Biomedical Engineering RWTH Aachen University

Biomedical Engineering is a dynamic multidisciplinary scientific field that combines Medicine and Engineering with Natural Sciences like Biology, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

At RWTH Aachen University, this Master's programme is the only programme that ends with an independent degree in Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (BME).

The major goal of this research-based Master’s programme is to apply engineering principles and design concepts to medicine to solve human health problems through early detection, diagnosis, therapy as well as prevention of diseases.

The curriculum is designed to provide not only a general background in Biomedical Engineering but also a specific Aachen profile with regard to the current research in the Biomedical Engineering department.

Focal points of this profile are:

• Medical Imaging Techniques, including the modules Medical Imaging, Image Guided Therapy and Theranostics and Image Processing and Handling
• Tissue Engineering, including the module Cell Culture and Tissue Engineering
• Materials Science, including the modules Materials Science and Processing, Advanced Biomaterials – Hard Tissue Implants and Prostheses & 3D Bioprinting
• Artificial Organs, including the module on Artificial Organs with focus on Heart, Kidney, Lung and Liver

An absolutely unique selling point of the Master's programme is the parallel teaching of all four focus areas which offers students a broad spectrum of engineering and medical technology – thereby improving their technical skills.

Our international academic environment enables students to get hands-on international, intercultural academic work experience, giving them the opportunity to further develop their soft skills. All these skills enable the graduates to work in medical technology research or development and provides the foundation for a later PhD. The graduates will have a broad in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge of Natural Sciences, Medicine and Engineering. Typical research areas include physiology of molecular and cellular systems, physiology of organ systems, medical imaging techniques, robotics and artificial organs, tissue engineering and materials science.

Graduates are not only able to analyse and solve technical and scientific problems, but also to critically question the conception thereof and to handle and document complex problems in research and development independently. They are able to report the results appropriately using current technical language and terminology.

The Master's programme is interdisciplinary and involves the following departments: Medicine, Computer and Natural Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering and Information Technology.

The BME programme is offered in a group size of approximately 50 students and thus enables individual support of the student as well as optimal teaching transfer and development of the technical content.

The interdisciplinary programme has a modular design and is divided into mandatory, elective mandatory and optional modules. This wide range of modules offered by the four participating departments ensures that the individual interests and creativity of each student are promoted in the best possible way.

The programme contains three semesters of lectures, seminars, exercises and practical modules. After each semester students are assessed with written or oral exams.

Another part of the programme is the full-time six to eight-week internship in the second semester. This internship is an opportunity to put acquired knowledge into practice and gather experience in the professional surrounding of Biomedical Engineering either in an institute or a company. Another important goal of the internship is to practice various skills in a given time (planning and preparation, data collection, analysis, and writing). In the internship, either a concrete scientific problem is dealt with or practical methodological skills are trained and deepened.

The Master's thesis is a predefined scientific project to be completed in a fixed period of four to six months. Knowledge and experience gained in previous study modules are to be applied in the Master's thesis. It can be done in a company or in an institute. It is an experimental work and it is concluded by an oral presentation and defence of the results. The Master's thesis demonstrates that the student is able to independently work on a concrete scientific problem under supervision within a given period using scientific methods in the field of Biomedical Engineering.

The curriculum and course content is structured in accordance with the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). After successful completion of the study programme 120 ECTS credits will be required. The distribution is as followed:

• General modules: 65 credits
• Elective mandatory modules: 15 credits
• Internship: 10 credits
• Master's thesis: 30 credits

The Master's programme utilises the following basic forms of theoretical teaching:

• lectures: a serial presentation of material including specific methodologies
• seminars: course in which the students work on specific topics under scientific guidance

Furthermore, it includes the following practical teaching forms to achieve the defined goals:

• practical work directly related to lectures
• exercises directly related to lectures
• internship
• Master's thesis

The curriculum is offered in the pdf file below.

The programme offers close cooperation with clinics, research institutes and industry, for example, the Helmholtz Institute or DWI Leibniz Institute or the companies Abiomed and Philips.

Students are required to complete an internship with a duration of six to eight weeks as an integrated and mandatory part of their curriculum after the second semester in the semester free time.

It can be done in an institute or company either here or abroad.

The internship gives students the opportunity to gain practical experience and insights into current research projects. This is often the first step towards the student's future professional career.

Entrance requirement for this study programme is an undergraduate degree from a national or international university – in Medicine, a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Engineering or similar. Undergraduate degrees are only acceptable from universities that are accredited by the state in which the university is located or through officially recognised procedures.

The educational requirements of the undergraduate degrees should include knowledge (90 credit points (CP) of the European Credit Transfer System) in the fields of Engineering, Mathematics / Natural Sciences with at least the following CP in these four fields:

Mathematics (20 CP): advanced mathematics; linear algebra (vector analysis and tensor analysis), analysis (differential calculus and integral calculus), numeric methods

Chemistry (20 CP): advanced chemistry; anorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physical chemistry

Biology (20 CP): advanced biology; human cell biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, human physiology, human anatomy

Physics and Engineering Technology (30 CP): advanced physics; mechanics, electrotechnics, thermodynamics, nuclear physics, solid state physics, static and dynamic

In each field, students need at least 50% of the mentioned credits. If one or more subjects have less than 50% of the needed credits, the application will be rejected.

A student can have up to a maximum of 20 missing credits in total and still will be accepted. This means that if 20 credits are missing, a total of four additional modules must be taken during the Master's degree. This can extend the duration of the programme up to one or two semesters. To fulfil the above-mentioned requirements, we advise students to take the missing modules at their home university in time.

As a non-EU applicant, you have to successfully pass the Graduate Record Examination Test (GRE). In the quantitative part you need at least 160 points. Your official GRE report of scores must be received by the RWTH directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The code number for RWTH Aachen is 8504. Please upload the test result directly in RWTH online by 1 March. Your test must not be older than two years at the time of the application deadline.

For further information or if you have any questions about the application, please contact us.

Per semester approximately 360 EUR student services contribution

The fee includes a semester ticket covering regional public transport in all of Germany.

The cost of living and studying, including food, accommodation, personal and social expenses, and study-related costs, is estimated to be 1,500 EUR per month.

Please note that single individuals have to give proof of a minimum income of 861 EUR per month at the immigration office in Aachen in order to be eligible for an extension of the residence permit (as of July 2022).

At RWTH Aachen University, international students have very limited work opportunities while studying. Therefore, it is not possible to finance the entire studies through working alone.

There are teaching and research assistant positions available at the involved institutes. These are, however, only awarded to students who have already started their academic studies in a programme. Students working as a teaching or research assistant may work a maximum of 19 hours a week but will usually not earn enough to cover all of their living expenses. By law, a student from outside the EU is permitted to work either 120 full days or 240 half days per calendar year. We do caution students to be careful about taking on outside work commitments, as completing a Master's degree within the designated two years will be difficult if students spend too much time away from their studies.

In Germany, universities do not offer full-coverage scholarships. Prospective and current RWTH students, however, may apply for a scholarship from the Education Fund, which is worth 300 EUR per month.

Additionally, there are a number of trusts and foundations which offer scholarships. A full list of programmes and foundations can be found in the RWTH scholarships database: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/ehg/lidx/1.

Departmental Academic Adviser
Mentoring programme
RWTH Career Centre
Bonding company contact fair in Aachen

RWTH Aachen University has a limited number of dorm rooms and studio apartments. However, there are usually waiting lists for these rooms, and students will probably need to find private accommodation first. There are a number of options for finding private accommodation in and around Aachen or just over the border to the Netherlands or Belgium.

The International Office can provide students with information beforehand or upon arrival.

The average rent per month for a flat starts from 400 to 600 EUR.

Please note that there is only a very limited number of family apartments in the university dorms, which is why students who bring their spouses or families with them will most likely need to find private accommodation.

Rooms in university dorms cost between 200 and 450 EUR, depending on room size. For short-term accommodation, there are many hotels and a youth hostel.

RWTH Aachen University also offers a housing guide for international degree and non-degree students:
Accommodation in Aachen – RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY.

With 260 institutes in nine faculties RWTH Aachen is one of Europe's leading institutions for science and research. Currently more than 47,000 students are enrolled in 148 academic programmes. More than 14,000 of them are international students from 138 countries.

RWTH Aachen University is one of the eleven excellent universities in Germany. Visible evidence of this is the RWTH Aachen Campus, which is being developed in close cooperation with industry to form one of the largest research parks in Europe. Some research institutes, clinics and companies involved in this BME Master's programme are part of this new campus area.

National rankings and international assessments attest to RWTH graduates' strong ability to handle complex tasks, to solve problems constructively in teamwork and to take on leadership roles. Numerous board members of German corporations have studied at RWTH Aachen University.

A large part of this Master's programme takes place on the facilities of UKA (see image above), which is the university hospital of RWTH Aachen University.

It is one of the largest hospital buildings in Europe, located in the west of Aachen, in the immediate vicinity of the Netherlands and Belgium. Around 7,000 employees in 36 specialist clinics and 25 institutes (six of which have patient care responsibilities) provide care for a total of around 50,000 inpatients and 200,000 outpatients.

The architecturally and organisationally unique bundling of medical care, research and teaching under one roof enables intensive interdisciplinary exchange and close clinical and scientific networking.

Aachen is the westernmost city of Germany in the border triangle to Belgium and the Netherlands. Its population is 250,000, and about 15% of them are students. Aachen's historic centre around the distinctive cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site) is characterised by a student lifestyle. Nearby is the hilly Eifel landscape with its river, lakes and forests offers a picturesque countryside for outdoor activities. The national park called "High Veen" on the Belgian border also delights with its unique flora and fauna.

Aachen also benefits from its central location in the heart of Europe. Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London and Brussels are not far away.