ETSIAEStudiesOfficial PhD StudiesPhD in Aerospace Engineering (Royal Decree RD 99/2011)

PhD in Aerospace Engineering (Royal Decree RD 99/2011) 

Branch of knowledge: Engineering and Architecture 

Duration of studies:

  • Full-time: 3 years+ 1-year extension + 1-year exceptional extension
  • Part-time: 5 years + 2-year extension

Research areas 

  • Space Missions and Space Vehicles Analysis and Design 
  • Physics of Plasmas and Technological Applications 
  • Physics of Turbulence
  • Analysis and Experimentation in Fluid Mechanics and Combustion 
  • Modelling and Simulation for Aerospace Systems 
  • Experimental Aerodynamics and Wind Energy
  • Aerospace Production and Materials.

Language: Spanish/English

Verification Date: 27/Jul/2013

Modification Date 11/Apr/2016 (Verification Report)

Implementation Year:  2013/2014 - (University, Centres and Degrees Registry, RUTC as per its acronym in Spanish)

Academic Pathways and Profiles to Access the Doctorate Programme

Students who are planning to embark on a PhD Programme in Aerospace Engineering should fulfil specific skills acquired after completing the Undergraduate's and Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering or any other studies granting access, provided that students have taken a total of 300 ECTS credits. 

The Doctoral Programme Academic Commission may require the student to undertake additional ECTS credits.

Know more about the Doctoral Programme in Aerospace Engineering

  • > Presentation

    The Doctoral Programme in Aerospace Engineering has been adapted to the guidelines of the Bologna process, guidelines included in Royal Decree 99/2011. The relevance of the academic and research activity of the proposed programme becomes clear due to numerous applications as well as its social, economic and scientific impact of the aerospace field, together with its cross-disciplinary content. For that reason, the Doctoral Programme offers a wide range of possibilities for the completion of the Doctoral Thesis, through its six research disciplines and their supporting teams:

    1) Space Missions Analysis and Design
    2) Physics of Plasmas and Technological Applications
    3) Physics of Turbulence Analysis and Experimentation in Fluid Mechanics Combustion
    4) Modelling and Simulations for Aerospace Systems
    5) Experimental Aerodynamics and Wind Energy
    6) Aerospace Production and Materials

    Admission to a PhD Programme at UPM shall be governed by the specific programme criteria, provided it meets general conditions of admission of the UPM. In general, it is required to be in possession of an Undergraduate's Degree, or equivalent, and a University Master's Degree in order to be eligible for a doctoral programme. The Doctoral Programme Academic Commission is the body deciding on the admission of each applicant. After the admission, the Doctoral Programme Academic Commission may require, in particular cases, the students to undertake additional ECTS credits. More information is available here.

  • > Background

    The Doctoral Programme in Aerospace Engineering offered by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid was adapted to the provisions of Royal Decree 99/2011 of 28 January, of the current Doctoral Programme in Aerospace Engineering by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

    The former programme was granted with a Quality Award, set out according to the decree Royal Decree 56/2005. This award was subsequently renewed (MCD2007-00145) and the Programme verified according to Royal Decree 1393/2007 by the Universities Council, of the Ministry of Education (at its meeting on 22 January 2010, Resolution on 24 February 2010).

    Moreover, the Doctoral Programme in Aerospace Engineering (Royal Decree 1393/2007) was awarded with a Mention towards Excellence by the Ministry of Education for 2011-2012 to 2013-2014 academic years (Resolution of 6 October 2011, of the General Secretariat of Universities. Ministry of Education, Ref. MEE2011-0156).

    Basic requirement to be admitted to the Doctoral programme was, then, to complete the research pathway of the Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering, or hold the Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA as per its acronym in Spanish) under one of the programmes regulated by Royal Decree 778/1998, which were taught at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronauticos, or others similar. The Doctoral Programme Accademic Commission was in charge of approving the admissions, assessing the academic record adequacy as well as the student's prior education to match the requested research area, their Research Proposal and the report of the proposed supervisor.

    The new regulations considered two different periods for every Doctoral Programme: the training period and the research period. This approach involved having a comprehensive offer of doctoral training in a single programme, which fostered both the research results and knowledge generation. At a later stage, changes made were intended to adapt these postgraduate's studies to new academic planning laid down in Royal Decree 1393/2007. The main changes were as follows: including a training period from a pathway made up of research-oriented courses and seminars as a part of the master's degree related to that doctoral programme; the definition of access and admission requirements, according to Royal Decree 1393/2007; and adequacy to regulations defined in the doctoral model approved by the Governing Council of the UPM on 29 January 2009.

How to access the Doctoral Programme in Aerospace Engineering.

    Doctoral Programme Regulations

    Modificaciones al RD 99/2011

    • Real Decreto 967/2014, por el que se establecen los requisitos y el procedimiento para la homologación y declaración de equivalencia a titulación y a nivel académico universitario oficial y para la convalidación de estudios extranjeros de educación superior.
    • Decreto 83/2016, por el que se establecen los precios públicos por estudios universitarios 2016/2017
    • Modelo de Doctorado (C.G. 21/12/2011)

    Normativa Propia de la UPM