Program Overview

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Introduction to the Program

The Master's program in Sustainable Materials Technology at RWTH Aachen University focuses on the engineering aspects and sustainable application of materials technology. The program is designed to be very application-oriented, offering accompanying practical courses and lectures from industry lecturers, as well as the opportunity for industry and research internships and stays abroad.

Program Structure

The program structure consists of the areas of interdisciplinarity, sustainability, mobility, and the final thesis, as well as one of 11 possible specializations.

Sustainability Area

In the sustainability area, students choose two courses from a catalog of courses with a focus on sustainability in materials technology. This can include topics such as:

• Green Steel Solutions
• Advanced Sustainable Materials
• Materials for Sustainable Energy Technology
• Challenges of High Recycling Rates
• Hydrometallurgical Extraction of Residual and Raw Materials

The content focus is on the connection between materials technology and the three dimensions of sustainability - ecology, economy, and social aspects.

Interdisciplinary Area

Modern engineers need to be all-rounders, and their job profile is no longer limited to their field of study. They must be able to think entrepreneurially and develop efficient solution strategies for complex, interdisciplinary problem areas. In the interdisciplinary area of the program, students deal with topics from other areas, such as:

• Languages
• Business Administration
• Social Sciences
• Natural Sciences, Technology, and Engineering outside of Materials Technology, such as programming

The number of interdisciplinary courses that can be chosen depends on the credit points.

Mobility Window

In the mobility window, students have a complete semester at their disposal for services outside of RWTH. This can be a stay abroad at one of the numerous partner universities within the framework of ERASMUS+ and RWTH worldwide. Alternatively, industry or research internships with a duration of up to 16 weeks are possible.

Those who prefer to stay at RWTH can choose a research project of up to 8 weeks at one of the institutes of the Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology, as well as additional modules with thematic reference to materials technology.

Specialization Area

Students choose one of 11 specializations. Each specialization consists of two main specialization courses and a secondary specialization area in which two courses are chosen from a catalog of courses with thematic reference to the main specialization.

The possible specializations with their respective main specialization courses are:

• Materials Physics
  • Materials Physics and Design I (Winter Semester)
  • Advanced Materials Physics and Design II (Summer Semester)
• Formative Shaping
  • Fundamentals and Solution Methods of Forming Technology (Winter Semester)
  • Process Chains of Forming Technology (Summer Semester)
• Materials Technology of Metals
  • Sustainable Materials Design of Metals (Winter Semester)
  • Technology and Testing of Metallic Materials (Summer Semester)
• Foundry Technology
  • Process Technology of Casting Processes (Winter Semester)
  • Technology of Casting Materials (Summer Semester)
• Glass and Ceramic Composite Materials
  • Materials Technology Glass (Winter Semester)
  • Glass Ceramics and Partially Crystalline Composites – Material Development & Optimization, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics (Summer Semester)
• High-Temperature Technology
  • Industrial Furnace Construction (Winter Semester)
  • Calculation and Design of Industrial Furnaces (Summer Semester)
• Ceramics and Refractory Materials
  • Modern Ceramic Technologies (Winter Semester)
  • Refractory Materials and Designs (Summer Semester)
• Metallurgy, Iron, and Steel
  • Advanced Iron and Steel Metallurgy (Winter Semester)
  • Green Steel Solutions (Summer Semester)
• Metallurgical Process Technology and Metal Recycling
  • Thermal Extraction Processes of Non-Ferrous Metals (Winter Semester)
  • Thermal Refining Processes of Non-Ferrous Metals (Summer Semester)
• Corrosion and Corrosion Protection
  • Corrosion and Corrosion Protection (Winter Semester)
  • Corrosion-Resistant Design in Materials Technology (Summer Semester)
• Structural Integrity
  • Fundamentals of Fracture Mechanics (Winter Semester)
  • Fundamentals of Damage Mechanics and Material Modeling (Summer Semester)

Final Thesis

The last semester in all specializations consists of the master's thesis. This can be prepared at one of the institutes of the Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology or externally at institutes of RWTH Aachen outside of the department, other research institutions, such as the Research Center Jülich, or in industry. The master's thesis concludes with a colloquium at one of the institutes of the Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology.

International Programs

Through the ERASMUS+ program, students are given the opportunity to study at a foreign university in order to be best qualified for their later professional activity. Not only in Germany, but also in other countries, the topics of raw materials, energy, and recycling are of great importance. The Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology maintains good relationships with various European universities.

Students of the Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology also have the opportunity to participate in exchange programs with one of the international partner universities, such as Kumamoto University (Japan), the German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology (Mongolia), or the University of Science and Technology Beijing (China).

These stays abroad are partially supported by RWTH-specific funding aids. All cooperation programs of RWTH are presented on the websites for exchange studies: Overview of all international cooperation programs of RWTH.

Internships

In addition to accompanying practical courses, which can be found in almost all specializations, there is the opportunity to complete a company or research internship of up to 16 weeks during the course of study.

Excursions

Many modules of the specializations are held in cooperation with industrial partners, and there are lectures by guest lecturers from industry. Often, excursions to the corresponding industrial sites are also offered. This can include, for example:

• Saint Gobain Glass Works, Herzogenrath
• ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Duisburg
• Salzgitter AG, Salzgitter
• Alu-Norf, Neuss Furthermore, the sponsoring associations of the institutes of the Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology offer their own excursions, which can be registered for. An example of this would be the autumn excursions or Pentecost excursions of the AGIFA (Aachener Gießerei Familie) e.V. While the autumn excursion always visits a foundry in Germany, the Pentecost excursion enables international exchange, such as in 2025 at the Aluminum Die-Casting & Museum at Yamaha in Japan.

Requirements

The requirement for admission to the program is a first university degree. The required academic background is formulated in §3 of the examination regulations. The examination committee determines whether the admission requirements are met.

Career Prospects

The career prospects for engineers in the field of materials technology at RWTH Aachen are excellent. The material-based industries in Germany - such as the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, the chemical industry, energy technology, and metal production and processing - are already looking for qualified young professionals. Materials research, production, and recycling are innovation fields that are fundamentally important for new developments.

In particular, with increasing environmental requirements and raw material and resource scarcity, aspects of materials development and recycling are gaining increasing importance. Germany is considered one of the leading locations for materials research and development worldwide.

In addition to the classic professional fields in the material-producing and processing industries, in research institutions and development departments, as well as in authorities, the engineers of this program have a wide range of fields of activity open to them due to their broad basic knowledge. They are in high demand, for example, in the areas of process and plant technology, process control technology, quality assurance, environmental protection, sales and customer management, production, damage analysis, medical technology, management consulting, service in the field of materials and acceptance testing, technical journalism, and patent law.

Module Handbook and Examination Regulations

The module handbook presents all modules of the program and thus provides a comprehensive insight into its contents.

Examination regulations, on the other hand, regulate the study objectives, study requirements, study process, and examinations in a legally binding manner.

Regulations that generally apply to all Bachelor's and Master's programs can be found in the General Examination Regulations of RWTH. These regulations are taken up and formulated in more detail for each individual program in a subject-specific examination regulation and applied to the specific subject content.

If there are two examination regulations for a program during a transition period, the current version automatically applies to first-year students.

Module Handbook
Subject-Specific Examination Regulations
General Examination Regulations of RWTH

Faculty

The Master's program in Sustainable Materials Technology is offered by the Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology in the Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering.

Study Advice

• Advice and offers for school students, students, and prospective students
• Study advice for students
• Subject-specific study advice
• Student representation (student council)
• Overview: Advice and help at RWTH

Formalities

• Legally binding information on admission to the first semester (pdf: 832kb)
• Legally binding information on admission to higher semesters (pdf: 268kb)

Information Before Starting Studies

• Pre-courses
• Introductory events

International Prospective Students

• International prospective students

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