The Master in Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies is designed to provide the resources and skills to meet the challenges posed by the rapid changes currently occurring in the field of assisted reproduction, whilst mixing theoretical and practical sessions.
The Master in Human Assisted Reproduction is designed to meet the growing need for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) professionals, providing the students with skills as doctors and embryologists, and empowering practitioners to operate highly sophisticated ART programs, offering complex treatment to infertile patients.
This course focuses on the transition from a training philosophy centred on technical execution (good hands) to one focused on critical thinking, evidence-based implementation, and innovation adoption (good thinking).
Through the program, students will work on their qualitative and quantitative analytical skills inside the evidence-based medicine (EBM) field as well as improve both individual and team-based approaches to reproductive research and clinical care.
Thanks to the collaboration with the Eugin Group the Master in Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies will provide students with the opportunity to gain real international experience. Lessons will be imparted by world-class international practitioners and key opinion leaders in the ART field. Moreover, taking advantage of the highly international structure of the Eugin Group with a presence in both Europe and the Americas, practical internships can take place in ART clinics in Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, the USA or Brazil, for instance.
The Master in Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies is endorsed by Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Spanish university and the 15th best university in the world (of those with less than 50 years), according to the Times Higher Education ranking. In addition, UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally.
Program jointly offered with:Collaborators:Study at a school accredited by EQUIS, an international distinction that guarantees the quality of our institution and makes us the 1st school of management linked to a public university with this accreditation in our country.
The curriculum includes a number of fundamentally important topics that are typically ignored in other programs, such as patient-centred care and attention, psychology and psychopathology of infertility, fertility awareness and knowledge, artificial intelligence in ART, and patient communication through new media.
You will learn to think critically. In a field rapidly evolving towards automation, miniaturization, and information assisted technologies, as an ART professional you will need to rely as much on technical skills as on the development of critical thinking.
Lessons will be imparted by world-class international practitioners and key opinion leaders in the ART field, and you will also be part of an international class with students from all over the world.
The program has mandatory internships that will take place in ART clinics in Italy, Spain, Brazil, Denmark, the USA, Argentina, and Colombia.
The Master is addressed to recent graduates or active professionals in the field of assisted reproduction technologies (ART). The program seeks to train you formally as clinicians or embryologists to work in ART clinics. You will be able to meet the wave of innovation in the field of ART and become a highly specialized reproductive professional.
The 60 ECTS-credit program is made up of four core modules organized in nine subject areas, all of them mandatory. It will start with a Framework of Clinical Reference, followed by modules on Human Reproduction, Laboratory Techniques, and Laboratory Sessions. There is also a final project, which is linked to the internship, where the student will address a technique or method that catches their interest.
This Subject covers the main 3 parameters that must guide the daily practice of the ART professional: science, ethics, and law. The practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) requires knowledge of the scientific method and development of critical thought, as well as an understanding of the basic tenets of study design and statistics for medical research.
In addition, as technical breakthroughs occur at an ever-increasing pace, the rapidly advancing field of ART poses ethical dilemmas on a regular basis, and a deep knowledge of and scrupulous adherence to national and international laws and regulations is absolutely required.
The emotional burden of treatment is the main cause of treatment discontinuation and non-adherence even in countries where ART treatments are economically feasible and culturally accepted. Nevertheless, ART programs do not train professionals to understand the patient’s challenges and experiences with infertility, resulting in high treatment drop-out, and ultimately a lower proportion of patients that overcome their infertility.
This subject will provide you with a solid appreciation of the psychological aspects of the infertile experience, both from a male and female point of view, as well as the need to make patients the focus of the treatment process. This subject will train you to understand the role of the ART professional in solving this problem through increased communication with patients, colleagues, regulators, and the media. In an increasingly communicated world, this implies developing skills related to the use of novel media platforms to communicate with patients (social media/telemedicine).
This Subject will cover normal anatomy and physiology of the male and female reproductive organs at both the macro and microscopic levels along with the stages of the reproductive life cycle. Development, endocrinology, gametogenesis, menstrual cycle, fertilization, implantation, early embryonic development, and pregnancy will be covered.
You will acquire knowledge of the main pathologies that underlie fertility issues, learn how to clinically evaluate the infertile/sub-fertile individual in order to recognize tubal/uterine infertility, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, male and female reproductive pathologies, ovulation disorders, and implantation issues, among others. The developing field of oncofertility and how to preserve the reproductive potential of cancer patients will be explained and discussed.
You will become familiarized with the current toolbox of technologies and methods in ART. Both clinical and embryological approaches will be considered. This will provide the student with a holistic view of reproductive medicine and allow for an improved interaction between both areas of treatment, in the interest of patient satisfaction and clinical results.
Main topics are induction of ovulation, oocyte pickup, gamete donation, ICSI, in vitro embryo culture and evaluation, embryo transfer, luteal phase support, and cryobiology. Importantly, students will be introduced to cutting edge technologies such as time-lapse microscopy, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Basic concepts of genetics in relation to all aspects of human reproduction (preconceptional, prenatal and embryonic stage), with emphasis on inherited disease, chromosomal segregation and the genetics of male and female infertility will be reviewed.
This subject will cover classical and expanded preconceptional screening and analyse implications for couples wanting to conceive. Students will study techniques and approaches to embryo testing (PGT-A, PGT-M, PGT-ST) as well as concepts related to genetic counselling. The lack of an EBM perspective made PGT a particularly controversial issue in the ART field. Since genetics and preconceptional testing lend themselves particularly well to EBM assessment, case studies will be used to illustrate concepts.
Cutting edge genetic technologies will be presented and studied, including genetic manipulation and genome editing techniques, mitochondrial manipulation, uterine transplant, and stem cell-related approaches to infertility.
Students will practice the basic procedures executed in the ART laboratory during a full week of intensive wet laboratory sessions, including oocyte manipulation, denudation, maturity evaluation, embryo culture in vitro and its evaluation, sperm thawing, and swim-up/gradient selection.
This subject provides a full week dedicated to training the students in basic clinical techniques such as ultrasound-guided oocyte pick-up and embryo transfer, by using state-of-the-art dummy based digital simulation systems.
During the professional internships students will choose a technique or method of their interest. They will be required to present a critical review of the existing literature regarding said clinical practice and produce a report following the criteria and guidelines of the EBM.
Students will be able to undergo guided internships at Assisted Reproduction Research Centres or Clinics in the European Union (Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden) or outside of the EU (USA and Brazil). These internships will be 4 months long and students will be able to choose only one centre, for the whole duration of the internship or 2, spending 2 months at each centre. Depending on the clinic of choice, students will be able to focus on basic reproductive research, clinical reproduction, or clinical embryology. For each practicum, the student will be under the supervision of a local tutor.
The Master in Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies also includes the possibility of participating in practical activities and activities for personal and professional growth such as:
Once you have passed the program, you will obtain an electronic degree (e-Título) for Lifelong Learning Master in Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies issued by the Pompeu Fabra University.
Lessons will be imparted by world-class international practitioners and key opinion leaders in the ART field. The Teaching Faculty is formed by Professors of the UPF Barcelona School of Management, scientists, physicians, and embryologists from Clínica Eugin and invited Professors from other institutions, all of them with renowned expertise.
The course will combine theory and practice in a participative and interactive manner. The methodology may vary from subject to subject, depending on the lecturer and the contents
The program includes a unique laboratory module in which you will acquire hands-on experience in embryology laboratory techniques, covering a range of fundamental procedures regarding sperm, oocytes, and embryos.
In order to provide strong practical skills, you will be trained in basic clinical procedures such as ovum pickup and embryo transfers using state-of-the-art simulator systems.
All the activities will be returned with feedback by teachers, so the assessment is based on an evolving learning.
Evaluation will result from continuous monitoring of the students’ progress using a range of assessment techniques.
These include execution of activities, participation during lectures and case discussions, performance in the Wet Lab Module and Simulator Module, subject exams (in multiple choice format), and quality of Final Project written work and defence. In addition, the students’ performance during their internship will be evaluated by their mentor.
On-going evaluation will ensure a balanced distribution of effort and a gradual acquisition of knowledge by the student. Grading of subjects will be on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest mark.
Project-oriented learning and the combination of lectures and active methodologies such as case studies, flipped learning, solving real problems and professional simulations allow the student to connect theory and practice, acquire advanced skills and achieve learning which is transferable to work.
You will have:
Approximately 50 million couples experience infertility worldwide. This is due to social and professional changes, including higher numbers of working women, delayed parenthood, migration from rural areas to cities, obesity and rising male infertility.
The market for in vitro fertilization is expected to exceed 36 billion dollars by 2026. A wave of innovation is currently exerting pressure on the industry, which predicts a lack of adequately trained professionals during the next few years.
We foresee that our graduates will have ample opportunities in the ART industry, covering positions in clinical practice, the embryology lab, and basic research.
All students come from a great variety of scientific fields, however, the three main common backgrounds are: Medicine and Surgery, Biology, and Biotechnology. The class is a good mix from different countries, as the master has a very international outlook: participants from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America share experiences and common interests.
Average age
Average years of professional experience
International Students
Alumnos por aula
From April to July, you will do one or two practical internships in Clinics of the Eugin group, located in several countries (Spain, Italy, Denmark, Argentina, Brazil, and the USA), focusing on basic research, embryology and/or clinical research.
You may opt to do one unique internship in a single location (from April to July) or 2 shorter internships in 2 different locations (April-May and June-July).
This internship provides a hands-on approach that will help you with your career prospects.
The UPF Barcelona School of Management offers you different means of financing so that you can take any of our programs without worry. We offer you the opportunity to finance part of your program, either by rewarding your talent through scholarships, through grants from entities dedicated to promoting education or through collaboration agreements with financial entities.
If you are alumni of one of our Partner Universities, you are entitled to a discount of 10% on the UPF Barcelona School of Management Masters and postgraduate program tuition fees (those programs with more than 15 credits).
*Discount not compatible with other scholarships, discounts and reductions.
You can choose how to finance your studies by consulting our simulator and receive an answer in less than 24 hours.
In addition, we collaborate with various entities which provide study loans on favorable terms. For more information you can contact any of the following links.
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