Resilient Civil Engineering (RCE) RWTH Aachen University

Experience a unique fusion of civil engineering and architecture and become an expert in resilient infrastructures, sustainability in construction and digital planning!

The highly practice-oriented MSc Resilient Civil Engineering (RCE) explicitly takes up the concept of resilience and sustainability for infrastructures and complex building systems and integrates this basic idea holistically into design, construction and planning. The combination of study topics from the fields of civil engineering and architecture along with lectures in structural mechanics enables you to formulate comprehensive concepts for a building or infrastructure project ensuring its resilience and improving functionality. The exclusive fusion of key disciplines provides the qualification and specialisation needed to exercise interdisciplinary approaches, methods and procedures in structural engineering and thus addressing the challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s built environment.

As an MSc RCE student, you will learn to:

• design, plan and construct resilient and sustainable infrastructures and complex building structures
• understand planning under the aspect of defined sustainability goals, as a cooperative process
• use building information management (BIM), simulation, automation and cost calculation for a construction project
• develop solutions for building sustainability performance optimisation using cutting-edge technologies
• implement structural control and health monitoring systems for important civil engineering structures

The MSc RCE consists of:

• compulsory courses
• elective projects
• language courses
• the Master's thesis, which can be written internally with an institute or externally with a company

Get a detailed overview of the programme structure on our MSc RCE website.

• Bachelor of Engineering in civil engineering or Bachelor of Science in civil engineering
• Relevant work experience of six months by the time of application
• Fundamental knowledge in engineering and civil engineering
• APS certificate for students from India, China, and Vietnam

Please see our website for detailed information on the admission requirements for the MSc RCE.

The RWTH Aachen University’s semester fee of approx. 300 EUR is a student body and social contribution fee that every student must pay each semester in order to stay enrolled as an active student. It includes, among other benefits, a "semester ticket" covering public transport in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany as well as the region of South Limburg in the Netherlands.

The average cost of living and studying, including food, accommodation, personal and social expenses, and study-related costs, amounts to 900 to 1,000 EUR per month.

Students enrolled at RWTH Aachen University have the opportunity to find a job on campus and work for up to 19 hours per week. This also allows students to become more familiar with the university institutes and take part in projects related to their field of study. The maximum work limit for off-campus work is 120 full days / 240 half days per year for non-EU students.

Women in Engineering Scholarship: This scholarship was created to support qualified female engineering students. The scholarship grants a reduction of up to 25% of the tuition fees.

High Potential Student Grant: This scholarship was created to support highly qualified students. The scholarship grants a reduction of up to 25% of the tuition fees.

Global Talent Scholarship: This scholarship was created to support promising students from selected countries. The scholarship grants a reduction of 35% of the tuition fees.

Outstanding Performance Award: This scholarship honours students who have successfully completed our German Engineering College. Their remarkable performance will be rewarded with a reduction of up to 50% of the tuition fees.

Our Career Service is an integral part of our student success management. It is designed to empower you to proactively drive your career forward from the first day of your studies. You will have seamless access to a valuable and comprehensive career programme matching your studies. Experience extensive career services and mutually beneficial connections to employers, research facilities and institutes at RWTH Aachen University throughout the academic year. As alumni of RWTH Aachen University, we will support you in achieving your career goals and lifelong success by providing innovative further education programmes and networking events.

Benefit from:

• career programme
• advice and coaching
• professional collaborations and partnerships
• career platform​

Aachen is a vibrant university city with several hundred new students arriving each semester. The housing market is quite tough as a result, especially during the months of March/April and September/October. Finding suitable and affordable accommodation can be time consuming and challenging.

Therefore, we (RWTH International Academy) offer our own accommodation in two apartment buildings in the city centre to students of our Master’s degree programmes. Benefit from exclusive prices and in-house services, whether you only need short-term accommodation before moving into your own apartment or whether you are looking for a new home for the duration of your studies. Visit our housing website for more information.

With 260 institutes, nine faculties and three Clusters of Excellence, RWTH Aachen University is one of Europe's leading institutions for science and research. Currently, more than 47,000 students are enrolled in 170 courses of study. Of these students, more than 13,000 are international students. RWTH Aachen is well-known for state-of-the-art education that tackles some of the world’s most pressing global challenges. Our graduates are highly sought after by businesses and industry as trainees and for executive positions.

As the official academy for education of RWTH Aachen University, RWTH International Academy is tasked with promoting and developing the integration of professional and academic education. Our goal is to make knowledge accessible to international participants through application-oriented educational formats and programmes, thus making a lasting contribution to lifelong learning.

More about RWTH International Academy

The student city of Aachen is a vibrant and historic place located at the border triangle of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne. After the departure of the Romans from this region, Charlemagne finally managed to forge the lion’s share of Europe into something that resembled an administrative unity, with Aachen as the beating heart of the empire. The "Rathaus" (city hall) and "Dom" (cathedral) bear witness to this earliest Carolingian building history. During your time in Aachen, you will have the opportunity to discover the city, its history and its most important sights. Moreover, you will experience student life at one of Europe's leading technical universities and become part of the international student community. There is no better place to encounter European culture while challenging yourself in our programmes.