The objective of this study is to compare levels of emotional intelligence (EI) in a group of engineering students, according to the expected achievement of competence. The participants were 313 university students (M = 20.20 years, SD = 2.41; 61% women) enrolled in the School of Mechatronics Engineering of a private university in Lima (Peru) that uses the Competency Based Education Model. The EI was measured with the Emotional Intelligence of the Wong Scale Law (WLEIS). Gender differences were found in EI, and thus, comparative analyzes were performed separately by gender. Among men, there were no differences between the groups in EI (lower level vs. upper level). In contrast, women of the lowest level of higher scores than women of the highest level group in: emotional evaluation of others, use of emotion and total IE score. We suggest incorporating the competence of EI within the URP educational model.