Overview of Course Categories

At the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, a minimum of 90 ECTS credits must be obtained in order to receive a Master degree. Find details on our webpage ECTS Credit system.

The between tutor and student commonly-defined curricula are structured as follows:

• Core Courses (36 KP ECTS)
• Multidisciplinary Courses (6 KP ECTS)
• GESS Courses in Humanities, Social and Political Science (2 KP ECTS)
• Industrial Internship (8 KP ECTS)
• Semester Project (8 KP ECTS)
• Master Thesis (30 KP ECTS)

Different forms of assessment are used for the individual curriculum component, in order to evaluate the student's achievements with regard to the required learning target.

 

Core Courses

These courses lay the foundation of the Master program by providing the students with core knowledge in the respective area of specialization. Tutors define the core courses with varying degree of constraint. In some cases, a few compulsory courses are specified. In others, all of the core courses must be chosen from a predetermined list of electives. Detailed information can be found in the descriptions of the individual Master's Programs.

In all cases, tutors always pay special attention to accommodate the expectations and talents of each student.

Our Master programs require a minimum of 36 cp ECTS for the core courses. This is usually equivalent to nine Master semester courses.

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Multidisciplinary Courses

These courses can be used either to add depth to scientific and technical knowledge related to the chosen specialization area or to add breadth to the range of acquired skills with those in other disciplines, such as economy, management, or humanities. Tutors support the students in making appropriate choices of multidisciplinary courses. These may be chosen from freely the course catalogues of ETH Zurich and Lausanne, and the Universities of Zurich and St. Gallen.

Our Master programs require a minimum of 6 ECTS in this category.
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Courses in Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (GESS)

These courses may be selected from the complete course catalogue of the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences. They are aimed at enriching the students' general education.

Our Master programs requiore a minimum of 2 cp ECTS in this category.
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Industrial Internship

More information here

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Semester Project

The semester project aims at training the students to solve specific engineering problems. They thus make use of the technical and social competences acquired during the master's program. Tutors propose the subject of the project, elaborate the project plan and define the roadmap with the support of the students, and monitor the overall execution.

Upon successful completion of the semester project, Master students are awarded 8 ECTS credit points.

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Master Thesis

Master's programs are concluded by means of a thesis. This Master thesis is aimed at enhancing the student's capability to work independently toward the solution of a theoretical or applied problem. The subject of the Master's thesis, as well as the project plan and roadmap, are proposed by the tutor and further elaborated in collaboration with the student.

Before starting on the Master thesis, students must

• have obtained the bachelor degree (if they were conditionally authorized to enroll in a Master's program prior to bachelor graduation),
• have fulfilled all specified admission conditions, if any (see next following webpage to the left);
• have acquired the credit points corresponding to the Semester Project (8 ECTS credit points) and the Industrial Internship (8 ECTS credit points).

The thesis involves a 6-months' full-time workload. Upon successful completion of the Master thesis, students are awarded 30 ECTS credit points.

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