Program Overview

Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen Program Overview

The Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen (Industrial Engineering) program with a focus on Maschinenbau (Mechanical Engineering) has been offered in Aachen since the winter semester of 2007/2008. This program combines the acquisition of engineering and business administration knowledge. In Aachen, the focus is on the engineering components, which make up about two-thirds of the program. This is unique in Germany in the field of industrial engineering.

A general industrial engineer works at the interface between technology and business administration. Through the interdisciplinary study, industrial engineers are often employed in production, controlling, logistics, project management, or consulting.

Bachelor Program

The first four semesters consist exclusively of the basics of mechanical engineering and business administration. These are identical for every industrial engineer with a focus on mechanical engineering. The basic subjects in mechanical engineering include, for example, higher mathematics, mechanics, thermodynamics, machine design, and materials science. In the business administration sector, the basics of business management thinking and action are taught.

From the fifth semester onwards, specializations, i.e., professional fields, are chosen by each student. The program becomes more individualized from this point on.

Possible specializations include:

• Produktionstechnik (Production Technology)
• Energietechnik (Energy Technology)
• Verfahrenstechnik (Process Technology)
• Kunststofftechnik (Plastics Technology)
• Textiltechnik (Textile Technology)
• Verkehrstechnik (Transportation Technology)
• Produktentwicklung (Product Development)

The seventh semester is free of lectures. In this semester, the remaining compulsory internship (10 weeks) should be completed, and the bachelor's thesis should be written.

Master Program

The Master's program in Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen is the consecutive Master's program of the same Bachelor's program. It consists of both a business and an engineering part, as well as the Master's thesis. The standard period of study for the Master's program is 3 semesters.

A specialization in the engineering and business administration part must be chosen. The specializations in the engineering part build on the specializations of the Bachelor's program. In general, a change is possible, but it should be noted that some basic knowledge may be missing, which would then have to be made up for.

Possible business administration specializations include:

• Sustainability and Corporations
• Operations Research and Management
• Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Marketing
• Corporate Development and Strategy
• General Business & Economics

The Master's program is completed with the preparation of the Master's thesis, for which 22 weeks are scheduled. This can be written in the engineering, business administration, or interdisciplinary field.

Example Lectures

Some example lectures for the first semester include:

• Entscheidungslehre (Decision Theory)
• Physik (Physics)
• Buchführung und internes Rechnungswesen (Accounting and Internal Accounting) – Financial reports in a nutshell
• Buchführung und internes Rechnungswesen (Accounting and Internal Accounting) – Jahresabschluss und Finanzberichte im Überblick (Annual Financial Statements and Financial Reports Overview)
• Höhere Mathematik (Higher Mathematics) – Induktion (Induction)
• Höhere Mathematik (Higher Mathematics) – Komplexe Zahlen (Complex Numbers)
• Mechanik III (Mechanics III) – Die ebene Kreisbewegung (Plane Circular Motion)
• Mechanik III (Mechanics III) – Einführung in die Kinematik des Massenpunktes (Introduction to the Kinematics of the Mass Point)