M.Sc. Materials Science

The international study programme M.Sc. Materials Science focuses on understanding the behaviour, synthesis and characterization of functional materials such as energy materials, magnetic materials or electronic materials. Courses on theoretical materials science include quantum mechanics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, and continuum mechanics.

Bild: Katrin Binner
Picture: Katrin Binner

Study Information

An overview of the M.Sc. Materials Science programme with all fundamental information can be found on the website of TU Darmstadt's Central Student Advisory Service and Orientation Office:

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Eligibility

Prerequisite for being accepted to the M.Sc. Materials Science is a Bachelor of Science from TU Darmstadt in Materials Science or an equivalent degree.

We expect a background in the fundamentals of Materials Science. This contains engineering elements but goes beyond. In particular, knowledge about semiconductors, functional ceramics, metals, and physical chemistry including quantum mechanics is required.

Applicants holding a Bachelor's degree in related subjects such as physics or chemistry are highly encouraged to apply.

Materials engineers with a strong focus on Materials Science may also be considered. “Strong focus” means that you took additional elective courses in Materials Science.

Applicants with a distinct engineering background – especially mechanical, aeronautical, automotive, chemical, electrical, petrochemical, process, and textile engineers – can only be accepted in exceptional cases. The admission commission may require applicants to attend additional courses to achieve sufficient equivalency.

Please understand that we cannot carry out preliminary eligibility checks. To estimate your chances of being admitted please have a detailed look on our FAQ , especially Q7.

Formalities of the Admission Procedure

Responsibilities

  • Applicants with international entrance qualification will apply via the TU Office for International Admission. This unit is responsible for all formalities of the application and admission procedure and provides binding information (e.g. on required documents, language requirements, application periods and deadlines) in Section 1 of their very comprehensive guidelines.
  • Applicants with a German university entrance eligibility can submit their application on the web pages of the Studierendenservice.

For all questions concerning formalities of the application process, please contact the respective unit.

Language Requirements

  • The M.Sc. Materials Science is taught in English. To be accepted for the study programme our regulations ask for knowledge of the English language at least on a UNIcert III level (C1). For further information, especially for proofs equivalent to UNIcert, please see Q10 of our FAQ section .
  • The programme is entirely taught in English. No German language skills are necessary.

FAQ: Application and Admission to the M.Sc. Materials Science

Our courses focus on structure, synthesis, analysis, and properties of structural and functional materials such as ceramics, inorganic and organic semiconductors, thin films, energy materials, metals or nanomaterials. Compulsory courses cover fundamental aspects such as quantum mechanics of materials, surface science, computational materials science, as well as materials analytics and engineering. A wide range of elective courses provides further insight into specialized topics (for more details, see the module handbook on TU Darmstadt's prospective students webpage for Materials Science). For your Master thesis, you will join one of the Research Groups at the department.

We expect a background in Materials Science that is comparable to a B. Sc. in Materials Science at TU Darmstadt. For instance, successful applicants hold Bachelor's degrees in Materials Science, Physics, or Chemistry, or in particular cases some engineering degrees (if a sufficient focus on natural sciences is discernible).

Since specific contents of study programmes may vary largely between universities the decision on admission strongly depends on the individual background, skills and academic achievements. For further details, please see Q4 & Q5.

We strongly encourage you to asses your individual proficiency for our Master's programme(s) with the help of our Online Self Assessment tool (free and anonymous).

We will be happy to receive your application. Please make sure that you provide all requested documents. Your application will be evaluated as detailed in Q5.

We will be happy to receive your application. Please make sure that you provide all requested documents. Your application will be evaluated as detailed in Q5.

To estimate your chances, please have a look at Q7. It is very important that you demonstrate your qualifications in Materials Science in your documents with e.g. certificates for lab internships, relevant elective courses (e.g. in solid state physics/chemistry, solid synthesis, corrosion, tribology, electrochemistry, nanomaterials, biomaterials, …), and – if applicable – the title of your B. Sc. thesis.

We will evaluate your application in a multi-stage process. First, your documents will be checked formally by the TU Office for International Admission(in case of international university degrees) or the Central Study Office (German university degrees). Here, the validity of all certificates as well as the English language proficiency (see Q10) are checked. Secondly, the department evaluates the academic background of your B.Sc.:

  • Direct admission will be granted if the previous academic achievements correspond to a B.Sc. in Material Science at TU Darmstadt (see Q7).
    • Additional conditions can apply, e.g. you may be obliged to register for adjustment courses (see Q12). Admission may also be granted with the reservation that further examinations have to be passed within a deadline, which will be issued by the Examination Committee. If the student fails these examinations, admission to the Master’s programme and registration at TU Darmstadt may be revoked.
  • In case of partial equivalence and good academic qualifications, the candidate can be invited to an entrance examination (third stage). This examination can be a written test, an interview or both, taking place at TU Darmstadt. For candidates from overseas, we can offer a telephone/online interview. (For this occasion, please make sure that your technical equipment is up to date and working). Admission will then be based on the outcome of the test.
    • In case of admission, additional conditions may apply, e.g. you may be obliged to register for adjustment courses (see Q12). Admission may also be granted with the reservation that further examinations have to be passed within a deadline, which will be issued by the Examination Committee. If the student fails these examinations, admission to the Master’s programme and registration at TU Darmstadt may be revoked.
  • In case of insufficient qualifications, we regret that we have to reject the application. “Insufficient qualifications” means it is not to be expected that you will be able to make up for the missing contents and graduate successfully in a reasonable amount of time.

Letters of recommendation will not be considered.

A letter of motivation can be helpful in deciding about your admission. Please state in your letter on which topics (elective courses) you plan to focus during your studies at TU Darmstadt, how this matches your previous education, and how the M.Sc. programme fits into your career plans. You can also tentatively state in which area you plan to specialize during your Master thesis. Please refer to the module handbook (see our download section ) and the list of research groups in order to find out more about potential specializations. Your letter should provide a sketchy overview of your planned studies. (Should you intend to include courses of other departments at TU Darmstadt, please be aware that most courses are taught in German language.) Of course, this first study plan may be refined and adjusted later on. Once admitted, you will work on your study plan together with your mentor.

Hint: It is neither necessary nor helpful to praise Germany, Darmstadt, TU Darmstadt, or our department in any way. Your application in itself reflects your positive acclaim and is appreciated as such.

We expect a background in Material Science equivalent to the B.Sc. programme at TU Darmstadt. The following list provides an overview of expected skills. 1 CP means 1 credit point in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

  • Mathematics (24 CP)
    Understanding and command of Linear Algebra, Fundamental Analysis, and Engineering Mathematics (ODE, PDE).
  • Natural Sciences (30–40 CP)
    Understanding and command of Introductory General Chemistry, Experimental Physics, Physical Chemistry (Thermodynamics, Quantum Chemistry of atoms and simple molecules, spectroscopy).
  • Engineering (optional 10-15 CP)
    Understanding and command of Continuum Mechanics and elementary Electrical Engineering.
  • Fundamental Materials Science (25-35 CP)
    Introductory knowledge on all classes of materials.
    Understanding and command of:
    • Solid structure, thermodynamics, properties and defects
    • Solid state analytics (e.g. scattering, spectroscopy, EM, electronic testing)
  • Advanced Materials Science (45-60 CP)
    Understanding and command of:
    • Defects
    • Physical metallurgy
    • Solid state physics
    • Introductory numerical methods in materials modeling
    • Advanced solid state analytics
  • Bachelor thesis on a materials related topic (15 CP)

Your background will be compared with this list. Particularly decisive for the admission is that your graduation can be expected within a reasonable amount of time. This means that your skills, grades, and letter of motivation will be assessed. As a successful applicant, we expect that you will not lose more than one semester trying to catch up with our Masters' content.The final decision will be based on your individual documents. In many cases, it is difficult to assess from the transcript to which extent materials related topics have been taught in natural science or engineering courses. In case of doubt, please provide a module description or a link to the module description of your previous institution and the topic of your B.Sc. thesis in your cover letter.

If you have your documents ready, please apply as early as possible, as there is always a rush close to the deadline, leading to possible delays in the handling of applications and subsequent time pressure, e.g. when applying for a visa.

Case 1: Your application has to proceed through the International Admission office (i.e., your qualification for university entrance was obtained at a non-German school outside of Germany or at an international school within Germany). Then the deadline is strict and your application will only be considered if the International Admission office of TU Darmstadt decides that it is complete. This includes proof of English language skills. If the final graduation certificate is still missing, at least a provisional certificate stating the fulfillment of all requirements for your degree needs to be included. If your application is received too late or considered incomplete, it will be turned down by the International Admission office and you need to reapply if you are interested to join our Master course at a later date.

Case 2: Your application proceeds through the Student Services/Office of Student Affairs (i.e., your qualification for university entrance was obtained through a German school in Germany or a German school abroad). Then the deadline is still strict but you may apply even if your documents are still incomplete (e.g. still some grades are missing because exams are not yet graded or your supervisor has not yet looked into your B.Sc. thesis) and you hand in final documents as soon as possible.

The M.Sc. Materials Science is taught in English. To be accepted for the study programme our regulations ask for knowledge of the English language at least on a UNIcert III level (C1). For equivalent proofs (TOEFL, TOEIC or similar) please consult the official list of the TU Sprachenzentrum (opens in new tab). Also note the possibility of proving that your Bachelor's (or previous Master's) medium of instruction was English.

As with any other formal question, please contact the TU Office for International Admission in case of doubt.

No German language skills are necessary (and thus no German language certificate is needed).

You need the usual documents plus a transcript, which certifies that you did not finally fail in your current course. In German: “Prüfungsrecht besteht”.

An adjustment course is an obligatory course you have to take instead of an elective course. The idea behind adjustment courses is to give you the opportunity to catch up with essential topics in Materials Science you may not have had in your B.Sc. programme. You may have to take adjustment courses up to 20-25 CPs.

Formally, an industrial internship is a prerequisite for the enrollment, but we generally allow for the internship to be completed during your studies. However, please note that you definitely need to complete your internship before you can register for your Master's Thesis.

The minimum duration for the internship is 6 weeks. It has to have a practical focus in an area related to Materials Science (e.g. working in an industry research lab is usually acceptable, working in administration is not). A pertinent apprenticeship or work experience may replace the required internship.

The Examination Board decides on the acknowledgement of each internship individually. To make sure, a specific activity can be acknowledged we recommend to contact the Examination Board prior to the start of your internship. After the internship, a written documentation (scientific report) needs to be handed in along with a confirmation of attendance from the company.

We offer admission for both winter and summer semester. However, mandatory courses of the first semester are only offered during the winter semester. They are an essential basis for all subsequent courses. Thus, we strongly recommend international students and transfer students from other German universities to start in the winter semester.

Credit points from earlier Master-level achievements will transfer only if the contents of the courses are equivalent to those classes offered within the Master’s programme Materials Science at TU Darmstadt. The Examination Board decides on each request individually.

For this we need a list from you that clearly states which of your previous Master’s courses correspond to which of our Master’s modules and how many ECTS are supposed to be acknowledged. Please, send this list along with the Transcript of Records to the after receiving your Letter of Admission.

Hint: A list of modules that are contained in our M.Sc. program can be found in our Module Guide (opens in new tab) . This overview (opens in new tab) might also be useful for you as it provides a first sight overview of how many ECTS (= Credit Points, CP) are required in each module.

Please note that credit points cannot be transferred from a Bachelor course that qualified you for admission to the Master's course in Materials Science at TU Darmstadt, even if the total number of credit points of your Bachelor course exceeds that of a Bachelor course in Materials Science at TU Darmstadt.

Every semester, we offer an introduction into the M.Sc. programme. This kick-off is ususally scheduled on one of the first days at the beginning of the semester.

Furthermore, the Departmental Students' Representative Committee offers a Master Integration Week during winter semester as well as an “Orientation Week” (in German) for beginning Bachelor students, but you are more than welcome to join in!

The International Admission office sends your application list to one department at a time, according to your list of preferences. If you did not provide such a list, the International Admission office will make the decision.

You can check the current fees on TU Darmstadt's Semester Fee website.

Note, that merely administrative fees are incurred, no tuition fees are levied for studying at TU Darmstadt.

For information on the possibilities of financial support for your studies at TU Darmstadt, please read Q21.

Please contact the International Admission office. They are the sole authority that can answer these questions as they decide about the formal completeness of your application before sending it to our department. Please note that the International Admission may be very busy and answers may be delayed during deadlines of applications.

Due to the large number of applicants, we are unfortunately not able to offer this service. Please check the answers to the other questions in order to estimate your chances.

Our basic Master's programme (the M.Sc. Materials Science) does not come with a student grant or scholarship. However, it is important to note that there are no tuition fees either. You would only have to face a semester fee (to-date approx.. 275€, subject to change, see Q18) and of course the ordinary costs of living.

Of course there are external grants/scholarships that you can apply for (e.g. the Deutschlandstipendium).

Some of our International Double Degree Programmes do include a scholarship.

Legal Note

Please note: Even though we provide an English translation of the implementation regulations for the M.Sc. Materials Science only the German version is legally binding.