areas of specialisation
In the master's degree programme in civil engineering, students can choose between the areas of specialisation construction management, structural engineering and infrastructure. Within the areas of specialisation in infrastructure, the specialisations in transport and water and waste management are offered.
Construction operations
Building on the fundamentals of the bachelor's degree with a focus on construction management, the master's degree offers further specialisation as well as application and consolidation of the fundamentals.
For example, building on the subjects of "business administration" and "construction law" as well as "construction site management", in the subject of supplementary contract management, a comparison is made between the target and actual construction figures based on real projects and supplements are initially formulated in principle. The knowledge gained in the subject "construction costing" is then used to calculate the amount of the addendum.
Further specialised knowledge is taught in the subject "special procedures in civil engineering", in which the basics of various subjects in the bachelor's degree are used to understand and apply non-everyday construction procedures.
In addition, further modules such as "project management", "investment and financing" and "operations research in civil engineering" provide the practical knowledge required to accompany projects from the project idea to completion in later professional life.
The elective modules on offer give you the opportunity to specialise further in the areas of prefabricated construction, construction site logistics or international construction. The degree programme at FH Aachen also offers you numerous construction site visits and subject-specific excursions in Germany and abroad in the area of specialisation construction management, in order to establish the indispensable practical relevance.
Structural engineering
Building on the knowledge you have acquired in the Bachelor's degree programme, you will deepen and expand the design methods already known for structures of greater complexity.
Solid construction is expanded to include prestressed concrete structures and questions of spatial bracing are addressed. Steel construction is expanded to include steel composite structures. The special challenges for the design in earthquake-prone areas are taught in structural dynamics. The numerical modelling of building components and structures with the support of powerful computer programs has its place, among other things, in the teaching of the finite element method.
Infrastructure
Transport
Civil engineers specialising in transport deal with the design of transport systems and the management of mobility and traffic. They plan, build and operate the necessary infrastructure, such as roads and railways. Both economic aspects and the impact on the environment are taken into account. Building on the Bachelor's degree programme, you will gain in-depth knowledge of transport and the directly related disciplines. The Master's programme prepares you for the qualified handling of complex tasks. In particular, this includes learning and applying methods of scientific problem solving. You will gain an insight into the working world with the diverse range of tasks in transport engineering through practical trainings, projects and excursions. In various modules, such as "Water-sensitive urban development", current challenges are addressed (here: climate change) and dealt with in an interdisciplinary manner.
Water and waste management
Civil engineers specialising in water and waste management deal with planning, construction and operational tasks in the fields of hydraulic engineering, urban water management and waste management. Engineers specialising in urban water management ensure that drinking and process water is safe to drink. In addition to water extraction and distribution, they are also involved in wastewater management, sewerage and wastewater treatment. Dam construction, hydropower plants and river basin management are the main fields of work in hydraulic engineering.
In waste management, you will develop and realise concepts for avoiding, reducing, recycling, treating and disposing of all types of waste in an environmentally friendly way. In this area of specialisation, you will acquire knowledge of the environmentally friendly and orderly disposal of waste and the remediation of contaminated sites.
