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UOC's Master Degree in Free Software

 

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) offers an official master programme in Free Software since september 2006. The Master’s Degree in Free Software arose from the need to meet the growing demand from companies, institutions and universities of professionals in this sector. This growth comes from the increased presence of free software in all areas of society, which is caused by the reduced costs produced by the adoption of this technology, greater stability and security of applications and access to the source code. The Master’s Degree in Free Software comprises 60 ECTS credits, of which:

  • 20 ECTS credits correspond to mandatory modules.
  • 25 ECTS credits correspond to elective modules.
  • 15 ECTS credits correspond to the final master's thesis.

Structure of the Master programme

Mandatory
20 ECTS

Introduction to free software

Administration of the GNU/Linux operating system

Advanced administration of the GNU/Linux operating system

Implementation of free software systems

 

Elective
25 ECTS

Networks

Development

Web and e-commerce

Information systems management

Free software economics

Open networks

Distributed systems in free software environments

Advanced network security

Software development

Advanced concepts in software development

Software engineering in free software environments

Web application development

Databases

Free software tools and utilities

Legal aspects and exploitation of free software

Economic aspects and free software business models

Free software in the public sector

Master thesis
15 ECTS

Research oriented Master Thesis

or

Professionally oriented Master Thesis

Recognition

The modules taken at the Free Technology Academy will be eligible for recognition in the Master's degree in Free Software offered by the UOC as shown in the following table:

FTA Module

UOC's Master's degree in free software

The concepts of Free Software and Open Standards

(M2.501) Introduction to free software (5 ECTS)

GNU/Linux advanced

(M2.550) Administration of the GNU/Linux operating system (5 ECTS)

Web applications development

(M2.508) Web applications development (5 ECTS)

Economic aspects of Free Software

(M2.515) Economic aspects and free software business models (5 ECTS)

Software development

(M2.510) Software development (5 ECTS)

Legal aspects of the Information Society

(M2.514) Legal aspects and exploitation of free software (5 ECTS)

Network Technologies

(M2.551) Open networks (5 ECTS)

Implementation of Free Software and Case Studies

(M2.504) Implementation of free software systems (5 ECTS)

Free Software Utilities

(M2.513) Free Software tools and utilities (5 ECTS)

Free Software in public administrations

(M2.517) Free Software in public administrations (5 ECTS)

Software Engineering in Free Software environments

(M2.512) Software Engineering in Free Software environments (5 ECTS)

The recognition of these FTA modules will be subject to the payment of the fees (5,27 €/ECTS credit) required for the incorporation of the modules into the student transcript at the UOC. The cost of this recognition is established in the Regulations governing transfer and acknowledgement of UOC credits, and is subject to the possible variations of the UOC's price policy. In any case, the FTA students who want to enrol the UOC's Master's degree in free software must fulfil the admission conditions required by the University conforming to the Spanish regulations and laws as detailed in the admission procedures. These subjects will be incorporated into the student's transcript with the UOC grade scale which is equivalent to the FTA grade as shown in the following table:

FTA Scale

UOC Scale

Rating

9,10

A

Very good rating

7,8

B

Good rating

6

C+

Satisfactory rating

4,5

C-

Low rating

1,2,3

D

Very low rating

N

N

Not rated

Only subjects graded with 6 or higher are subject to be recognized by the UOC.

Enrolling

The Master's Degree in Free Software is given in Catalan and Spanish. The enrolment is also open for the English edition of this master, but the university has not been able to start this English edition so far due to the lack of enough students. As a result, FTA students willing to get their credits recognised will have to enrol in the Spanish or Catalan edition of this master, and take any remaining courses in one of these languages. A UOC advisor can be contacted directly to request more information or start the enrolment process by following this link.