About us

 

Today the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering with its now 60 institutes and chairs in Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering and its approx. 1,638 new enrollees (winter semester 2022/23) is one of the largest faculties of Mechanical Engineering in Europe. Furthermore, it is very interdisciplinary and offers many qualification possibilities for national and international students.

 

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering: a Faculty in Change

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has a long and very successful tradition and has institutes as members, some of which are older than 100 years. Committed to this tradition, we must not forget that the world, and with it the issues relevant to us, are evolving and that completely new challenges are being faced.

These challenges relate to the content of our research and thus to essential questions of humanity, such as the safe and environmentally compatible production and provision of energy, questions of nutrition and health. This has led to a different approach to research methods, as there is no longer enough expertise in only one discipline to answer them.

In line with the RWTH strategy of the Integrated, Interdisciplinary University, intensive cooperation has developed in recent years with the natural sciences and medicine, among others. This development is reflected in numerous joint research activities with other faculties as well as the many profile areas in which our faculty is involved.

The changes described do not only affect research, but also researchers. New career paths have been opened, e.g. in the form of a tenure track, and the general promotion of young scientists has been strengthened, as documented by the increasing number of professorships and habilitations in the faculty.

This change will continue to accompany us and it is our task to shape it jointly and consciously. The willingness for change and the collaborative action of all colleagues and staff has made our faculty strong and will continue to keep us strong in the future. By implementing our research results, we make a significant contribution to society.

 

Figures and Facts

Mechanical engineering in Aachen may look back on a long tradition and it is as old as the university itself. Since the foundation of the university in 1870 not only the number of students and chairs increased significantly, but also research activities, and cooperation within individual faculties and with other research and industrial facilities have experienced an extraordinary upturn.

With more than 2,400 new enrollees and more than 50 teaching and research facilities as well as currently 61 professorships the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University is one of the biggest faculties of mechanical engineering in Europe. On the one hand this results from structures grown over the course of decades and on the other from the reputation of the faculty, which is based on the outstanding research performances of the individual extremely independently operating teaching and research facilities. Following are the main research focuses and cooperation strategies of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

With 9 Bachelor and 19 Master programs, the whole width of certificates and academic degree is offered, e.g. in 2022:

2.209	Graduates
256	Dissertations

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering counts 61 professors, approx. 1,623 academic staff, approx. 701 non-academic staff as well as approx. 1,039 student and academic workers (19 hours annual equivalent).

The more than 12,651 students enrolled in the different degree programs of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in the winter semester 2020/21 are faced with the large number of 250 teachers of the academic non-professorial teaching staff, 6 associate professors, 250 lecturers from the industry, 25 apl professors as well as six honorary professors – on top of the 61 full professors.

 

Ranking Positions

RWTH Aachen University regularly reaches top positions for the field of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences.

"No matter what kind of methodology is used in the various rankings, Aachen always assumes a leading position in all fields of engineering."