PhD in Water and Environmental Engineering
Specific requirements and criteria for admission to the program
Given the high multidisciplinary nature of the PDIAM, the Academic Committee will evaluate the applicant’s previous training and curriculum according to the PDIAM research line(s) selected by the applicant in his/her pre-registration. This committee will take into account the following aspects with an indication of their weighting:
- Academic qualifications (20%): priority access to the program will be granted to Spanish or foreign graduates with a background in civil, industrial, forestry, environmental, hydraulic, agronomic, geological, chemical and biological engineering/science.
- Postgraduate training (30%): at least 60 credits of postgraduate training (Master’s degree) in the field of hydraulic and/or environmental engineering must be accredited.
- Academic record (30%): both undergraduate and graduate academic records must be provided to be evaluated by the CA.
- Degree of saturation (20%): based on the selected research line(s), the degree of saturation of the research group where the doctoral thesis can be carried out will be taken into account.
Training complements
The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program in Water and Environmental Engineering, after studying the student’s curriculum, will decide whether it is appropriate for the student to take complementary courses. If appropriate, and with a report from the assigned tutor, it will define the list of subjects to be taken considering the specific training required by the doctoral student for the proper development of his or her research work. In the case of master’s degrees related to the PDIAM, a maximum limit of 15 ECTS credits is established. The selection of subjects will be made from the university’s postgraduate academic offer, specifically and mainly from the two master’s degrees currently associated with the PDIAM:
- Master’s Degree in Hydraulic Engineering and the Environment
- Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering (interuniversity master’s degree UPV-UVEG)
Students admitted to the PDIAM of any of these master’s degrees who have completed a research-type Master’s thesis will be exempt from the training complements.
The current breakdown in subjects and courses of these master’s degrees is as follows:
Master’s Degree in Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering
Hydraulic engineering (19 ECTS):
- Surface and groundwater hydrology (6 ECTS)
- Advanced hydraulics (7 ECTS).
- Water resources systems (6 ECTS).
Water quality (9 ECTS):
- Water quality and pollution (6 ECTS).
- Limnological bases for the management of aquatic ecosystems (3 ECTS).
Water evacuation and treatment (8 ECTS):
- Water treatment technologies (3 ECTS).
- Sanitation networks (5 ECTS).
Technical management and operation of pressurized water distribution systems (8 ECTS):
- Technical management of sustainable urban water supplies (4 ECTS).
- Transient phenomena, regulation and protection of water distribution networks (4 ECTS).
Design and analysis of pressurized water distribution systems (8 ECTS):
- Planning and design of water distribution networks (4 ECTS).
- Analysis and modeling of water distribution networks (4 ECTS).
Mathematical models in water quality (10 ECTS):
- Simulation and design of wastewater treatment plants (7 ECTS).
- Water quality modeling in the natural environment (3 ECTS)
Water treatment techniques (8 ECTS):
- Physical-chemical water treatments (4 ECTS).
- Biological wastewater treatment (4 ECTS).
Experimentation in water quality (6 ECTS):
- Water quality laboratory (6 ECTS).
Watershed planning and management (12 ECTS):
- Surface water quality models in watershed management (3 ECTS).
- Impact of climate change on watershed management (3 ECTS).
- Irrigation planning and agricultural water management (3 ECTS).
- Integrated watershed management (3 ECTS).
Watershed management and restoration (12 ECTS):
- River restoration (3 ECTS).
- Engineering in desertification processes (3 ECTS).
- Management and restoration of torrential basins (3 ECTS).
- Establishment of reforestation in protective watersheds (3 ECTS).
Mathematical models in hydrology (15 ECTS):
- Surface water quality models (3 ECTS).
- Mathematical modeling of subsurface flow and transport (3 ECTS).
- Distributed hydrological and environmental modeling (3 ECTS).
- Stochastic hydrology (3 ECTS).
- Soil and aquifer contamination (3 ECTS).
Water resources management (9 ECTS):
- Integrated management of water resources systems (3 ECTS).
- Incidence of climate change on water resource systems (3 ECTS)
- Economics of water resources (3 ECTS).
Within an elective module:
- Neural networks in hydraulic and environmental engineering (3 ECTS).
- Advanced river engineering (3 ECTS).
- Geostatistics (3 ECTS).
- Flood risk analysis including dam safety assessment (3 ECTS).
- Geographic information systems (3 ECTS).
- Environmental impacts (3 ECTS).
Master’s Thesis (15 ECTS)
University Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering (UPV-UVEG interuniversity master’s degree)
Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering (18 ECTS):
- Environmental quality assessment (9 ECTS)
- Transport of pollutants in the natural environment (9ECTS)
Water Treatment (15 ECTS):
- Water treatment (9 ECTS)
- Advanced modeling of water treatment, (6 ECTS)
Soil, Waste and Atmospheric Emissions Treatment (18 ECTS):
- Waste management and treatment (6 ECTS)
- Air Pollution Control (6 ECTS)
- Management of contaminated soils and sediments (6 ECTS)
Environmental Management (9 ECTS):
- Analysis and Application of Environmental Legislation (3 ECTS)
- Environmental Impact Assessment (3 ECTS)
- Environmental management instruments (3 ECTS)
Elective for Specialization (12 ECTS):
- Microbiological Control of Purification Processes (3 ECTS)
- Wastewater Treatment Plant Management (3 ECTS)
- Simulation and advanced design of wastewater treatment plants (3 ECTS)
- Physical pollution: noise and radiation (3 ECTS)
- Energy management (3 ECTS)
- Industrial Pollution Prevention (3 ECTS)
- Advanced Monitoring and Control of Environmental Installations (3 ECTS)
- Environmental Data Processing and Analysis (3 ECTS)
Master’s Thesis (12 ECTS)
Basic and general competencies
Basics
- Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to that field.
- Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.
- Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
- Ability to critically analyze, evaluate and synthesize new and complex ideas.
- Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their fields of knowledge in the modes and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.
- Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress within a knowledge-based society.
Personal skills and abilities
- To develop in contexts where there is little specific information.
- Find the key questions to be answered to solve a complex problem.
- Design, create, develop and undertake novel and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
- Work both in a team and autonomously in an international or multidisciplinary context.
- Integrate knowledge, deal with complexity and make judgments with limited information.
- Intellectual criticism and defense of solutions.
Other competencies
- Ability to write scientific publications fluently and efficiently.
- Ability to provide support in training and learning activities.
- Ability to formulate and apply solutions to research problems and interpret research results.
- Ability to understand the methodologies, research techniques and their applications within the field of one of the main lines of research of the program.
- Ability to critically analyze and evaluate their own results as well as those obtained by other researchers.