Your Career Prospects 

Whether in production, energy or mobility: the global transformation is affecting almost every industry. What is needed now are engineers who can consider systems, costs and environmental impact together.

The Master’s programme in Sustainable Engineering prepares you precisely for this challenge: thinking economically while acting ecologically.

• Career Fields

  Your expertise is in demand in these industries:

  • Manufacturing and Production
  • Chemical and Process Industries
  • Energy Generation and Supply
  • Mobility and Transportation
  • Consulting

   

  Potential Career Fields:

  • Product Developer
  • Production Manager
  • Sustainability Manager
  • Technical Sales Manager
  • Technical Manager / Engineering Leader

The Programme in Detail

The Master’s programme in Sustainable Engineering combines engineering expertise with sustainability practice, regulatory knowledge and business-oriented thinking. You will work on real-world challenges from industry, the energy sector, public infrastructure and other fields.

At the same time, you will not only learn the theory – you will apply it directly in projects and case studies.

The programme content has been developed in close collaboration with companies that are driving sustainability in production and energy – and it continues to be further refined together with them.

• Contents

  • Sustainable Energy and Supply Systems: How do transformation processes in electricity and heating systems work?

  • Smart Grids & Energy Infrastructure: How can you design innovative, technically sound, environmentally compatible and economically viable energy networks?

  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): How sustainable is a product really – from production to disposal?

  • Resource Efficiency & Circular Economy: How can we use raw materials more efficiently and improve recycling?

  • Sustainable Production & Innovation: Whether greenfield or brownfield – how do you develop processes and products that are both ecologically and economically sustainable?

  • Sustainability Reporting & Compliance: Which regulations and standards apply, and how are they implemented in practice?

  • C2C/C2G Analyses: Cradle to Cradle (C2C) and Cradle to Grave (C2G) – how do you evaluate the entire life cycle of a product, from raw material to recycling?

  • Data Analysis & AI: How can you use AI tools to analyse data effectively and support better decision-making?

• Elective Moduls

  Choose your elective moduls – or combine both. From the second semester onwards, you decide whether to specialise in Sustainable Production, Renewable Energies, or continue your studies without a specific specialisation. 

  • Sustainable Production: Sustainable manufacturing processes, circular economy, resource efficiency and product development

  • Renewable Energies: Renewable energy systems, energy storage, smart grids and the transformation of energy systems

  • No Specialisation: The best of both worlds – combine modules from both tracks and build your own individual competence profile.

• Curriculum

  Semester 1

  • Sustainability Reporting (C2C/C2G Analyses)
  • Sustainability Standards & Compliance
  • Case Study: Circular Economies & Geopolitics
  • Process Engineering, Power & Heat
  • Case Study: Development of Sustainable Products
  • Case Study: Profitable Use of Renewable Energies

  Semester 2

  • Recycling & Processing Technologies
  • Footprint Reduction in Process Industries
  • Case Study: AI for Sustainability
  • Specialisation: Sustainable Production (elective module from the 2nd semester onwards):
  • Change to Sustainable Production
  • Case Study: Increasing Efficiency in Production
  • Case Study: Recycling & Process Engineering
  • Specialisation: Renewable Energies (elective modules from the 2nd semester onwards):
  • Renewable Energies: Generation & Storage
  • Case Study: Model-Based Energy Production
  • Case Study: Smart Grids & Energy Transition

  Semester 3 (90 CP)

  • Master Thesis

  Semester 3 (120 CP)

  • Internship

  Semester 4 (120 CP)

  • Master Thesis

Your Path to a Study Place

If you see yourself here and would like to study the Master’s programme in Sustainable Engineering, you will find everything you need to know about admission requirements, application procedures and tuition fees.

• Admission Requirements

  You need a Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or technical/scientific field.

  The Master’s Admission Regulations (MZO) of RH Cologne provide all further details.

• Standard Period of Study
  • Full-time: 3 semesters (90 ECTS) or 4 semesters (120 ECTS including a practical semester)
  • Part-time (alongside your career): 4 semesters (90 ECTS) or 5 semesters (120 ECTS including a practical semester)
• Application Process

  Register via our online form. You will then receive the application documents by post and all further information by email.

• Tuition Fees

  You can find all information about the tuition fees at the following link.