Objectives and competences
The master's degree in Applied Research Methodology in Nursing Care provides the knowledge and skills required to carry out and evaluate quantitative and qualitative research projects on the areas of care, teaching and management in which nurses work.
One of the main strengths of the master's degree is its teaching team, made up of professors with extensive academic, teaching and research experience and actively linked to:
- research groups recognized by the Government of Catalonia (SGR);
- hospitals and healthcare institutions in the Catalan healthcare system, which provide a cross-sectional and updated vision of the healthcare reality, and
- competitive national and international innovation and research projects.
- This proximity to real research and clinical environments ensures rigorous, up-to-date training focused on the real impact of healthcare.
Why study this master's degree?
- To develop advanced research skills. You will learn to:
- formulate relevant research questions and hypotheses;
- design quantitative and qualitative studies with methodological soundness;
- apply data collection and analysis techniques, and
- disseminate scientific results and develop projects for calls for competitive
- proposals.
- To acquire comprehensive, rigorous and practice-oriented training. The programme combines:
- the fundamentals of scientific methodology;
- elective subjects in emerging areas (ICTs, scientific evidence, nursing research lines, etc.), and
- the completion of a tutored final project. To benefit from direct contact with the health system and research.
- The engagement of the teaching staff in SGR research groups and their affiliation to leading healthcare institutions ensures:
- the integration of real cases and experiences in the classroom;
- access to collaboration opportunities in studies and projects, and
- an updated vision of the needs of the Catalan healthcare system.
- To receive academic and professional projection.
- The master's degree provide the expertise to:
- lead research initiatives in healthcare and educational settings;
- participate in multidisciplinary teams;
- introduce evidence-based improvements in nursing practice, and
- access doctoral studies.
Basic information
| Type | Master's degree |
|---|---|
| Faculty or school | Faculty of Nursing |
| Branch of knowledge |
|
| Mode of delivery |
|
| Credits | 60 |
| Number of places available | 30 |
| Length of course | 1 academic year |
| Language(s) of instruction | 40 % Catalan - 40 % Spanish - 20 % English |
| Approximate price per credit | 19.37 euros per credit (82 euros for students who are not EU nationals and do not currently reside in Spain). Fees for the academic year 2025-2026 |
| Coordination | ANTONIO RAFAEL MORENO POYATO |
| albapolicarpo@ub.edu | |
| Course details | Indicators |
| Open pre-enrolment | Yes |
| Open enrolment | No |
| Lead to doctoral studies | Yes |
| Admission for applicants not holding a degree qualification | No |
| Bridging courses | No |
Objectives and competences
Objectives
- Develop the ability to effectively apply advanced research skills in the fields of healthcare, management, and teaching.
- Enable the advanced practical application of research theories and principles in health research projects.
- Provide advanced knowledge in research methodology, allowing the development of complete scientific works, from formulating research questions and hypotheses to publishing results in scientific journals.
- Equip with the necessary tools to develop research projects that allow participation in national and international health research funding calls.
- Provide specialized academic training to research aspects related to gender and social and cultural diversity in healthcare.
- Equip with autonomous learning skills to continue training independently, staying updated in their research field.
- Develop the ability to make ethical decisions in research and professional practice, based on bioethical principles and respecting the integrity and rights of individuals involved in research and healthcare.
Competences
- Knowledge
- Describe the different stages of the research process in all its phases, from project development to publication and application in the context of nursing care.
- Identify, through bibliographic database searches, scientific evidence in the context of nursing care.
- Identify quantitative research techniques, methods, and instruments applied to the field of nursing care.
- Identify qualitative research techniques, methods, and instruments applied to the field of nursing care.
- Describe the formal structure of a research project report according to different national and international health research funding calls.
- Identify the ideas and values involved in research addressing bioethical situations related to health and social inequalities.
- Identify the ethical aspects of problems arising in human research.
- Skills
- Critically analyse published scientific literature in the context of nursing care.
- Apply a critical and systematic approach to evaluating evidence and research.
- Use resources (documentary, computer, audiovisual, etc.) to conduct research studies.
- Use information sources critically and responsibly.
- Effectively communicate nursing research projects and their results, both orally and in writing.
- Use information technologies rationally and critically to manage information through social networks.
- Use techniques, instruments, and methods for analysing needs in terms of equal opportunities between men and women.
- Express oneself orally and in writing in Catalan, Spanish, and a third language, mastering the specialized language of the discipline.
- Apply the theories and principles guiding research in research practice.
- Develop scientific works, from the research question/hypothesis to the publication of results.
- Apply research methodology, writing and defending a research project related to nursing care before an evaluation committee.
- Competences
- Assess the social and environmental impact of actions in their disciplinary field to contribute to the SDGs.
- Develop critical reasoning and a commitment to the plurality and diversity of current societal realities, respecting fundamental rights, gender equality, and non-discrimination.
- Show attitudes consistent with ethical conceptions, deontological codes, and intellectual integrity, aware of the social implications of different activities carried out.
- Work efficiently and coordinately in teams, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, in designing, managing, planning, and executing projects and collective challenges in the respective disciplinary framework.
- Apply knowledge and skills to practical situations.
- Use diagnostic and creative skills to solve problems in the study field.
- Develop autonomous learning skills based on analysis, reflection, synthesis, global visions, and expert reasoning.
Access and admission
Applicant profile and access requirements
Recommended applicant profile
Students should have knowledge and skills relevant to nursing care at different stages of life and to different healthcare environments. They must also be able to demonstrate previous experience in the presentation of scientific papers and publications. Students should have good listening and written comprehension skills in English.Access requirements and conditions
General requirementsStudents wishing to be admitted to a university master's degree must hold one of the following qualifications:
- Official Spanish university degree.
- A degree issued by a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area framework that authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue.
- A qualification issued by an institution outside the framework of the European Higher Education Area. In this case, applicants must request homologation of the degree to its equivalent official Spanish university qualification or obtain express approval from the University of Barcelona, which will conduct a study of equivalence to ensure that the degree is of a comparable level to an official Spanish university qualification and that it grants access to university master's degree study in the country of issue. Admission shall not, in any case, imply that prior qualifications have been recognized as equivalent to a Spanish master's degree and does not confer recognition for any purposes other than that of admission to the master's degree course.
Specific requirements
A university degree or diploma in nursing, or an equivalent qualification.
Pre-enrolment
Calendar
5 February-22 June 2026Notification of resolutions: 26 June
Notes:
- Pre-enrolment fee: A pre-enrolment fee of 30,21 euros is charged. Students who apply to more than one master's degree must pay the fee for each pre-enrolment request. Pre-enrolment requests cannot be processed until this fee has been paid.Fees will only be refunded if the master's degree in question is suspended.
- Reserved places: A maximum of 5% of the new places of the master's degree are reserved for students who meet the general and specific access requirements and accredit the recognition of a degree of disability equal to or greater than 33%.
Required documentation
- Pre-enrolment application
- Photocopy of degree certificate or equivalent qualification. In case of admission, foreign degrees that require so should be translated and authenticated through diplomatic channels before completing the enrolment.
Selection criteria
1. CV (30%).2. Previous publications in national and international journals (20%).
3. Scientific papers in the area of nursing care (15%).
4. Professional experience in the area of nursing care (15%).
5. Grade point average for previous qualifications (10%)
6. Listening and written comprehension skills in English (level B1) (10%).
Notification
The Coordination Committee will assess whether candidates meet the general and specific admission requirements.Enrolment
As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned
- Documents required for enrolment
- Procedure to formalize enrolment
- Grants and financial aid (in Catalan)
- Economic information (in Catalan)
Course curriculum
Subjects and course plans
Distribution of credits
| Type | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Compulsory | 24 |
| Optional | 18 |
| Compulsory placements | 0 |
| Compulsory final project | 18 |
| TOTAL | 60 |
List of subjects
Previous years
Placements
Placements in a company or another type of organization are an integral part of university studies, providing first-hand experience of working methodologies in students' chosen professional fields. They offer invaluable practical experience for the transition into work after graduation.
Placements are supervised by tutors and subject to assessment. They are therefore included in the academic record. There is also an option to complete non-curricular placements of up to 500 hours, which can be extended to 900 hours. For both curricular and non-curricular placements, an educational cooperation agreement is signed between the UB and the company, institution or other organization at which the placement will be carried out.
Institutional information
Career opportunities
What can you work on ?
Graduates will have the knowledge and skills to undertake research-related activities in hospitals and primary care centres, in health and social care homes, and in public and private organizations at the national and international level. They will have the right professional profile to organize and manage research and teaching projects on topics related to quantitative and qualitative research methods.Access to the labour market
Data from the university system in Catalonia
Contact us
Campus Bellvitge, Feixa Llarga, s/n
08907 l'Hospitalet de Llobregat