Materials Science (area of specialisation in the Bachelor’s degree programme Mechanical Engineering)

Pre-study internship

Before starting your studies, you will complete an eight-week internship in a company. Here you will learn basic manual skills in metal processing and gain insights into the various production methods and work processes. This will give you a first “feeling” for industrial processes, which will help you to better understand the theoretical content of the degree programme.

Fundamentals

In the first semesters, we teach basic subjects from mathematics, natural sciences, engineering and information technology, for example linear algebra, digital tools, engineering mechanics and construction technology.

Interdisciplinary electives and project work

Interdisciplinary studies help you to think outside the box and to underpin your specialised knowledge with important additional qualifications for your professional life (e.g. by taking a specialised English course). The focus is on developing your soft skills by learning, for example, how to give presentations, how to work in a team or how to manage a project.

The project work is a group work in which you prepare a topic from a theoretical point of view and present it at the end of the semester. By working on a bigger task, you train your skills to develop and present independent concepts, to define clear goals and to work out interdisciplinary approaches to solutions.

Specialisation

Until the end of the third semester, the contents of the study programme are the same for all students. From the fourth semester onwards, you set individual focal points and decide on one of the following six specialisations:

• Energy and Process Engineering

• Automotive Engineering and Mobile Systems

• Aerospace Engineering

• Material Sciences

• Mechatronics

• Production and Systems Engineering

The modules you choose in these areas are individually tailored to your specialisation. In some modules, you will do laboratory work, in which you will also be able to apply the course content in practice.

If you do not want to choose a specific specialisation, you can also study “General Mechanical Engineering” and get to know the entire range of mechanical engineering subjects.

Internship

You will gain valuable professional experience during a ten-week engineering internship. In a company of your own choice, you will deepen your theoretical knowledge acquired during your studies in a practical setting and get to know state-of-the-art technologies and current challenges in business organisation. You will benefit from hands-on experience of everyday working life and will gain insight into a specific corporate culture, enabling you to develop targeted career prospects and establish your first professional contacts.

Bachelor's thesis

The Bachelor’s thesis is the final project of your studies and your first scientific paper. In addition to your written work, you will give a final presentation to an expert audience. Over the course of several months, you will work intensively on a topic of your own choice and show that you have learnt to deal with specialist literature, to research and analyse independently and that you can present the results of your work logically and in a scientific manner. You can also write your Bachelor's thesis in a company if there are related research cooperations at your supervising institute.

From nanoparticles to passenger aircraft

At the beginning of the fourth semester, you can choose from the following six areas of specialisation:

Energy and Process Engineering

You are an expert in demand in energy and process engineering—all the more so in times when resources are becoming scarce. Energy and process engineers develop sustainable production processes and carry out research into how new valuable materials can be obtained from renewable raw materials. You will learn the basics of heat and mass transfer and look at manufacturing processes for the smallest particles. The thermal management of buildings and vehicles is also the subject of your studies. Climate protection will be a topic for you, as will the most diverse types of energy conversion, generation and storage.

Automotive Engineering and Mobile Systems

As an expert in automotive engineering and mobile systems, you will study vehicles as a complex and integral system—from conception, design and simulation to operation. You will get to know the many individual components and gain knowledge about how they work together. You will acquire special knowledge in chassis technology, engine and drive technology as well as body design and construction. You will learn about the legal framework for active and passive vehicle safety as well as how to design vehicles to incorporate such systems. Assistance systems, electromobility, vehicle simulation and applied acoustics are also part of your fields of expertise.

Aerospace Engineering

In one of the world’s most important key industries, you will be involved in the development, construction and operation of all types of aircraft and spacecraft. In doing so, you will consider external circumstances such as the weather, weightlessness or vacuum as well as ecological aspects. In your later professional activities, you will be involved, for example, in the development of new components such as engines or wings as well as in research into and the use of new materials. You will plan systems and infrastructures for air traffic and find new ways for people to use the airspace.

Materials Science

In materials science, the properties of materials are optimised in order to create new materials that are used in technical products. Be it smartphones, electric cars, more powerful computers or improved treatment options in medicine—the development of new types of materials often plays a decisive role in fostering important innovations in technology and everyday life. This makes materials sciences a key discipline in solving issues relevant to society, such as mobility and energy, dealing with scarce resources or environmental and climate protection.

Mechatronics

The term mechatronics is made up of mechanics and electronics. The name already shows how interdisciplinary this field is: in mechatronics, the areas of mechanics, electrical engineering and information technology combine to form a new, holistic discipline. That is why innovative and complex solutions, which have become an indispensable part of our modern world, can be developed here. Today, almost all high-performance technical systems contain mechatronic components—whether in vehicles, in medical technology or in industrial production lines.

Production and Systems Engineering

How are machines manufactured? What happens during the life cycle of a production engineering plant? How can we optimise and monitor processes? These questions and their solutions are central components of the Production and Systems Engineering area of specialisation. As an engineer in this field, you will deal with large production lines and processes and ensure smooth, automated processes within companies.

Those who have gained experience abroad and speak a foreign language are particularly sought after by the economy. Today, large companies operate globally, research projects are carried out in international teams and specialised literature is written in English. It is therefore important that you take advantage of your studies to gain experience abroad and to professionalise your foreign language skills.

Within the framework of our international university partnerships, we offer you many opportunities to study abroad.

Student exchange programmes:

• Europe: more than 100 ERASMUS partner universities, e.g. in Sweden, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Greece

• America: partner universities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, USA and Canada

• Asia: partner universities in India, China, Japan and South Korea

In addition, you can complete an internship in a company abroad.

In the Master's degree programme, we offer additional opportunities to gain experience abroad. In our dual degree programmes, you can acquire a second university degree from a university abroad without extending your study time.

Studying abroad [in German only]

You may want to consider the Mechanical Engineering degree programme if you:

• enjoy technology and natural sciences

• have a good basic understanding of mathematics

• like to think and work in an abstract and analytical way

• enjoy finding solutions to complex issues

• like to combine different subject areas and

• want to work across disciplines

You can check how well the degree programme really suits you with the Fit4TU online self-assessment.

The engine of technical progress

Engineers are the engine of technical progress. They drive innovation and develop solutions for issues of global importance such as climate protection and energy transition, feeding the world’s population, mobility and security. This is why mechanical engineering is an industry that is exceptionally crisis-proof: the demand for well-trained specialists is high and currently far exceeds the number of graduates. In other words, you will find excellent conditions for a successful start to your career. You are particularly well-placed if you have already gained professional experience through internships or activities in companies during your studies and have established contacts with potential employers.

The career opportunities that open up to you as a mechanical engineer are extraordinarily broad. You will work in mechanical, vehicle and plant engineering, in aerospace engineering, in microsystems or process engineering. And in addition to the classic technical fields of work, mechanical engineers are of course also needed in consulting, buying, sales or as product managers.