarantee
  • Other Commissions  
• Handbook SGIC
• Procedures
  • Strategic (PE)
  • Key (PC)
  • Support (PA)
  • Measurement (PM)

• Management of the SGIC (Access to ASTUA)

Follow-up of the Title

• Self-reports UA
• External reports AVAP 
• Other reports
• Improvement Plans
• Progress and Learning Outcomes