Curriculum until Fall Semester 2021
The "Bachelor of Science ETH in Mechanical Engineering" degree provides a basic education in engineering and allows you to continue your studies at ETH Zurich or another university in Switzerland or abroad at the Master’s level.
The curriculum described here is valid for students starting their studies until the fall semester 2021. Students starting their studies in the fall semester 2022 or later please refer to the new curriculum.
Curriculum
Compulsory courses in the first year
Examinations on the compulsory courses are held for the first time in the so-called first year examinations during the examination period at the end of the second semester. Credit points are only awarded when an entire examination block has been passed.
The first year examination is assessed based on the weighted average of the results from the various areas of examination:
Additional courses in the first year
In addition to the compulsory courses in the first year, the following courses must also be completed:
- Innovation Project, external pageMovie
- Technical Drawing & CAD, external pageMovie
Additional compulsory courses during the program
Additional compulsory courses are assessed through examination blocks which are held during examination sessions.
The examination blocks are composed as follows:
Electives increase theoretical and methodological aspects of fundamental knowledge. Six electives must be chosen to achieve the necessary 24 credit points.
It is recommended to complete three Electives in the fourth semester and three others in the fifth semester. The Electives of the current semester are published in the course catalogue.
Students are free to choose from the whole category; you will find recommendations regarding the choice of Electives relevant for the Focus Specializations in the following PDF document: DownloadFocus Specialization: Recommended Electives (PDF, 79 KB)
In the Engineering Tool courses, students learn computer-aided calculation methods. The courses for this are held in the afternoons during the first week of the semester in block courses.
From the 2nd to the 6th semester, a total of 5 Engineering Tool courses must be taken. The courses offered per semester can be found in the course catalogue.
A total of 2 credit points (0.4 credit points per Engineering Tool course) are awarded for participation in the five Engineering tTool courses.
During Laboratory Practice the students learn about measuring methods, use of the appropriate equipment and their practical use in research.
In the fourth and fifth semesters, students will be offered various opportunities for Laboratory Practice. Ten labs must be passed, of which at least four must be in physics. A total of 2 credit points will be awarded.
Lab courses are offered and administered via the D-MAVT Laboratory Practice Application.
For more information please see the slides of the orientation events of D-MAVT and the laboratory practice website.
The Workshop Training is a compulsory part of the Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering. The minimum duration of this training is five weeks and it takes place in a company. The aim of the training is to gain practical experience in production of components as well as knowledge and understanding of materials and their machining and finishing.
Examples of recognized techniques are listed in the DownloadStudy Guide (PDF, 2.1 MB).
Since it is challenging to find sufficient time for the Workshop Training during the Bachelor’s studies, it is strongly recommended to complete the training before starting the Bachelor’s Degree Program or to schedule it for the winter break (January to February) between the 1st and 2nd semester of the Bachelor’s studies. The training must be completed, at the latest, before submitting the request for the Bachelor's Degree.
For the recognition of the completed Workshop Training, following documents must be uploaded to the internship application:
- DownloadActivity report (PDF, 508 KB) (the use of this template is compulsory)
- Confirmation from the company
In the Science in Perspective (SiP) courses, students learn to understand and critically question the correlations between scientific knowledge, technological innovations, cultural contexts, individuals and society. 6 credit points must be acquired. All SiP courses are defined by the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (D-GESS) and are marked in the course catalogue.
The Focused Study extends over two semesters and is completed in the third year of study. Students can choose between a Focus Project or a Focus Specialization to achieve the required 20 credits in the Focus category.
The Focused Study intends to impart knowledge in a specific area of the mechanical engineering education.
Focus Specialization
The Focus Specializations are course-based and cover different disciplines. A Focus Coordinator is responsible for each Focus Specialization and for the choice and combination of the courses offered.
The combination of courses and requirements are published in the Course Catalogue each semester under the category “Focus Specialization”. Courses which are not listed may be accepted only with the approval of the Focus Coordinator.
The presentation of the Focus Specializations can be found under student's information events.
Focus Project
Teams of 3 to 8 students work during two semesters on the development of a product. Based on market-oriented need, all processes in product development are conducted in a realistic manner: marketing, conception, design, engineering, simulation, prototypes, and production.
The Focus Project structure (20 ECTS) is a combination of:
- Focus Project (14 credit points) supervised by a MAVT Professor (10 weeks fulltime during the academic year).
- Courses, individually defined with the project coordinator (6 credit points)
The prerequisites for being admitted to a Focus Project are listed in the Detailed Regulations on the Implementation of Focus Projects (only available in German): DownloadDetailed Regulations on the Implementation of Focus Projects (PDF, 155 KB)
Focus Projects start in the Fall Semester. Students can also suggest their own projects, however they must be supported and supervised by an ETH Zurich professor. The full range of projects is listed in the respective Fall Semester ETH Zurich course catalogue.
The Bachelor’s Thesis is conducted in the 6th semester, corresponds to 14 credit points and is the completion of the studies. It encourages students to develop, enhance and demonstrate their methodological abilities and to independently tackle and solve research problems. Subjects for the thesis are listed by the D-MAVT professors, or, alternatively, may be individually agreed upon. The supervisor establishes the conditions for the Bachelor's Thesis.
The Bachelor’s Thesis corresponds to a work load of 420 hours (10 weeks full-time) and can be completed in part- or full-time.
Requisits for the start of the Bachelor’s Thesis:
- Completed first year examinations
- Completed additional first year courses
- Completed examination blocks 1 and 2
- It is strongly recommended to only begin the Bachelor's Thesis if 150 credit points have been achieved.
The latest date of registration on myStudies is one month after start. At the same time, the submission deadline has to be defined. The deadlines for registration and submission are binding.
The Bachelor's Thesis is supervised in all cases by a D-MAVT professor or affiliated professor.
Request to extend thesis submission deadline:
To request an extension to the submission deadline for your thesis, please fill out the following form and submit the form and all required documents either by email or by post to D-MAVT Student administration.
DownloadRequest to extend thesis submission deadline (PDF, 662 KB)
Please note that following the approval from your supervisor (professor), the request must be submitted no later than four weeks before the submission deadline expires.