Automotive Engineering (MSc) RWTH Aachen University

The Master's programme in “Automotive Engineering (MSc)" at RWTH Aachen University is the only English-taught programme of many public Master's programmes in mechanical engineering; the others are given in German. They are three-semester programmes that follow a seven-semester mechanical engineering Bachelor's programme. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering is among the most acclaimed in the world and one of the largest in Europe. Automotive Engineering is an essential part of the institutes and research entities.

Education and research in this field have a long tradition in Aachen, with the Institute for Automotive Engineering celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2027. More details about the fascinating and extensive facilities, research activities and industrial projects at our institute are waiting for you to explore on our website at www.ika.rwth-aachen.de.

The Master's programme in “Automotive Engineering (MSc)" was originally introduced in 2000, and it attracts a vast number of students each year. We are happy to say that they are from all corners of the world, with a multitude of qualifications and backgrounds.

In this programme, you will be taught the technological basics and in-depth knowledge of the conception and the development of passenger cars and commercial vehicles as well as the conception and development of motorcycles and off-highway vehicles (e.g. agricultural vehicles). This comprises technical vehicle design with regard to market, legislative, and manufacturing requirements. Course modules cover all major research and development domains such as chassis, body, drivetrain, safety, driver assistance systems, thermal management, electronics, connected and automated driving and others. An important focus is on autonomous driving. Graduates will be proficient in relevant technological areas like vehicle dynamics, energy efficiency, acoustics, mechatronics, structural fatigue, and durability.

The programme provides in-depth knowledge of industrial design approaches and research topics with regard to real-world vehicle requirements, market developments, and legislative constraints.

The Master's thesis is usually embedded in a real project on state-of-the-art topics with industrial partners or different partners in publicly-funded projects (e.g. EU funding).

After graduation, you will hold a highly regarded Master's degree with a multitude of possible career opportunities. You may work in research, industry, consultancies or other sectors. You could also continue towards a German Dr-Ing degree or continue in PhD degree programmes around the world. In any case, our graduates are very sought-after by many employers in Germany and beyond.

The programme duration is three semesters and consists of two semesters of compulsory and elective courses. A 22-week thesis concludes the programme in the third semester. The course language is English, and modules usually comprise lectures and corresponding exercises as well as a written or oral examination. Some modules are laboratory courses with practical hands-on experience.

The final grade is the credit-weighted average of all prior modules, excluding enrolment conditions.

As of 2026, the programme features the following modules (most have 5 or 6 CP):

Compulsory subjects (38 CP)

• Alternative Vehicle Propulsion Systems
• Automotive Engineering III – Active Vehicle Safety and Driver Assistance Systems
• Battery Storage Systems
• Internal Combustion Engines – Design and Mechanics
• Machine Dynamics of Rigid Systems
• Processes and Principles of Lightweight Design
• Structural Design of Vehicles

Elective subjects (22 CP)

• Advanced Finite Element Methods for Engineers
• Applications of Laser Technology
• Automated and Connected Driving Challenges - Research Project
• Automated Driving
• Automotive Engineering Practical Course
• Automotive System Evaluation
• Bots and Vehicles in Agriculture
• Digitalisation in Rail Vehicle Technology
• Environmental Sustainability in Transport Engineering
• Fatigue Design of Lightweight Structures
• Fundamentals of Machine Learning
• Gear and Transmission Technology
• Internal Combustion Engines: Thermodynamics and Emissions
• Linear Control Systems
• Mobility Research and Transportation Modelling
• Molecular Mechanics and Multiscale Modelling of Materials
• Porous Media Mechanics
• Powertrain Calibration: Propulsion Systems
• Vehicle Acoustics
• More and individual modules are available on request if you prefer to personalise your studies.

Master's thesis (30 CP)

• A scientific project of 22 weeks (full-time), usually within the scope of a real-world project with industry or other R&D partners
• Under certain conditions, the thesis can take place in industry on site at the industrial partner.

You can also join excursions and technical visits that take place each year in May/June. Some elective courses are held by lecturers from industry and usually also feature dedicated visits to automotive companies.

Students often have enrolment condition modules (additional modules in the study plan), to be taken while already studying in the Master's programme. They have to be completed before registration for the Master's thesis.

In addition to the academic module requirements, an industrial internship of 16 weeks is required before starting in the Master's programme. Have you not done one yet? No problem! The internship approval does not happen upon application, allowing you to do it after enrolment until registration of the Master's thesis. If you have already completed an internship or are qualified technician/mechanic/etc. in a relevant field, you can submit corresponding proof to the Internship Office for approval.

Most students will have permission to pursue internship positions in industry in Germany using their student visa, provided the internship content is in line with the internship guidelines.

The internship guidelines can be found on the website of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (http://www.maschinenbau.rwth-aachen.de). If you have questions regarding the contents of required internships, please contact the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Internship Office: praktikantenamt@fb4.rwth-aachen.de.

You are on a good path to apply successfully if you study in a Bachelor's programme in mechanical or automotive engineering and you will have received your degree by the time of enrolment in our programme. We will be looking for the following topics in engineering:

Required Mechanical Engineering Basics: Mechanics (18 CP), Machine Design & CAD (13 CP), Thermodynamics (7 CP), Heat and Mass Transfer (6 CP), Material Science (8 CP), Control Engineering (6 CP), Fluid Mechanics (6 CP), Mathematics (17 CP)

Required Automotive Engineering Basics: Automotive Engineering – Longitudinal Dynamics (6 CP), Automotive Engineering – Vertical and Lateral Dynamics (6 CP), Mobile Propulsion Fundamentals (4 CP), Mechatronic Systems in Automotive Engineering (6 CP)

Do not give up your plan to apply at our programme if you feel that you are lacking some expertise. To a certain degree, gaps will lead to enrolment conditions, i.e. modules will be added to your studies in Aachen, extending the time to study by up to one semester. If additional modules exceed 30 CP, we unfortunately will reject your application.

There is no minimum GPA requirement. We will not compare your GPA to those of other applicants, i.e. we do not compile a ranking of applicants. Just be prepared for somewhat of a challenge with our demanding programme.

Non-EU and non-EEA citizen are required to submit a GRE General Test certificate upon application. EU and EEA citizens and students from German universities with any nationality are exempt from this requirement. Your minimum test score must be: Verbal Reasoning 145, Quantitative Reasoning 160 and Analytical Writing 3.

Important: We are aware of the fact that even taking the GRE is impossible for some students because of the situation in their country (war, crisis, natural disaster, imposed sanctions, etc.) or due to other personal issues (but not lack of money or imminent deadline). Please get in touch with the course coordinator (masterprog@ika.rwth-aachen.de) if you are one of those students, and we will try to help you with a potential alternative to eliminate any disadvantage.

Our programme has no tuition fees, so as a student you can be certain that we did not select you because you have money. You will have to contribute to student bodies and social services with a fee of about 350 EUR per semester. Your daily commute and sightseeing desires are taken care of with an included semester ticket for public transport in all of Germany (excluding high-speed/long-distance trains/buses), plus some buses crossing into Belgium and the Netherlands.

To live somewhere costs money, and the programme does not cover living expenses or other costs incurred by your stay at RWTH Aachen University. But please be optimistic, the city of Aachen is a fantastic city for students, and you will certainly find suitable accommodation. 

It is difficult to put a precise number on what overall expenses you would need to expect on a monthly basis. The entire cost of studies and life in Aachen, including rent, insurance, living expenses, etc., is on average at least 1,100 EUR per month or 13,200 EUR per year.

We recommend to make financial arrangements to cover the entire duration in advance to avoid financial trouble during your stay in Aachen, i.e. approximately three or four semesters. 

Please find more information about general costs via the following website: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/bqmo/lidx/1.

Good news: International students may take up work in the private sector during the semester or in the semester break for up to four months without having obtained a work permit. You may potentially work full time for 120 days or part time (up to four hours per day) for 240 days. The exact rules are specified on the residence permit (visa).

Do you wish to dig deep into automotive topics during your studies and earn money at the same time? There are sometimes also positions for student assistants – the so-called "Hiwi". You can work up to 19 hours per week throughout the year. These positions are very sought-after and difficult to obtain, especially if placed in very popular institutes.

Please find more information about financial matters and work opportunities on the following website: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/bqmp/lidx/1.

An overview of funding and support schemes are provided on this website at RWTH Aachen University. Further scholarships can also be found via the DAAD database.

Our students come from all corners of the world, with different academic, economic, cultural and social backgrounds. You will most likely have your own personal ideas of what you will aim for after graduation. You will perhaps have ideas about what you wish to do during your studies. This is what makes all of us unique. We will be happy to have you and will support you as an individual as well as we can.

A dedicated course advisory service is available to all students. The advisers in charge are themselves engineers in automotive engineering with extensive experience to support any arising academic and career planning queries before, during and at the end of your studies.

Are you having doubts and feeling undervalued as a woman in engineering? We are certain that it should not be that way! Let us and our advisory team for female students show you all the academic and career opportunities for you. Our graduates thrive!

Unlike in other countries, you are not automatically assigned a place to live when you come to Germany to study. You must independently look for housing and independently apply for a room in a dorm.

RWTH Aachen University does not own or manage any dorms and thus cannot provide nor guarantee housing. The staff at the International Office can only provide you with information about providers and give you an overview of different options. Here are a few tips to prepare you for apartment hunting in Aachen:

1. Begin your search for housing at least three months before you come. Use the numerous addresses and information on our webpages. When searching for an apartment, you can apply to both the private apartment market or to the "Studierendenwerk" dorms.
2. In order to increase your chances of finding a room or an apartment, it is important that you are flexible about the location and take the outer districts of Aachen and surrounding cities into consideration. Please note that if you are not a citizen of the EU, the conditions of your visa may not allow you to live outside of Germany.
3. Reserve a room early on for your first few days or weeks in Aachen – for example, in a hostel or guest house. That way, you can be sure that you have short-term housing and can continue to look for permanent housing once you are here.

The availability and demand of the housing market often determine whether you find a private apartment, a shared flat, or a room in a student dorm. Your search can take longer than you expect. You aren't alone though; almost all new students at RWTH are in the same situation. Start your search early and don't be shy about asking for help.

Thinking the Future

The Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments provided a huge boost to the further development of RWTH Aachen University. The institutional strategy on which the successful Excellence Initiative application was based has, in the meantime, been expanded to form a long-term strategy to strengthen all the areas of the university and enhance their profiles. In the process, it has gained great momentum, an example of which can be seen in the extensive building activities.

Visible evidence of this is the RWTH Aachen Campus, which is being developed in close cooperation with industry and which is to form one of the largest research campuses in Europe. Students and employees of RWTH Aachen will benefit equally from these developments and are expressly invited to get involved in shaping the individual initiatives.

The many stimulating ideas already have an impact on the whole urban region of Aachen and the entire tri-border area of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. An innovative knowledge community is evolving, which is closely networked with some of the world’s leading research and industry partners.

RWTH Aachen is a major driving force behind this development. And Aachen, as a liveable and lovable city at the crossroads of three cultures, provides an ideal environment for this creative process of development.

RWTH Graduates in High Demand

With its 260 institutes in nine faculties, RWTH Aachen is among the leading European scientific and research institutions. Its 45,377 students in 157 courses of study were registered for the winter semester of 2017/18, including 9,651 international students from 131 countries. Teaching at RWTH Aachen is first and foremost application-oriented. Its graduates are therefore sought-after as junior executives and leaders in business and industry.

National rankings (DE) and international assessments attest to the RWTH graduates’ marked ability to handle complex tasks, to solve problems constructively by using teamwork and to take on leadership roles. It is therefore not surprising that many board members of German corporate groups studied at RWTH Aachen.

Many new products and processes originate in Aachen. In the research laboratories and testing facilities of RWTH, for example, the first all-metal aircraft was developed, as was the diesel soot filter. This is where the first wind tunnel stood and the first particle accelerator.

This trend-setting innovative capacity and the practical technology transfer to the economic world have a long history in Aachen, the city of science. The first German Technology Development Center opened here in 1982. With its business start-ups and the approximately 32,000 jobs that were created as a result, Aachen has become the city with the highest density of university spin-offs and engineering offices in Germany.

Science has defined the structural change from a mining area to a technology region and today it is the most important economic factor. More than 50,000 people study and teach at the four universities and colleges in the Aachen region. Because of the academic expertise here, Forschungszentrum Jülich and numerous research centres of international corporate groups have been established in and around Aachen, making the urban region a Silicon Valley at the heart of Europe.

Aachen, known as an “Europastadt” (city of Europe), is Germany’s westernmost major city at whose city borders three nations with three languages converge. It is the centre of a dynamic, cross-border knowledge region, and it stands for world-class university education in natural sciences and engineering.

International RWTH students from various countries, along with the close contacts the university has with many registered alumni, give the scientific centre of Aachen an international atmosphere.

Teaching and research are also reflected in the image of the city. Thanks to the students and their diverse cultural life, the tradition-rich city of Aachen has a lively and young appearance, particularly in the student quarter of Pontviertel. Its proximity to the Eifel and the Ardennes as well as to Maastricht and Brussels with their linguistic and cultural distinctiveness give the city that lies in the shadow of Charlemagne’s palace chapel a particular charm. According to a study by the Prognos consultancy, anyone who has been here once keeps coming back...