Interdisciplinary Engineering (M.Sc.)

The networking of disciplines is a fundamental building block for creating new knowledge in science and research. Many applications would be inconceivable without close cooperation between different disciplines. The same is increasingly true in business and industry: Only by bringing together many different types of knowledge and ways of thinking and by exploiting synergy effects we can achieve a high level of innovative strength and ultimately a competitive advantage. Thinking outside the box is in demand!

The "Master of Science - Interdisciplinary Engineering" degree programme picks up on this development and trains experts who are exceptionally capable of integrating existing and new specialist knowledge in complex contexts, even across disciplines. Content from the fields of electrical engineering, mechanical and automotive engineering, technical building services, industrial engineering or medical engineering is combined and supplemented by interdisciplinary (team) projects and seminars that promote methodical and social competence as well as analytical skills. In addition, students will in future have the opportunity to obtain a double degree at Trier University of Applied Sciences and a partner university abroad.

Graduates thus acquire the necessary tools to become involved in innovative interface areas. The programme offers excellent career opportunities in business and research and entitles graduates to embark on doctoral studies.

English-language study programme

The ability to communicate interculturally is more in demand than ever in our globalised world. For this reason, we have given the degree programme an international focus and also offer it in English.

The requirement of German language skills at B1 level considerably shortens the integration process and gives international students an excellent start in their new environment. Further language courses in German at B2 level are possible in the further course of the degree programme. This increases the chances of finding an internship or a position for a thesis with a local employer. As a result, graduates of the programme have a much better chance of gaining a foothold in the local labour market and staying in the region in the long term.

From the summer semester 2025, there will only be a limited number of courses offered in English. Due to the German B1 and B2 courses offered, there is the possibility of further training so that you can easily follow the modules offered in German.

Additional information

Admission requirements

The Master's programme "Interdisciplinary Engineering" is open to applicants who prove a first professional university degree with an overall mark of usually at least 2.5. The subject orientation of the first university degree must contain essential contents of a degree programme in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, technical building services, industrial engineering or medical engineering.

Usually the core discipline is identical to the subject orientation of the first professional university degree.

Applicants with a first professional university degree with less than 210 ECTS (e.g. six-semester Bachelor's programme) who wish to enrol in a Master's degree programme with 90 ECTS have the option of taking additional credits at the latest by the time of registration of the Master's thesis in order to achieve the 300 ECTS required for a Master's degree. For this purpose, suitable Bachelor's and Master's modules ("bridge modules") are defined in a catalogue of additional credits. You can get an overview of these modules and your personal selection with the "Module-Choice-Tool".

Applicants for the degree programme Interdisciplinary Engineering with English as the language of instruction must also provide evidence of language skills in English and German (see "Evidence of language skills").

Evidence of language skills

The degree programme can be studied in German or English. Applicants for the degree programme Interdisciplinary Engineering with English as the language of instruction must provide evidence of language skills in German and English by at least one of the following qualifications for English language skills:

  • Abitur certificate (advanced course with at least 10 out of 15 points in the average of the last two school years, the Abitur grade also counts)
  • Abitur certificate (basic course with at least 12 out of 15 points in the average of the last two school years)
  • TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) (minimum 75 points internet based)
  • Cambridge C1 Advanced (at least 170 points) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)
  • “IELTS (International English Language Testing System) at least overall band score 6.0 points"

  • TELC (The European Language Certificates) at least C1 level

  • Acquisition of a university entrance qualification in English
  • Completion of a bachelor's degree programme in English
  • Recognition of proof of English language proficiency at the partner university in the case of a double-degree programme

Proof of language proficiency in German is provided by at least one of the following qualifications:

  • Goethe-Zertifikat B1
  • Zertifikat Deutsch / telc Deutsch B1
  • TestDaF TDN 3
  • UNIcert I DaF
  • Deutsches Sprachdiplom (DSD) of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs - First Level (DSD I) with B1 in all areas)
  • DSH B1
  • Completion of a Bachelor's degree programme in German
Application and enrollment

Please use uni-assist for your application:
https://www.hochschule-trier.de/en/main-campus/study/application-admission/application
The application period for the winter semester has started for persons with certificates of a non-German school or university degree. These persons must send their application to the service institution uni-assist in Berlin for the verification of the university entrance qualification. The processing time at uni-assist is approximately 3 or 4 weeks. A direct application to Trier University of Applied Sciences via the online portal is not possible.
To check your university entrance qualification yourself, please refer to the portal of the KMK. You can reach this page under the following link:
https://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html  

After the positive evaluation of your application by UNI-Assist, you will receive your access to the online portal of the university by email from our study service and will be informed about further steps.
One step in this process is to compose the modules you want to study. The rules for this are described in the section "Structure of program".
The available modules for the Master's program can be found in the PDF documents at the end of the webpage. If you are informed in the email from Studienservice that your Bachelor's degree was only recognized with 30 ECTS, you must compile an additional 30 ECTS from the catalog of bridge modules or Master's modules.
To select the modules, please use the following tool https://www.hochschule-trier.de/hauptcampus/technik/studium/master-sg-technik/interdisziplinaere-ingenieurwissenschaften-msc/module-choice-tool  . Please note the prerequisite knowledge for each module. The information about this can be found in the module manuals.
You can still adjust the module selection during your studies.

Structure of the programme

The master's degree programme "Interdisciplinary Engineering" combines competencies from the fields of electrical engineering, mechanical and automotive engineering as well as technical building services, industrial engineering or medical engineering. The standard period of study is three semesters (90 ECTS).

Students who have completed a six-semester bachelor's degree programme can acquire an additional 30 ECTS within the framework of an catalogue of additional modules at the latest by the time of registration of the Master's thesis in order to achieve the 300 ECTS required for a master's degree. This may extend the duration of study.

As part of the admission process, the core discipline applicable to the degree programme is determined for each student. As a rule, it is identical to the subject area of the first university degree. In addition, students can choose a focus deviating from the core discipline during the course of study if they complete at least 20 ECTS of the teaching modules as well as the final thesis in a specific subject area.

The programme is divided into teaching modules (45 ECTS) and independent work (45 ECTS). Students must earn at least 15 ECTS in master's modules from a discipline that differs from the bachelor's programme (complementary discipline). Students have the opportunity to combine courses from different disciplines in order to gain a broad base in an application field: For the application field "electromobility", for example, this could mean choosing modules from electrical engineering (theory of drive technology, control engineering, learning systems), mechanical engineering (energy-efficient vehicles, vehicle technology, vehicle safety), and building, supply and energy engineering (regenerative energy systems, smart grids, grid integration of renewable energies) in order to cover all aspects of electromobility.

Not only the division of the teaching modules, but also the organisational and content-related design of the modules in independent work emphasizes the interdisciplinary character of the study programme. Thus, an interdisciplinary (team) project and an interdisciplinary seminar are scheduled in the second semester. In this way, students can sharpen their individual interdisciplinary profile.

The degree is completed with the Master's thesis (30 ECTS), in which students demonstrate that they are able to deal scientifically with problems and present results. The academic degree "Master of Science" (M.Sc.) provides access to doctoral studies and qualifies for activities in research and development.

Focus

Students have the option to focus on a complementary subject area in addition to the core discipline defined during the admission process. To do so, they must complete at least 20 ECTS of the course modules as well as part of the final thesis in a subject area that differs from their core discipline. The examination board decides on the admission of the topic for a focus.

The teaching modules are composed of existing teaching modules from the accredited degree programmes in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, technical building services, industrial engineering or medical engineering. This results in a wide range of engineering modules from different core disciplines. A detailed description of the content of all modules offered can be found in the module manuals, which is available in the download area of this page.

Career prospects

In many companies, interdisciplinarity is an important basis for developing complex systems. Both technical and interdisciplinary competencies are required, as well as an understanding of other disciplines and their methodology. In addition, the ability to communicate interculturally is becoming more and more important as project teams are often international. Thus, working in or leading interdisciplinary and international project teams is increasingly becoming a central task in many industries.

The degree programme takes this increasing demand into account: Graduates are able to manage these project teams and become involved in innovative interface areas. This offers excellent career opportunities, especially in industry and in research and development.

The fields of application for graduates are diverse, as they have in-depth knowledge in their core discipline as well as additional knowledge from other fields. Already during their studies, they have the opportunity to determine their own specific fields of application through their specific combination of courses. Thus, professional activities in a wide variety of technical fields are possible:

  • e.g. system development in the automotive industry or in medical technology
  • e.g. project management in plant engineering
  • e.g. development of software controlled electronic components

In general, the unemployment rate among engineers is lower than in almost any other occupational group. The demand for qualified specialists remains high; areas such as robotics, renewable energies or microelectronics are booming. In medicine, the automotive industry, IT or biotechnology, there are almost endless fields of activity for engineers.

The "Master of Science" degree also opens up access to a doctorate, which is also possible at Trier University of Applied Sciences in a cooperative procedure.

FAQ

to the FAQ

Registration required!
to the FAQ for students already enrolled on the Interdisciplinary Engineering - M.Sc. programme

You can probably apply for the 2025 summer-semester in the uni assist application portal from the beginning of November 2024.

At a glance

Goal:
Scientific training in the field of interdisciplinary engineering sciences with a strong focus on up-to-date international research topics

Degree:
Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Start of study:
Summer or winter semester

Standard period of study:
3 semesters (90 ECTS)
admission possible with a 6- or 7-semester first degree (see admission requirements)

Language Requirements:

  • English skills up to a B2 level
  • German skills up to a B1 level

 

All language skills must be proven by recognised certificates in accordance with the Uni-Assist guidelines

Study location:
Main Campus Trier

Internationality:
Semester abroad (optional)

Tuition fee:
None, but semester fee (including semester ticket)

Apply now

Note for new students

Please look for accommodation before you come to study at the University of Applied Sciences Trier, so that you have a place to live from day one.

The University cannot arrange accommodation and is not responsible for student accommodation.

The International Office at Trier University of Applied Sciences can provide information on how to find accommodation. Please refer to the information on their website.

Events and News

You can obtain further information on events etc. via the Stud-IP portal.

The handling of Stud-IP is explained in the videos on the page "Studienstart"

The document archive of the Department of Engineering can be found here .

 

Contact & advice

central adress:
studium-technik(at)hochschule-trier.de
Tel: +49 651 8103 300

This contact cannot process any application documents, the application is handled centrally by Uni-Assist.

course director:

Prof. Dr. Elmar Seidenberg
Professor FB Technik - FR Elektrotechnik

Location

Schneidershof | Building B | Room 307

Module-Choice-Tool

Module-Choice-Tool

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