Course Choice
Which courses may I attend?
As international guest students at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, you are free to choose any course of your liking – that means: you do not have to follow a study path that corresponds to your degree track at home. If reasonable, for instance, a chemical engineer may take courses in energy technology, if he/she is interested and his/her coordinator agrees. If the respective professors and lecturers consent, you may also attend courses at other RWTH-faculties (e.g. in economics).
Still, three restrictions apply:
- Firstly, we cannot give any advice on course formalities for said external courses, and we would ask you to contact the faculty-in-question’s exchange coordinator in order to obtain his/her signature on your Learning Agreement for validation of ECTS.
- Secondly, the majority of the courses you list on your Learning Agreement should be offered by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (exceptions from this rule may be granted on an individual basis). There is a „60/40“ rule which means that at least 60% of the courses you choose should be offered by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and/or be part of a study program offered by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
- Thirdly, incoming students are only allowed to take a maximum of three courses offered by the RWTH International Academy. This concerns courses which are only part of the study programs of the RWTH International Academy (see below).
In General: In order to find out which study programs a course is part of, please take a look at the „Courses in English“ document in the download section of our website. After you find a course you are interested in (under 6.), the study programs can be found under „Status within Curriculum“ in RWTH Online for the respective course.
Other than these two regulations, you will be free to design your study plan at RWTH Aachen University individually, depending solely on the approval of your coordinator at your home university.
As mentioned, you may choose courses from all of our programs. However, please be aware that most of our courses are conducted in German only (a list of exceptions can be obtained from our coordinator). We strongly recommend a sound knowledge of German which corresponds to, at least, the B1-level of the Common European Framework of References for Languages.
Via the RWTH International Academy, exchange students may be permitted to attend courses in the academy’s English-language programs. Information on these M.Sc.-level course can be found online.
Please be aware that some courses offered by our Business School offer only a limited amount of places. Unfortunately, these courses cannot be attended by exchange students enrolled at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. A list of these courses is available on the websites of the Business School’s Exchange Office.
| Level: Bachelor of Science |
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| Mechanical Engineering (Maschinenbau) |
| Industrial Engineering (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen Fachrichtung Maschinenbau) |
| Computational Engineering Science |
| Level: Master of Science |
|---|
| Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering (Allgemeiner Maschinenbau) |
| Chemical Engineering (Verfahrenstechnik) |
| Production Engineering (Produktionstechnik) |
| Energy Technology (Energietechnik) |
| Product Development (Produktentwicklung) |
| Automotive Engineering and Transport (Fahrzeugtechnik und Transport) |
| Aeronautical Engineering and Astronautics (Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik) |
| Plastics and Textile Technology (Kunststoff- und Textiltechnik) |
| Automation and Control (Automatisierungstechnik) |
| Industrial Engineering (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen Fachrichtung Maschinenbau) |
| Computational Engineering Science |
| Technical Communication (Technik-Kommunikation) |
|
English-taught programs |
| Automotive Engineering |
| Computer-Aided Conception and Production in Mechanical Engineering* |
| Management and Engineering in Production Systems* |
| Production Systems Engineering* |
| Simulation Sciences |
| Robotic Systems Engineering* |
| Textile Engineering* |
*Programs offered through the RWTH Internationalen Academy
Learning Agreement and Schedule
Exchange students at our Faculyt will need a Learning Agreement at the time of application via our International Office . You may use our course catalogue RWTHonline in order to locate courses that match your curriculum at home. Module handbooks provide further information on course content, ECTS, semester periods etc.
How to compile your learning agreement
| 1. | Have a look at the program codes for our programs . |
| 2. | Use Module handbooks via RWTHonline to collect more information |
| 3. | Module handbooks contain information on course content, ECTS, semester periods etc. |
| 4. | Do not hesitate to contact us in case of questions! |
| Note |
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You have compiled your Learning Agreement, but you worry that you might not have found all the right information? In case of need send us your Learning Agreement before application – this way, we may correct it in advance, which may also speed up the application process! |
Download the module manuals for the RWTH study programs:
1. Open the page with the study programs offered by the RWTH in RWTHonline (DE)
2. Follow the click instructions for any study programs (DE)