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the students for more specific and advanced subjects.
In the 5th and 6th semesters, students choose five out
of 37 specialized Bachelor modules from a broad variety
of options. Specific recommendations for the different
Master’s programs are available. These modules as well
as the Bachelor’s thesis prepare students either to work
as an engineer or to continue their studies in one of the
ten specialized Master’s degree programs. Moreover stu-
dents do an internship in industry or a team project. The
curriculum of the Bachelor’s degree program is illustrated
in the figure below.
Master’s Degree Programs
The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers ten
Master’s degree programs which enable students to
deepen their knowledge of selected disciplines acquired
during the Bachelor’s degree program. Each of the two-
year programs has a total of 120 ECTS credits.
Admission
All applicants have to undergo an aptitude assessment
procedure consisting of two stages: In the first stage, the
applicants’ grades, knowledge of advanced mathemat-
ics, engineering mechanics, engineering materials and
machine elements (for some programs also thermodynam-
ics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer phenomena, automatic
control and/or information technology), and motivation are
evaluated. Applicants who are not admitted directly after
the first stage have to pass a written test, which is the
second stage of the aptitude assessment procedure.
Profile
During the first three semesters, students choose twelve
out of more than 160 Master modules, which are spe-
cialized courses consisting of at least three 45 minute
units per week. Additionally, students have to take two
(out of about 130) practical courses in which they work
individually or in small groups on practical tasks such as
programming or carrying out experiments. Furthermore,
students choose three supplementary courses and soft
skills workshops from a broad variety of options.
Opportunities to gain insight into research are offered
within the ‘semester project’ and the Master’s thesis,
which are supervised by professors and scientific assis-
tants. The curriculum of the Master’s degree program is
illustrated in the figure below.
Facts and Figures
Since winter semester (WS) 2010/11, the total number
of students has varied between 4300 and 4900. About
15% of the student body is female. As shown in the first
figure on page 73, the number of Bachelor’s and Master’s
degree students decreased in winter semester 2017/18 for
the first time since the old ‘Diplom’ degree program was
replaced by B.Sc. and M.Sc. programs in WS 2008/09.
The second figure illustrates the number of first semester
students starting the B.Sc. program and M.Sc. programs
at the Department of Mechanical Engineering during the
last eight years. The number of B.Sc. freshmen varies
between 500 and 900, the exception being 2011 when
two age groups of Bavarian high school pupils started
studying simultaneously. The number of first semester
students starting their Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical
Engineering has never been lower (521) than in the winter
semester 2017/18.
The last figure shows the number of graduates from each
of the degree programs after the standard duration of
study, which is six semesters for the B.Sc., four semesters
for the M.Sc., and ten semesters in the ‘Diplom’ degree
programs.
Curriculum of the Master’s degree programs at the TUM Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Semester
1
2
3
4
30 per semester
ECTS (total: 120)
MASTER OF SCIENCE
5
Master
Module I
5
Master
Module IV
5
Master
Module VIII
3
Scientific
Writing
5
Master
Module II
5
Master
Module V
5
Master
Module IX
27
Master’s
Thesis
5
Master
Module III
5
Master
Module VI
5
Master
Module X
4
Practical
Course I
5
Master
Module VII
5
Master
Module XI
11
Semester
Project
4
Practical
Course II
5
Master
Module XII
3
Supplem.
Course I
3
Supplem.
Course III
3
Supplem.
Course II
2
Soft
Skills I
Studying at the Department of Mechanical Engineering