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Studies & Degrees in Technical Engineering

Technical engineering is the English name for what Spain calls ingeniería técnica: the first level of professional engineering, with its own legal status. An Ingeniero Técnico designs, signs and manages engineering projects within a given branch of engineering. The best-known case, and the one used as the example on this page, is the Ingeniero Técnico Industrial. Spanish law treats it as a regulated profession: to practise it, a person needs the corresponding official bachelor's degree (grado).

Students learn mathematics, physics and technical drawing, a common core for their branch, and one specific technology in depth. In the industrial branch those technologies include mechanical, electrical, industrial electronics, industrial chemistry and textile engineering.

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree (grado) in Spain. The route into the profession is a grado of 240 ECTS credits, normally four years. For the industrial branch, a ministerial order (Orden CIN/351/2009) fixes the minimum content: 60 credits of basic subjects, 60 credits common to the industrial branch, 48 credits of one specific technology and a 12-credit final project, which the student defends individually before a university panel.
  • Check that the degree qualifies. Not every engineering degree gives access to a regulated profession. According to the Consejo General de la Ingeniería Técnica Industrial (COGITI), only the bachelor's degrees that meet the requirements of that order confer the professional powers of the Ingeniero Técnico Industrial. The Universidad de La Laguna, for example, describes its Grado en Ingeniería Mecánica as an official degree of 240 ECTS credits and 4 years that qualifies for the profession.
  • Master's degree. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. A master's is a way to specialise or to move towards another engineering profession; it is not needed to work as an Ingeniero Técnico.
  • Other countries. Titles differ. In Chile, the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María lists programmes under three names: Técnico Universitario, Ingeniería de Ejecución and Ingeniería Civil. In the United States, engineering technologists and technicians are a different role: according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, those in the mechanical field help engineers design, develop, test and manufacture machines, and typically need an associate's degree.

Where to study technical engineering

SpainExchange lists 7 active schools for this subject: five in Spain, one in Chile and one in Latvia. The Spanish schools are the Universidad de Cantabria, the Universidad de La Laguna on Tenerife, the Universitat de València, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. The Universidad de Cantabria, for instance, offers bachelor's degrees in mechanical, electrical, chemical, and industrial electronics and automation engineering. Outside Spain the list has the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Valparaíso and Riga Technical University.

Degrees in Spain and Chile are taught mainly in Spanish. The Universidad de La Laguna asks new students for basic knowledge of physics, mathematics and technical drawing, and an interest in languages.

Careers

The professional powers of the Ingeniero Técnico Industrial are set by law (Ley 12/1986). COGITI describes them as full within the graduate's own specific technology and in the rest of the industrial field, with some limits. In practice graduates draft and sign projects, direct industrial works, design and maintain machines and installations, organise production, and carry out certifications, inspections and expert reports. Membership of the professional association (colegio profesional) is compulsory to practise, according to COGITI.

Graduates who move abroad should check how the title is recognised there. For comparison only: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics counted about 36,900 mechanical engineering technologists and technicians in 2025 and projects growth of 1 percent from 2025 to 2035.

Frequently asked questions

Is "Ingeniero Técnico" still a degree in Spain?

It is the name of the profession. Today the way into it is an official bachelor's degree (grado) of 240 ECTS credits that meets the legal requirements, for example Orden CIN/351/2009 for the industrial branch.

How long does it take?

Four years in Spain: the qualifying degrees have 240 ECTS credits, including a final project of 12 credits.

Do all engineering degrees let me practise as an Ingeniero Técnico?

No. COGITI stresses that only degrees meeting the official requirements confer the professional powers, so check with the university whether the degree qualifies for a regulated profession.

Do I need a master's degree?

Not for this profession. The qualifying bachelor's degree is enough to practise as an Ingeniero Técnico Industrial, once registered with the professional association.