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Students in our engine room simulator.

Marine Engineering

At a glance

Overview

  • Programme title

    Marine Engineering
  • Faculty

    1
  • Starts in

    summer semester
  • winter semester
  • Duration

    7 semesters
  • Degree

    Bachelor of Engineering
  • Language of instruction

    German
  • Restricted admission

    no
  • Accreditation

    durch die ZEvA und Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie

5 good reasons

  • Choose from two majors

  • your degree in Ship Operation Engineering qualifies you for you master’s license

  • You can’t study Mechanical Engineering for Ships anywhere else

  • Study in our state-of-the-art ship engine simulators

  • Complete a vocational training alongside your studies and become an industrial mechanic

It's a match if

  • You’re interested in technology and engineering

  • You want to work with big machinery – the bigger, the better

  • You’ve completed vocational training to be a ship’s technician or similar, or

  • You’ve completed vocational training to be a ship mechanic or another metal or electronics profession

  • You have a certificate proving you’re fit for service at sea

What it’s about

Modern ships contain more complex engineering than any other means of transport. To build them, we need qualified experts – on board and ashore.

In Mechanical Engineering for Ships you’ll combine Marine Engineering and Mechanical Engineering working onshore to make sure that the technical details are perfect before a ship leaves port.

Ship Operation Engineering includes everything from the propulsion to the steering, the energy supply on board and the environmentally friendly disposal of waste water. On board you’ll make sure that the air is just as fresh below deck as it is outside, that the engine is running and that everything is going the right way.

Course structure & majors

At the beginning of your studies you decide for one of two majors:

  • Ship Operation Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering for Ships

Your major defines how long your studies will take and what your timetable looks like:

If you study Ship Operation Engineering that will take 8 semesters. Two of which – the first and the last semester – you will spend at sea. If you have completed vocational training for a suitable profession, we will acknowledge that and reduce the  number of semesters you have to study to six. In your last semester on campus you’ll write your bachelor’s thesis – together with a company from the industry if you want to.

If you choose Mechanical Engineering for Ships as your major, you’ll study for 7 semesters. You’ll learn alongside Ship Operation Engineering students in the first two semesters of your studies. Afterwards, we’ll focus on topics specific to your major and in the last semester of your studies you’ll complete an internship and write your bachelor’s thesis.

Majors

Ship Operation Engineering

You want to sail the seas and take care of the technical aspects on board – ensure the energy supply on board, make sure the waste water is disposed of correctly and the systems are running, in short: that ship operation runs smoothly. To enable you to do all this, we’ll teach you the technical basics you have to know and prepare you for a leading role on board at the same time. So you can look forward to modules on Engineering Mechanics, Installation Engineering and Personnel Management.

Your bachelor’s degree also qualifies you to acquire your master’s license.

Mechanical Engineering for Ships

You find ships and the technology in and behind them fascinating and you want to work in the maritime industry without having to go to sea? We will provide you with the necessary tools for your career in ship building and operation: from fuels to machine dynamics and combustion engines we’ll give you the most thorough insight into the processes on board a ship you can get while remaining on shore. Your timetable will also include topics such as ship safety and monitoring of the operation of a ship.

Future prospects

You want to work?

Your degree is the perfect qualification for a wide range of jobs. If your major was Ship Operation Engineering, you’ll be qualified to receive your master’s license from the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany.

To make navigating your options a little easier we put together the answers from our graduates surveys from the last years in which we asked where and what our former students work:

The large majority works in the following fields:

  • Seafaring
  • Transport & logistics
  • Classification agencies
  • Shipyards
  • Maritime suppliers

They have a variety of jobs and responsibilities, these include:

  • Technical Officer of the Watch
  • Technical officer
  • Engineer
  • Head of Machine Operations

How do I apply?

If what you have rad so far matches your strengths, interests and your idea of what you would like to study and do - in short, if this sounds like the perfect degree programme for you, you should apply.

Depending on whether you have acquired your university entrance qualification in Germany or abroad, the application process varies. If you went to school outside Germany, please apply via uni-assist. If your university entrance qualification was issued by a German school, please apply via our Online Service Tool. If you have completed maritime training already and you can provide the necessary certificates, this can count towards your studies so that your time studying is reduced to six semesters. Please ask our Course Guidance team for details.

Course Guidance