Advanced Materials and Processes (MSc)

Advanced Materials and Processes (MAP) is a combination of Materials Science and Engineering with Chemical and Biological Engineering. These disciplines play a key role in the development of novel technologies – without the development of new materials, a great range of key inventions from digital computers or jet engines to customized medical implants would not have been possible. Novel materials with new functionalities or improved properties, however, require specifically designed, economically and environmentally sustainable production processes – which might themselves depend on the development of new catalyst materials.

This intimate connection between processes and materials is of key importance for advances and innovations in virtually any field of technology. Chemical and Biological Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering are thus highly intertwined fields, which are, however, treated as separate subjects in traditional education.

MAP is an English-taught interdisciplinary Master’s Program and provides a unique curriculum for the next generation of engineers. Students follow an individually tailored curriculum to learn in small groups the fundamentals of Chemical and Biological Engineering and/or Materials science and Engineering, and four focal subjects allow the students to further deepen their knowledge in key technological areas.

• Advanced Processes
• Biomaterials and Bioprocessing
• Computational Materials Science and Process Simulation
• Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

MAP is a highly-selective, accredited 2-year Master’s Program and is part of the Elite Network of Bavaria (ENB).

MAP applicants are performance oriented, eager for knowledge, hardworking and diligent. Our students show strong motivation for interdisciplinary studies with a high level of interest in cutting-edge research topics relating to some or all of the MAP focal subjects. They demonstrate English proficiency through a high TOEFL (or equivalent) score.

Applicants are required to have an excellent Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering or related subjects. German applicants should have an overall Bachelor’s grade of 2.2 or better. International applicants coming from different grading systems need a mark equivalent to “good” in their undergraduate degree.

Detailed information about the application procedure can be found on the MAP website. The program starts annually in the winter semester.

The program structure combines the core attributes of MAP with a streamlined and optimized module structure. A special element in the MAP curriculum is the opportunity to graduate with “additional qualifications” (“Zusatzstudien”). These optional courses provide students with certified additional competence and skill sets with a focus on scientific research or for a career in business and industry.

MAP is designed as a 4 semester Master’s program with the following general structure:

Additional qualifications (“Zusatzstudien”) are defined combinations of lectures, soft skills, practical courses and an internship that are tailored to provide enhanced competences with a focus on research qualifications or business and industry qualifications. Each of these two blocks consists of courses with a total of 30 ECTS points and successful participation will be certified on the graduation documents. The participation in additional qualifications is optional.

The content of each semester and many specific elements of the curriculum are described in detail on the MAP website.

The MAP program is characterized by a very low student-to-faculty ratio, early involvement in cutting-edge research through miniprojects and literature reviews, special events like summer schools and workshops (including events organized by the ENB), the availability of educational grants and personal support from the MAP program office and the program chairs. Students follow an individually tailored curriculum in small groups and can furthermore gain additional qualifications for an academic career or for a career in industry through specialized modules with extra credits. A high percentage of our graduates continue to pursue a PhD, but MAP graduates are also highly sought after by industry, with typical destinations including the automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, food technology, health and safety and pharmaceutical sectors.

MAP is embedded in the Faculty of Engineering of the FAU and is greatly enriched by the direct involvement of the partner universities of Bayreuth and Würzburg. Local research centres such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB), the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energy Production (HI-ERN), the Institute of Advanced Materials and Processes (ZMP), the Neue Materialien Fürth GmbH (NMF), the Erlangen Catalysis Resource Center (ECRC), and Energy Campus Nürnberg complement the unique research environment in materials and processes.