Applications are open! Apply until 15 January for German-language Master’s programs and selected English-language Master’s programs starting in the summer semester.

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TUHH > Studying > Before Studying > Degree Courses > Master's Programs > Materials Science

Materials Science, Master of Science

Materials science is a bridging discipline with strong links to both basic science subjects and technological applications. This is your field of study if, after completing a bachelor's degree in physics, chemistry or crystallography, for example, you want to apply your specialist knowledge and skills to exciting application-relevant tasks. This is your field of study if you want to strengthen your competence in technically relevant scientific topics after completing your bachelor's degree in engineering. Our society is built on and with materials - as a materials scientist, help to rethink and shape it for a better future!

As a materials scientist, you research and develop new material systems as the basis for innovative products, or you contribute your expertise at a higher level in the large process of product development. You leave the design of the third screw from the left to the others. With your broad-based training, you will acquire a particularly wide range of options for your later specialization in one of many fields of work.

Fact sheet

Study program	Materials Science
Degree:	Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Akkreditation:	Program accredited by the Accreditation Council of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs
Study duration:	4 semesters
Credit points according to ECTS:	120
Language:	German/English
Type of study:	Full-time study
Start of study:	Winter semester (October) or summer semester (April)
Application period:	June 1st – July 15th and December 1st – January 15th
Admission requirements:	Bachelor's degree in a basic engineering or natural sciences course of study, as well as basic knowledge of materials science
Admission restriction:	Yes
Dual studies possible:	Yes

What characterizes this study program?

The accredited Materials Science program is specifically tailored to you as a bachelor graduate of either engineering or natural sciences or materials science. We have designed it to pick up on this prior knowledge and train you to become a young materials expert with a core program that has been developed specifically for this program and is constantly being modernized.

What skills do I need on the way to the best career opportunities? We, your instructors, are especially proud to have built a lecture program specifically for your degree program. Textbook content and current research - our young and constantly updated materials science curriculum builds on your previous education and provides you with optimal support on your way to a career or doctorate.

Our curriculum introduces you to the basics in the 1st year. In the 2nd year, you can concentrate on hands-on research on your favorite topic - this is where the TUHH Materials Science program is particularly strong in research, with a major project and the master's thesis.

Construction materials, modeling, nano and hybrid materials - with its specialization options, your TUHH study program in Materials Science also offers you interesting choices for designing and deepening your studies.

Hamburg is not only a region with the highest dynamics and the best growth and career opportunities - it is a vibrant metropolis with a high quality of life. Culture, sports, the Elbe beach, long nights - Hamburg offers a lot beyond your studies. In addition to the many opportunities to party, Hamburg is also known for its great cultural offerings and the numerous sights that are waiting to be discovered.

Materials Science in the Hamburg Metropolitan Area on Facebook

How is the program structured?

In our curriculum, which is unique in Germany, we teach you classical as well as current material science issues, always with a view to technological relevance, and seamlessly from the atom to the component. Your lecturers are internationally renowned experts in material phenomena on all scales, from quantum mechanics to nanostructures, modern composite or biomaterials, and microsystems technology. We explain for you the structure, properties and design principles of materials, starting from atomic structures and processes to behavior in devices.

The first year of study focuses on the core topics of the subject: physics and chemistry of materials, methods in experiment, theory and cross-scale modeling, mechanical properties starting from molecules via idealized single-crystal states to real materials, phase transitions and microstructure design, properties of functional materials.

Specializations open up the fields of nano and hybrid materials, construction materials and material modeling for you.

The second year of study is dedicated to your hands-on involvement in current research. For this purpose, we have planned a large study project on current research topics in materials science, in addition to your master's thesis.

What job can I take?

Materials - your field of study - are the basis for products and product innovations. Germany's most important materials-based industries, including automotive and mechanical engineering, the chemical industry, energy technology, the electrical and electronics industry, and metal production and processing, generate annual sales of almost one trillion euros and employ around five million people. As a materials scientist, you will have excellent career opportunities. The breadth of job profiles is unique, and you will only find it here.

Materials scientists develop entirely new material concepts - for example in current key fields such as energy storage and conversion or structural lightweight construction for sustainable mobility - or they improve existing materials and adapt them to the constantly changing demands of global competition. With their expertise in the complex effects of structure, composition, processing steps and the load and environmental influences on the performance and behavior of materials in practical use, they also provide a link between design and production.

As a materials scientist, you will therefore have access to fields of activity ranging from basic research to production, from atomistic modeling to design, from quality assurance to patenting, and from research and development departments of large or medium-sized companies to universities or government research institutes.

What are the requirements?

The program is aimed at you as a bachelor graduate of engineering sciences as well as physics, chemistry or, of course, materials science. You should have a basic knowledge of materials science, but above all a curiosity about the exciting materials topics that we will present to you and lead you to.

Your bachelor's degree was not in materials science? No problem - the vast majority of your fellow students feel the same way. We have specifically designed the curriculum to meet your needs and look forward to welcoming you as a student.

You must also meet the specific requirements for the Master's program! In the bachelor's program, you must have earned a total of 100 ECTS in the basic science and engineering subjects physics, chemistry and mathematics, materials science, basic engineering (mechanics, thermodynamics, electrical engineering) and programming.

How do I apply?

You can apply annually for the winter semester in the period from June 1st to July 15th and for the summer semester in the period from December 1st to January 15th. For this you need a Bachelor's degree and sufficiently good German language skills (level B2.2). We conduct an online application procedure.

Apply now!

Further questions?

How to start?

To make it easier for you to start your studies at the TUHH, you will find various offers here:

New@TUHH provides you with information on starting your studies, registration at the library and at the computer center.
The Student Counseling Center offers an orientation session for incoming students of the German-language master's programs

Can I include a semester abroad?

Your studies are THE opportunity for a stay abroad - get to know your subject from a different point of view, learn languages, and above all, experience foreign cultures. The lecturers of the study program are happy to advise and support you in organizing a semester abroad.

Can I study in the dual program?

Yes, you can! All Master of Science degree programs at the TU Hamburg can be studied dual. Since 2003, the Technical University of Hamburg has also offered its Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in a dual study variant in cooperation with more than 50 cooperating companies.

The study concept combines complete university studies with professional practice in the engineering field. The students are employed by one of our cooperating companies and, as cohorts across study programs, represent the entire spectrum of engineering sciences.

The program is rounded off by seminars on the development of social skills, so that graduates can face the challenges of the working world in a responsible manner.

You can find more information about the dual study program at the TU Hamburg here: https://dual.tuhh.de/

What are my options to do a PhD?

Our research-intensive degree program brings you into contact with internationally visible materials research at the TUHH and its partner institutions during your studies. Our externally funded research environment offers you a wide range of opportunities, especially for doctoral studies and profiling in the academic environment.

The Collaborative Research Center "Tailored Multiscale Materials Systems" as well as the Hamburg Center for High Performance Materials emphasize the top international research of the program's lecturers in modern, multiscale structural and functional materials.

In addition to the TUHH, lecturers in the program also conduct research at the Helmholtz Center Hereon, which cooperates with strong partners in technology, and at the German Electron Synchrotron DESY, one of the world's most powerful centers for research into materials with synchrotron radiation.

How is campus life?

The TU Hamburg is one of the youngest universities in Germany. On the clearly arranged and cozy campus you will quickly get to know your new fellow students and in spring and summer numerous seating areas and green spaces invite you to linger together in the fresh air. In an almost familiar atmosphere, we celebrate our summer festival every year in June, where our TU's own beer brewing group "Campusperle" also offers its creations. Of course, you can also get involved in our numerous AGs, which also organize regular events, e.g. screenings of the cinema AG, concerts of SingING or SymphonING. Of particular interest to Data Science students are also the HULKs, who regularly participate in international robot soccer championships, for example.

If you decide to study at TUHH, you also decide to study in Hamburg, the metropolis on the Elbe, Germany's second largest city and certainly its most beautiful. Hamburg combines urbanity and maritime life and is also Germany's greenest city with over a million inhabitants. You will never get bored here: rowing on the canals during the day or jogging in the city park, sunset on the Elbe, a concert in the Elbphilharmonie or a pub night on the Schanze and the fish market at dawn. Here you will find everything for the adventurous, but also numerous quiet places to pause. Together with your fellow students, you will certainly explore Hamburg and its treasures quickly and get to know your new favorite place.

How do I start my career?

Career Center and Alumni Network TU&You

The TUHH Career Center supports students and graduates in the transition from university to work. The services offered include company contact fairs, the TUHH-PraxisPlus internship program for prospective TUHH master's students, case study workshops and job application training. The alumni network TU&YOU offers the opportunity to make contact with former TU members while still a student through a variety of events such as research afternoons, homecoming events and anniversaries.

www.tuhh.de/tuhh/uni/service/career-center.html

www.tuandyou.de

Where can I find the relevant regulations?

All modalities for admission to the Master's program are regulated in the Statutes on Studies.

The framework conditions for examinations at TUHH are defined by the General Study and Examination Regulations (ASPO) and the Subject-Specific Study and Examination Regulations (FSPO). The Module Handbook describes the concrete design of the modules provided for in the curriculum and their learning objectives. They also provide information on content, recommended prior knowledge and literature for preparation.

All regulations relevant to the study program, the module manual and study plans can be found here.

Whom can I contact?

If you have any questions about your studies, you can always contact the Central Student Advisory Service or the head of the study program and the advisors!