Master's degree in Photonics

ERASMUS MUNDUS Master and PhD

The master's degree in Photonics has a relationship with the Erasmus Mundus Master Programme and Erasmus Mundus Doctorate Programme in 'Photonics Engineering, Nanophotonics and Biophotonics' (Europhotonics). Please visit www.europhotonics.org to get all general details about these programmes.

As pointed out in that website, the Europhotonics is a 120 ECTS (two-year) master's degree, where the first semester is given in Marseille (France), the second semester in Karlsruhe (Germany), and the third and fourth semesters can be taken in Barcelona, Marseille or Karlsruhe.

Every year, the European Union awards about 7 scholarships for European-Union students and 8 scholarships for non-European-Union students (from any country in the world) to enrol for the Master Program. Also several scholarships-contracts for the Doctorate Programme are available. The scholarships for every academic year must be requested on November-December of the year before. The number of applicants from non-European-Union countries is usually large.

Europhotonics master's degree students that take the 3rd semester in Barcelona share courses with the students of the master's degree in Photonics. To see the details of the 3rd and 4th semesters of the Europhotonics master's degree in Barcelona, please visit next Subsection (Details 3rd and 4th semesters in Barcelona) in this website.

The local contact and responsible team in Barcelona for the Europhotonics master's degree and PhD is the same as for the master's degree in Photonics (see 'Contact' Section).

Students enroled in the 3rd semester of the Europhotonics master's degree in Barcelona must take 30 credits ECTS of courses, which can be chosen from a relatively large list of courses that covers different fields of Photonics. Europhotonics students share courses with students of the master's degree in Photonics. Nevertheless, the Course Program for both Masters is different. The 4th semester of the Europhotonics master's degree is devoted to the Master Thesis (30 credits ECTS).

Academic and organization details of the 3rd semester (30 ECTS of elective courses) and 4th semester (30 ECTS of the Master Thesis) in Barcelona can be found in the following links:

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Master in Photonics is a program thought on a face-to-face basis and held in-situ. Only if the sanitary regulations generated by the COVID-19 pandemics demand it, classes will be switched on-line. In any case, practical subjects, seminars and visits to companies and research groups and the exams will be held in-situ.

Master Thesis Europhotonics (year 2025-26)

MASTER THESIS (TFM) INFORMATIONS

To obtain the master's degree students must complete a MSc Thesis Project of 30 ECTS. Students are expected to develop this project during the last semester and more intensively (full time) from April to July (1st presentation session) or to September (2nd presentation session).

The MSc Thesis is an extended individual research-oriented work and the student is expected to develop a guided work on the proposed topic. The aim of the project is to encourage and reward individual inventiveness and application of effort. Desirably, MSc Thesis should contain some element of original work. This does not mean that the project is expected to obtain publishable research results (although it might do), but the desire that the project covers some new ground and contain some elements of innovation. 

We summarize below the most important aspects and steps of the whole process. 

Step 1: Selection of the MSc Thesis (TFM) Subject and Supervisor

1. Publication of MSc Thesis Proposals: Each November, the Master’s Degree in Photonics publishes on its official website a list of MSc Thesis (TFM) proposals submitted by the Programme’s partner institutions: UPC, UAB, UB, and ICFO. 

2. Available Proposals: List of proposals for the 2025–2026 academic year

3. Project Selection: Students must select a TFM proposal from the published list and contact the corresponding supervisor to obtain additional information on project content, expectations, and supervision availability. 

4. Supervision Requirements

  • When the main supervisor belongs to one of the partner institutions, but is not a member of the Master’s Degree in Photonics academic staff an internal co-supervisor (professor of the Master’s in Photonics) must be chosen by the student or assigned by the Executive Committee.
  • If the TFM is carried out at an external institution (e.g., company, research centre, or other non‑university entity), a collaboration agreement between the institution and the UPC must be formally established before the thesis work begins. Additionally, an internal co-supervisor (professor of the Master’s Degree in Photonics) must be appointed to ensure academic oversight and compliance with the Programme’s standards.

 

Step 2: Official MSc Thesis (TFM) proposal and enrolment

Once the student and the supervisor have agreed on the MSc Thesis project, the official TFM proposal and enrollment procedure must be completed as follows:

1. Submission of the Official TFM Proposal (Supervisor Action)

The internal supervisor (a professor of the Master’s Degree in Photonics) must submit the official TFM proposal through the ETSETB Intranet:
  • Access the ETSETB Intranet at: https://intranet.etsetb.upc.edu/
  • In the left‑hand menu, select: Docència → Ofertes TFG/TFM → Nou TFG/TFM
  • Enter the required information, including the TFM description, academic details, and any additional relevant data.
  • Assign the proposal to the corresponding student.
 2.   Acceptance of the Assignment (Student Action)
Once the supervisor assigns the project, the student will receive an official notification by email.The student must then:

3. TFM Enrolment Request (Student Action)

After accepting the project, the student must:

  • Submit an enrolment request for the MSc Thesis (TFM) through E‑SECRETARIA
  • Pay the corresponding academic fees as required by UPC regulations.

4. Enrolment Deadline

The TFM enrolment must be completed before 15 February of the corresponding academic year. Enrolment submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

Step 3: MSc Thesis evaluation

Two sessions for the Master Thesis evaluation will be scheduled: one between July 20 – 25th 2026 and a second one between September 7-11th 2026. You will be asked to choose one on them by the end of May and latter informed about the day schedule for your presentation. Please save the dates of the whole period.

The TFM evaluation in done in two steps: a Report summarizing the main tasks developed and results, and an Oral Presentation in front of a jury.

REPORT

1. Report formatting

  • The MSc Thesis Report that you will write and submit must follow the guidelines of the institutions of your multiple diploma. Please note that each institution has its own format (please consult with the coordinator).
  • Word, or LaTex, etc., programs may be used, but the final delivery must be made in pdf format.
  • You must include this front page at the beginning of the document. You may modify the format of the front page, if you wish, but in any case it should include the same information and should contain the Erasmus Mundus and Europhotonics logos.
  • You may consult the non-confidential MSc reports from previous courses of the master's degree in Photonics at: http://upcommons.upc.edu/pfc/handle/2099.1/7028

2. Report Registration (Dipòsit)

  • Access the ETSETB Intranet at: https://intranet.etsetb.upc.edu/
  • In the left menu select menu: Acadèmica → Dipòsit TFG/TFM
  • Complete all mandatory fields and upload the PDF file of the final MSc Thesis Report.
  • Ensure that the title and the supervisors listed in the deposit form exactly match the information appearing on the cover page of the report.
  • For MSc Theses done abroad in a mobility program, the student will have to send the Supervisor's assessment and Lecture Certificate to students.mobility@etsetb.upc.edu.
  • Confidentiality option is available during the deposit procedure. The student and supervisor must jointly select the confidentiality period. A justification letter must be uploaded (free format). A template is available, if required. Information about the publication is detailed at Academic Regulations for UPC BSc and MSc degrees (section 3.1.5).
  • Once submitted, the supervisor must validate the Report for it to become official.

 3. Deadlines: July 10th 2026 (July session) and August 30th 2026 (September session). 

 

ORAL PRESENTATION (defence)

 1. Evaluation Committee
  • The MSc Thesis is evaluated by a jury composed of three professors from the Master’s Degree in Photonics.
  • Jury members are appointed by the Executive Committee.
  • The supervisor cannot be part of the jury, but is expected to attend the oral presentation.
  • During the evaluation process, the jury may request the supervisor’s opinion regarding the student’s work and the results obtained.
2. Presentation Format
  • The oral presentation must be delivered in English.
  • The student has 20 minutes to present the thesis work.
  • The jury will then conduct a 20‑minute question session.

3. Evaluation Criteria

The jury will assess the MSc Thesis based on several academic and scientific criteria, including but not limited to:
  • Relevance and difficulty of the subject and the inherent scientific or technical challenges involved.
  • Quantity and quality of the work performed, including the student’s ability to obtain meaningful and well‑supported results.
  • Quality, structure, and clarity of the written report, with particular emphasis on synthesis, coherence, and academic standards.
  • Clarity and effectiveness of the oral presentation, including: introduction and contextualization of the topic, definition of objectives, description of the work carried out, clear presentation of results and conclusions
  • Quality of responses to the jury’s questions, demonstrating understanding, critical analysis, and mastery of the subject matter.