Master's Degree in Building Rehabilitation and Sustainability

The latest updates of the current regulations on the energy aspects in buildings seek to ensure that occupants' comfort is achieved through the rational use of energy. These aspects are of great importance in both new construction and building refurbishment, where due to the impact on the sustainability of the construction sector and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are of great importance. The promotion and encouragement of housing renovation by the administrations is a reality that is generating a significant volume of renovation work. In Spain, for example, 80 % of the building stock is more than 20 years old, the oldest building stock in Europe, creating a high demand for professionals in this specialised sector.

The Master's Degree in Building Rehabilitation and Sustainability aims to respond to the demand for professionals in the construction, building, and architecture sectors, specialising in the comprehensive rehabilitation of buildings. In today's market, technicians with cutting-edge knowledge and tools are required in restoration techniques, materials and processes that guarantee energy efficiency and constructive and structural stability, ensuring the sustainability of the whole process and allowing orderly and effective maintenance of the building.

This Master is not aimed at the listed heritage but at the highly inefficient and unsustainable housing stock. It is, therefore, a master's degree specifically oriented towards the restoration of contemporary housing and buildings, with the SDGs and the circular economy as a reference point. The master's degree aims to provide graduates with specific training in this area of specialisation to improve, expand and complement their technical knowledge to manage this type of work effectively and efficiently.

The main objective of this Master's is to train professionals in the field of integrated building renovation, taking sustainability and circular economy into account. This specialisation is achieved by addressing aspects ranging from knowledge of survey techniques and diagnosis and assessment of injuries to the study and implementation of the latest construction intervention methods and techniques. Aspects that promote structural durability and the optimisation of construction solutions will be analysed, with special emphasis on energy efficiency, installations and sustainability, which are essential for regenerating our real estate assets. This general objective of the master's degree is aligned with the provisions of several SDGs (3-7-11), favouring economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The Degree in Technical Architecture as a qualification for the professional practice of Technical Architect provides specific training in the direction, management and construction of buildings. Advancing in specialisation in aspects related to building renovation will provide students with technical capacities and skills that will enable them to manage this increasingly common type of work effectively and efficiently. However, this Master's degree offers opportunities for graduates in Technical Architecture, Fundamentals of Architecture, Public Works Engineering, Civil Engineering and equivalent degrees, as it is aimed at all professionals in the building, architecture and construction sector.

The academic programme of the Master's is developed in a single course of 100% face-to-face teaching with a course load of 60 credits.

• MANDATORY CREDITS: 48 ECTS
• OPTIONAL CREDITS: 3 ECTS
• EXTERNAL ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP CREDITS Mandatory: 3 ECTS
• Master's thesis 6 ECTS

It consists of a compulsory module (48 ECTS) that integrates the subjects of Experimental Methods in Rehabilitation, Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Construction Technology in Rehabilitation, Installations in Buildings and Projects and Technical Management. The second and third modules, which correspond to the optional subjects (3 ECTS) and the external academic practices (3 ECTS), will allow students to specialise in aspects related to the management of the rehabilitation project or optimisation, simulation and data processing in building.

In addition, through external internships, students will be able to apply the theoretical and practical concepts acquired in real environments, develop specific skills, establish professional networks and enrich their academic training with practical experience in companies in the sector that interest them.

Finally, the module that includes the TFM (Master's thesis) and research or professional specialisation work (6 ECTS) will allow students to integrate the knowledge and consolidate the skills and competencies they have acquired.

• Reference degree:
  • Degree in Technical Architecture or equivalent degrees that enable the exercise of the profession of Technical Architect.
• .Related Degrees:
  • Bachelor's Degree in the Fundamentals of Architecture
  • Bachelor's Degree in Civil engineering
  • Bachelor's Degree in Public Works Engineering
  • Other equivalent degrees are obtained in EHEA or international universities where there is a correspondence between the competencies of the degrees indicated.
• Degree-specific admission and assessment criteria The admission criteria and their weighting are set out below:
  • Evaluation of the academic record.
  • Correspondence between the competencies of the access qualification and those of the Reference Degree.
  • Curriculum Vitae.
• Special entrance exams or special admission criteria

  For the admission process of non-Spanish-speaking students to the master's degree, a compulsory language requirement is established, being essential to present at least a B2 certificate of Spanish included in the list of certificates recognised by the CRUE and by the Association of Language Centres in Higher Education (ACLES). If at the time of access to the qualification you did not have the certification.

  Additionally, the ERT would have to check manually before authorising a TFM defence that the student admitted to having been accredited in the initial interview for their Spanish language knowledge and presented the official certificate of the Spanish language B2 level to the centre. There is no automatic control of this requirement in our applications for Master's degrees.

  Apart from the above requirement, there is no access or levelling course, gateway or access prerequisites.

100% face-to-face

School of Telecommunications Engineering

Architectural Constructions, Graphic Expression in Architecture, Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, and Applied Physics Departments.

Most subjects in the new master's degree will include seminars given by professionals in the sector to offer connections, updates, and practical perspectives, enriching students' training and preparing them for the world of work. Visits to companies in the sector and real construction sites will be essential to improve their understanding of the industry, strengthen their technical skills and establish direct connections with the working environment. The Master's programme will also include a visit to a trade fair or career-oriented congress so that students can establish contacts with professionals, companies and participants in the sector and learn about systems, products, services and new developments in a relevant environment.

On the other hand, there are currently several active chairs at ETSIE (Technical Architecture Chair, Housing Observatory Chair, Bertolín Chair) that promote the generation of knowledge and research, so they are another opportunity for master's degree students to develop activities that promote disciplinary transversality.

There is also close contact between the Master's management and other entities and companies with which we collaborate and receive information on the sector's needs. Lectures and extracurricular activities are frequently held to enable students and teachers to broaden their knowledge and horizons. Here are shared lines of work and frequent collaborations with state public research institutes such as the I Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Sciences (IETcc-CSIC), with institutes and research centres in the Valencian Community (Valencian innovation Agency -AVI-, Interuniversity Institute for molecular Recognition and Technological Development -IDM-, Research Institute for Concrete Science and Technology -ICITECH-, Research Centre Architecture, Heritage and Management for Sustainable Development - PEGASO-), with public interest foundations subject to private law such as the Valencian Building Institute (IVE), with entities and centres of recognised prestige in the construction sector (Fundación Laboral de la Construcción), CEVISAMA (Feria Valencia), with associations in the sector (Valencian Federation of Construction Businesspeople -FECEC-, Association of Construction and Industry Waste Selection and Recycling Businessmen -ARCI-), as well as with leading product manufacturers such as SIKA, Tejas Borja, Buitec, Ubiko and construction and engineering companies such as Bertolín, Itercon, Edicover, among others.

In addition, the academic staff of the Master's also have partnerships with companies in the sector that increase the flow of information that will keep the Master's updated and encourage internships. For information purposes, in 2022, 125 companies collaborated with the School, in which students carried out 262 internships.