Ecological Engineering

Land use conflicts, competition for resources, eutrophication and climate change are 21st- century challenges that can be overcome with appropriate management measures. The goal of the Master's program in Ecological Engineering is to address these problems with innovative solutions. As an expert in ecosystem management, you will be able to identify and analyze land-use conflicts and the effects of different forms of land use on ecosystems, as well as develop and lead interdisciplinary environmental planning. Political and social decisions can be supported by the work of ecological engineers so that environmental problems can be solved sustainably and people's lives improved. Whether integrative farming systems for agriculture and forestry, ecologically sustainable solutions for wastewater treatment or the optimization of near-natural flood protection – with the Master of Ecological Engineering you will be ready for the many challenges of ecosystem management.

Besides regular full-time studies, we also offer part-time studies (50% or 66%).

As an ecological engineer, you can find jobs in public administration, in the private sector or in scientific research and teaching. With your expert knowledge of ecosystem management, you will be in demand for planning and expert opinions in the areas of urban, landscape, energy, environmental and nature conservation. You can work in environmental consulting with authorities or associations, and contribute to more effective environmental and nature conservation legislation. Other career entry points include offices for agriculture, water management, and parks and recreation, where your expertise on ecosystems is much sought after.

The four-semester Master's program focuses on ecosystem management, which must also be taken as a required module and provides you with essential skills. Another important goal of ecological engineering is the competence to uncover and understand complex relationships. This is promoted in the mandatory project work.
The core area provides the necessary knowledge about land use change, management approaches and the best possible application of modelling and communication methods. Four core area modules must be selected and taken according to your individual interests.

Building on this, you will develop an individual competence profile with the help of electives from the specialization areas of ecosystems, methods, management, and additional qualifications. In the ecosystems section, you can choose a focus from agricultural, forest, urban, soil or water ecosystems, with three modules in total. Another two modules are added in the areas of methods and management. The remaining credits (usually 20) can be taken freely from all elective areas. Here you also have the opportunity to develop your practical skills in a professional internship or to expand your language skills or train your presentation and communication skills in the area of interdisciplinary qualifications.
The second or third semester is designed as a mobility window. In addition to lectures or seminars, you have the opportunity to work on a project at one of our partner universities abroad or to complete your professional internship worldwide.
At the end of your studies, you will work on a topic of your choice within the framework of the Master's thesis, using scientific methods and applying the knowledge you acquired during your studies.

Interest aroused? Just take a look at an exemplary course of study!

With a Master's degree in Ecological Engineering, you will be an expert in ecosystem management. During your studies, you will have learned to identify the social and ecological requirements for sustainable land use management, understand the conflicts that arise and to professionally meet the diverse challenges of landscape and social transformation processes. You can analyze interactions of human land use with natural ecosystems and evaluate the consequences of human activities on ecosystems.
Following analysis, you can develop different options for action from passive renaturation to engineering interventions and apply new or already tested solutions to land use and environmental problems. With your planning skills, you can translate options for action into concrete measures and monitor their impact.
In addition, your methodological and social skills enable you to involve all relevant stakeholders and interested parties in participatory projects on a case-specific basis and to advise them at a highly professional level. In addition, you acquire a high level of team working skills through a large number of projects during your studies and can identify research questions and create, implement, evaluate and communicate appropriate projects.

General Overview

You will find a general overview on the TUM Website for the application process. The following sections contain program-specific information.

Application Requirements and Admission Requirements

The prerequisite for application is a qualified Bachelor's degree of at least six semesters in the fields of landscape architecture and landscape planning, biology, geography, geology, environmental engineering, agricultural or forestry sciences or related study programs, which you have acquired at a German or foreign university.

A proof of English language proficiency is no longer required.

For the Master's program Ecological Engineering, there is a so-called "soft transition" from the Bachelor's to the Master's program, i.e. at the time of application, students must provide evidence of module examinations amounting to:

• at least 120 credits in the case of a six-semester Bachelor's program,
• at least 150 credits in the case of a seven-semester Bachelor's program, and
• at least 180 credits in the case of an eight-semester Bachelor's degree program.

Proof of having passed the Bachelor's degree must then be submitted within one year of starting the Master's program.

Language Proficiency

The primary language of instruction for the program is German. Therefore, sufficient German language skills must be demonstrated when applying. Applicants must find out whether they need to provide proof of language proficiency, and which German language certificates are accepted.
A Proof of English language proficiency is no longer required.
 

Preliminary Documentation (VPD)

All applicants with a entrance qualification for Master’s degree programs that was not obtained at a German university must apply for a Preliminary Documentation (VPD); this also applies to entrance qualifications obtained in EU/EEA countries. The VPD must at first be applied for at uni-assist before it is uploaded together with the application at TUM. 

Semester Fees and Tuition Fees at TUM

All students have to pay a semester fee for the student union (Studierendenwerk).

Application Period and Start of Studies

The application period lasts from January 1 – May 31 for the following winter semester. The application option for starting studies in the summer semester (application period November 15 to January 15) is only available for entry into higher semesters.
Click here for an overview of semester dates

Online Application

Applications can only be submitted via our online application portal (TUMonline), for which an applicant account must be created. 
Instructions for online application 

All documents have to be uploaded to the TUMonline portal by the application deadline! Documents submitted by email cannot be processed. 
Depending on your nationality and the country in which you obtained your Bachelor's degree, different documents may need to be submitted via our TUMonline portal. Documents issued in German or English do not need to be translated. Documents not issued in German or English must be translated into German or English by a certified translator. Both the original and the translation must be uploaded as a PDF file. The documents required for the application can be found in the country-specific regulations and in the Glossary of Documents.

Aptitude Assessment Procedure

An aptitude assessment evaluates qualifications for the Master’s program. 

• The application documents must be complete, formally correct, and submitted by the deadline.
• The admission requirements must be met in accordance with §36 of the relevant Subject Examination and Study regulations (see also the section above “Application Requirements and Admission Requirements”).

In the first stage of the aptitude test, the applicants' academic qualifications acquired in their previous studies are assessed based on a curricular analysis derived from the transcript of records (or grade overview).
The link to the curricular analysis and the application number (1-0xxxxxx) can be found in the online application portal (TUMonline).
The aptitude committee checks the extent to which the basic competencies of the elementary subject groups listed below have been acquired in previous studies and evaluates them on a point scale (one point is awarded for each ECTS credit in the modules assigned to the subject groups from previous studies). The elementary subject groups are:

Elementary subject groups (max. 60 credits per category, max. 120 credits in total)

• Biology, Ecology and Ecosystem Sciences
• Geology, Physical Geography, and Land Use Sciences
• Environmental Planning and Management
• Environmental Engineering

The overall assessment for the first stage is calculated from the sum of the points awarded for the curriculum analysis and the points awarded for the average grade calculated from the modules included in the subject groups (one point is awarded for every tenth of a grade above 4.0).

• Those who achieve at least 81 points have passed the aptitude test (direct admission).
• Those who achieve less than 50 points have not passed the aptitude test (rejection).
• The remaining applicants are invited to an aptitude interview (second stage). The interview lasts 20 to 30 minutes and takes place via Teams. 

The exact date of the interview will be announced at least one week in advance.

Detailed information about the aptitude assessment procedure for the Master's program in Ecological Engineering can be found in Appendix 2 of the current Subject Examination and Study Regulations for this program.

Enrollment

After admission to the program, the study place must be accepted in the applicant's account, the application for enrollment has to be signed and uploaded together with the missing documents for enrollment. In addition, semester fees must be paid. All relevant information is displayed in the TUMonline applicant account.
Details of the enrollment process
Glossary of Documents

• Curriculum
  The degree chart gives you an overview and recommendation, which modules you should take in which semester according to academic and examination regulations (FPSO). Exemplary curricula including module recommendations can be found in the degree program documentation.
   
• Timetable (TUM ID required for login):
  This timetable is intended to give you an overview of the planned compulsory and elective modules of a semester. It is for orientation purposes only and will not be updated during the semester! 
  
  Via TUMonline you can have a timetable created for each semester according to FSPO.
  
  You can also create your own individual timetable, which can contain not only the dates of the selected courses, but also your personal appointments.
  
  First steps with TUMonline

Important note on part-time studies:

For each semester you study part-time, an individual study and examination plan has to be worked out together with the student advisory service. This plan is a binding regulation between you and TUM and may only be changed after consultation.

Please arrange an obligatory counselling interview with your academic advisor about 2-4 weeks before the start of the lecture. This obligatory regulation will no longer apply to the new 2023 version of the study program. However, we still recommend that you make an appointment with your student advisor based on your study and examination plan.

• General Academic and Examination Regulations at TUM (APSO)
• Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO)
  • Academic and Examination Regulations 20231 (from start of degree program WS 23/24) only in German
     

• Examination dates & registration via TUMonline
  In TUMonline you can register for the module examinations that accompany your studies. 

  Important: You can only take most of the exams if you have actively registered yourself via TUMonline within the registration period. The registration and deregistration period will be displayed at the exam date.

• Further examination matters
  • Academic progress check
  • Examinations
  • Recognitions
  • Theses
• Board of Examination
  The board of examination is a committee consisting of university professors and lecturers of the degree program. The chairperson of the board of examination of your degree program is Prof. Ph.D. Wolfgang Weißer. Applications to the board of examination are received by the secretary and submitted to the board of examination for decision. You can reach the secretary by sending an email to examination.co@ls.tum.de.
• Diploma Supplement
  The Diploma Supplement is an English language addition to the university degree certificate. It describes the qualifications associated with the study program according to uniform criteria.
  Diploma Supplement: List of activities and docket

More information about

• Internships
• Excursions

If full-time studies are not possible in your current life situation, we also offer you a part-time model. This model offers flexible options in special life situations, for example, for child-raising periods, caring for relatives, working or starting a business.

The possibility of being able to study this course of study part-time does not mean that there are special events in the evening or on weekends. Instead, there is the possibility of being restricted to certain days or only studying for certain periods on certain days.

Before the beginning of each semester you decide which level you would like to enroll in. The choice of level is linked to the maximum number of credits per semester. It is possible to change between the different forms (full-time, part-time 66% and part-time 50%) before each semester (changeover period see below) in order to be able to adapt to changing life situations.

By choosing different time models, the standard period of study can be extended or shortened. This results in an individual study duration.
 

Study plan

Your individual study plan has to be coordinated with the student advisory service before each semester. For the new 2023 statute version of the program, this mandatory provision will no longer apply. However, we still recommend an advising appointment with your academic advisor based on your study and exam plan.
You can use the offer from the full-time Master's program for the preparation. In both part-time models, the modules are taken over a longer period of time.

Change to another time model

The change takes place in TUMonline in the user account. A different time level is selected online under Applications. Please note that the signed application must be sent by post to the Matriculation Office in Munich within the transfer period. The deadlines for the change are one week before the re-registration deadline (09 to 15 August for applications for the winter semester and 09 to 15 February for applications for the summer semester).

Application/Admission: Admission procedure - identical for all types of degree programmes
Costs per semester: identical for all types of study