Master of Science Mechanical Engineering – Product Development and Production
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Content
The consecutive master's program "Mechanical Engineering – Product Development and Production" prepares graduates for a wide range of careers in mechanical and plant engineering, but also in other manufacturing sectors such as vehicle construction or aviation. The program deepens the bachelor's education in engineering, mathematics and natural sciences and imparts competencies for the systematic, scientific and independent solution of responsible tasks in industry and research. The content covers the product development process from strategic product planning, systematic and methodical development of products including concept development, design, material selection, simulation and testing to production, its planning and control as well as the use of modern manufacturing processes and high-performance materials. Students deepen their knowledge in one of the three disciplines and acquire the ability to work at the interfaces of the related sub-disciplines. Depending on their individual focus, students can adapt and personalize their studies very flexibly thanks to the extensive range of elective subjects.
Career prospects
The consecutive Master's degree course "Mechanical Engineering – Product Development and Production" prepares graduates for a wide range of careers in mechanical engineering. Due to their specialization in one of the subject areas of product development or production, graduates can work directly in this field. They also have a wide range of methodological and interface knowledge, which enables them to work across disciplines. Graduates can take up academic positions at universities and research institutes, particularly with the aim of gaining a doctorate, or opt for direct entry into industry. Here, for example, they can pursue specialist careers (e.g. design engineer, calculation engineer, production planner) or qualify for demanding management tasks in the technical field with increasing professional experience (e.g. project, group or team leader, development or production manager or technical manager). The degree course is designed to be universal and allows graduates to work on a wide range of different products in different sectors, particularly in mechanical and plant engineering.
Learning objectives
Graduates of the course are able to transfer their individually acquired specialist knowledge to new, unfamiliar topics and to scientifically understand, analyze and solve complex problems in their discipline. They can independently find missing information and plan and carry out theoretical and experimental investigations. They can assess, evaluate and critically scrutinize engineering results, make decisions based on them and draw their own further conclusions. They are able to proceed methodically, organize smaller projects independently and select new technologies and scientific methods and develop them further if necessary.
Graduates are able to develop and document new ideas and solutions both independently and as part of a team, as well as present and defend them to specialists. They are able to assess their own strengths and weaknesses as well as the possible consequences of their actions. Above all, they are able to independently familiarize themselves with complex tasks, define tasks, acquire the necessary knowledge and systematically use suitable means for implementation.
Product development
In the product development specialization, graduates learn how to systematically and methodically work on difficult design tasks. They have a broad knowledge of new development methods, can select suitable solution strategies and use these independently to develop new products. They are able to use integrated product development procedures such as simulation or modern testing and inspection methods, for example for the development of lightweight products. By combining this with knowledge of modern high-performance materials and production processes, graduates are able to design and calculate state-of-the-art products and actively drive their development using modern methods.
Production
Graduates of the Production Engineering course have in-depth knowledge of various production and manufacturing processes. They can evaluate these against the background of geometry generation, error control, economic efficiency and humanization of work and are able to take a holistic view of the interfaces between technology, organization and people.
Program structure
The course has a modular design and is based on the university-wide standardized course structure with uniform module sizes (multiples of six credit points (CP)). The course combines the sub-disciplines of product development, materials and production in mechanical engineering and allows students to specialize in one of these areas. Thanks to the extensive freedom of choice, students can individualize their studies.
Students take the following modules in the core qualification:
- Finite-Element-Method and Vibration Theory (12 LP)
- Compulsory elective basic subjects (Catalogue) (12 LP)
- Practical Course ( 6 LP)
- Supplementary courses Business & Management (Catalogue) (6 LP)
- Supplementary courses Non-technical Courses (Catalogue) (6 LP)
Students specialize by choosing one of the following subject specializations with a total of 36 credit points:
- Product development (Methods of Product development, Lightweight design),
- Production (Production management, Production technologies).
Within each specialization, students are given three modules with six credit points. A further 18 credit points can be selected from a subject-specific module catalog (module size six credit points each). Alternatively, open modules with a maximum of twelve credit points can be taken, in which specialized smaller courses can be individually combined.
In addition to the final Master's thesis, students work on an additional scientific project thesis.
- Project thesis (12 LP)
- Master thesis (30 LP)