01 Program Overview
The Master’s Program in Transportation jointly offered by Ningbo University and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is a Sino-foreign cooperative education program formally approved by the Ministry of Education in 2025. Its approval certificate number is MOE33ES1A20252422N. The program actively supports China’s strategies to build national strength in transportation and maritime affairs, implements the policy requirement to encourage high-level foreign universities of science and engineering to conduct cooperative education in China, and represents an important step forward in the international cultivation of transportation professionals.
The program focuses on transportation. Drawing on the strengths of the Chinese–foreign partnership, it introduces and deeply integrates UPC’s high-quality curriculum resources in such interdisciplinary fields as advanced marine equipment and clean ocean energy. Research and teaching cover transportation planning and management, port and shipping logistics engineering, transportation safety and the environment, intelligent transportation systems, transportation information and control engineering, marine equipment design and optimization, and the development and conversion of clean ocean energy. The program helps students acquire advanced research skills and cultivates applied, interdisciplinary, high-level engineering and engineering-management professionals who have a solid foundation in transportation, can work across marine equipment and ocean energy, possess an international outlook, and demonstrate innovative capacity.
The program lasts three years and includes coursework, research participation, thesis writing and thesis defense. Students seeking the foreign master’s degree must spend the entire second year at UPC for one academic year of study and research. These students are jointly supervised by one adviser from each university.
Students who meet Ningbo University’s graduation and degree-award requirements receive its graduation certificate and degree certificate. Students who choose to study in Spain for one year during the second academic year and meet UPC’s degree-award requirements may also receive the master’s degree conferred by UPC.
02 Partner Institutions
Ningbo University Faculty of Maritime and Transportation is one of the seven Chinese maritime higher-education institutions recommended by the Ministry of Transport to the International Maritime Organization and is an emerging force in China’s maritime education. Its Transportation Engineering discipline is the only first-level master’s degree authorization point in Transportation Engineering in Zhejiang Province. It is also a key discipline of Zhejiang Province and a Category A key discipline of Ningbo. In 2021, the discipline was approved under the Ministry of Education’s “111 Project” as the National “111” Centre on Safety and Intelligent Operation of Sea Bridge. Its research platforms include the Ningbo University branch of the National Engineering Research Center for Road Traffic Management; the Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Modern Urban Traffic Technologies; the Zhejiang Collaborative Innovation Center for Port Economy; the Ningbo Key Laboratory of Green Shipping Technology (Category A); and the Maritime and Logistics Experimental Teaching Center. Among the undergraduate programs supported by the discipline, Logistics Management was designated a national first-class undergraduate program under the Double Ten-Thousand Plan in 2021, and Navigation Technology was designated a first-class undergraduate program in Zhejiang Province in the same year.
Located in Barcelona, Spain, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is one of Spain’s leading universities of science and engineering and one of Europe’s leading technical universities. It is internationally recognized for research and education in engineering, architecture and transportation. In the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject, it ranked 82nd worldwide in Engineering and Technology and was a core member of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s transport community. UPC’s transportation program is based at the Barcelona School of Nautical Studies, which has more than 250 years of history. It is one of Europe’s oldest maritime schools and a long-standing benchmark for nautical technology and engineering education. In recent years, the school has conducted research with more than 100 companies and institutions and achieved substantial results in seven research areas, including ship propulsion, maritime communications and navigational safety.
The Barcelona School of Nautical Studies at UPC and Ningbo University Faculty of Maritime and Transportation are highly aligned in intelligent transportation, green transportation and new ocean-energy technologies.
03 Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is this program included in China’s unified national admissions system?
Yes. The program is included in the national postgraduate admissions plan. Applicants take the National Postgraduate Entrance Examination and are admitted in accordance with national policies for professional master’s degree admissions. After enrollment, students first register with Ningbo University. Eligible students may choose to study and register at the foreign partner university in the second year.
Q2. What graduation certificates and degrees are awarded? Are they officially recognized?
Students who complete the courses specified in the training plan and pass the examinations may receive the professional master’s graduation certificate issued by Ningbo University. Those who meet Ningbo University’s degree-award requirements receive its master’s degree. Students who complete one academic year at the foreign partner university and meet its degree-award requirements receive the foreign master’s degree. These graduation and degree certificates are identical to the official certificates that the two universities issue to their domestic and international students.
The foreign degree certificate must be authenticated by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange. Ningbo University’s graduation and degree certificates do not require authentication and can be verified directly through CHSI.
Q3. How can I verify that the Sino-foreign cooperative master’s program is legitimate?
This is a Sino-foreign cooperative master’s program formally recognized by the Ministry of Education. Its filing information can be checked through the Ministry of Education’s Foreign Education Supervision Information Portal as follows:
1. Visit the official portal at http://jsj.moe.gov.cn.
2. On the home page, select the list of institutions and programs approved and reviewed by the Ministry of Education.
3. Search by the names of the two partner universities, the program name or the province to confirm that the program appears in the filed list.
4. Verify that the program level (master’s), enrollment period and foreign partner institution match the published information.
Q4. What is the program’s teaching model?
The curriculum draws on those of internationally recognized transportation universities and fully considers the needs and development trends of the transportation sector in China and abroad. It is designed to cultivate advanced engineering professionals in transportation safety and the environment, port and shipping logistics engineering and management, transportation planning and management, and transportation information engineering and control.
Training combines coursework, research training and the degree thesis. Ningbo University’s courses emphasize fundamental theory and the foundations of engineering application, while UPC’s courses emphasize the integration of theory and practice, particularly the development of innovative ability. Together, the two universities provide a rich set of high-quality courses on the technological and developmental frontiers of transportation. Courses introduced from the foreign partner are taught in English; other courses may be taught in Chinese or English.
Q5. What requirements must be met to apply for the foreign master’s degree?
During the first academic year, students may apply after completing the courses and credits required by the training plan and obtaining an IELTS score of 6.0. Following confirmation by UPC, they complete the relevant procedures and study at the Barcelona School of Nautical Studies in the second year.
Q6. May I remain in China for all three years and not apply for the foreign master’s degree?
Yes. Students who remain in China for all three years, complete the courses specified in the training plan and pass the examinations may receive the professional master’s graduation certificate issued by Ningbo University. Those who meet its degree-award requirements also receive its master’s degree. They do not receive the foreign degree certificate.
Q7. What are the program fees?
Tuition is RMB 28,800 per year. During study abroad, students are responsible for registration, accommodation, meals, transportation and other expenses.
Q8. The 2026 Ningbo University catalogue for full-time master’s admissions lists two entries for 086100 Transportation. What is the difference?
In the 2026 catalogue, 012 (Faculty of Maritime and Transportation) — 086100 (Professional Degree) Transportation refers to the Faculty’s regular professional master’s admissions in Transportation. 073 (Faculty of Maritime and Transportation — Sino-Foreign Cooperative Program) — 086100 (Professional Degree) Transportation refers to the Sino-foreign cooperative Master’s Program in Transportation.
Applicants wishing to apply for the Sino-foreign cooperative Master’s Program in Transportation should select 073 (Faculty of Maritime and Transportation — Sino-Foreign Cooperative Program) — 086100 (Professional Degree) Transportation in the application system.
Q9. Where are classes held?
During the China-based stage, classes are held at Ningbo University Faculty of Maritime and Transportation on the Meishan Campus. During the overseas stage, classes are held at the Barcelona School of Nautical Studies of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech in Barcelona, Spain.