School of Computer Science
> Frequently Asked Questions
What is the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)?
It is a common framework for the organization of educational systems of member states of the European Union.
Among its main aims, it wants to promote the mobility of university students and other higher education centres between individual partner countries and promote the implementation of teaching and learning systems of high quality.
How are structured EHEA studies?
Higher Education in the EHEA is structured in two cycles:
- A general orientation degree.
- A graduate (master) specialized.
In the case of Spain has been chosen:
- Degrees of 4 years long.
- Graduate of 1-2 years long among which include the Ph. D..
This structure is reflected in the studies of our institution through:
- Degree in Software Engineering.
- Master in Web Engineering as dual graduate degrees leading to the Master (Business specialization) and / or Doctorate (research expertise).
What are the ECTS?
Stands for European Credit Transfer System and its objective is to measure the time spent by the student in acquiring the skills of a particular course or career.
A ECTS credit represents about 25 hours of work of which 25% are courses shall and 75% are not.
ECTS credits in our careers are:
- Degree in Software Engineering = 240 ECTS.
- Master in Web Engineering = 120 ECTS.
Are there subjects common to all engineering degrees of the University of Oviedo?
Yes, subjects like "Calculus", "Algebra", "Business", "Computing Basics" y "Waves and Electromagnetism" are common to all engineering studies of the University of Oviedo (computer, chemical, industrial, etc).
This allows flexibility to change to another engineering studies if you think you have made a wrong choice of studies. There is a mechanism that would recognize the subjects approved that are common from an engineering studies to another.
What is the difference between specialization in Business and Research in the Master in Web Engineering?
Both majors share the same subjects, except three that are specific to each specialization.
While specializing in business requires the completion of Business Practice in the final year, these practices are replaced by the realization of a research (and subsequent publication of scientific results in journals) in the case of specialization in research.
While the Company typically provides expertise in the endpoint of the studies, specialization in Research leaves the door open for further research and training through the Ph. D..
What constitutes a Ph. D.?
The Ph. D. is the highest level of college and focuses on high-level research on new technologies.
To achieve the degree of Doctor in our centre, the student must complete specialization in Research and having obtained it, research in a technical field of their choice under the supervision and guidance of a professor with a Ph. D..
The results of such research must be validated and accepted by the scientific community through publication of results in international journals.
Finally, the result of these investigations will be printed in a written report (Doctoral Thesis) and defended by the student before a tribunal composed of doctors, obtaining a doctorate degree at the national level.
What constitutes the European Doctorate?
It's a doctoral degree at European level. To obtain it, a student must:
- Make at least three months of their research in a research centre of the European Union outside Spain.
- Write his/her doctoral thesis in English, or at least a summary of it.
- Defend his/her doctoral thesis in English before a court in which at least two of its members are doctors practicing in European Union countries outside Spain.
The centre facilitates the implementation of European doctorates to students through the extensive network of scientific exchanges between teachers and doctors from the centre counterparts in other similar institutions of the European Union.
School of Computer Science
University of Oviedo
Last update of this page on 11th December, 2011
