Materials Engineering

Whole eras (such as the Bronze Age) and entire regions (such as Silicon Valley) have been named after materials. Materials have always driven progress. In the Materials Engineering programme, you will learn how to develop sustainable materials, understand their properties, apply them purposefully, and design processes for their production. In doing so, you will make a crucial contribution to future technologies and a sustainable society.

• Fascination with Materials: Explore metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites – and discover how they shape our daily lives and future technologies.
• Hands-on research: In laboratories and technical centers, you test and characterize materials and develop your own projects – often in direct collaboration with industry partners.
• Sustainable mindset: Improve the life cycle of materials – from energy-efficient production to recycling.
• Securing the future: Your expertise is in demand – in industries such as energy, medical technology, mobility, and high-tech.
• Building bridges: Connect chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, and digitalization, as a key person interface for sustainable innovation.

Your expertise as a materials engineer is in high demand – in key industries such as energy, medical technology, mobility, and high-tech. With your broad education, you will cover development, production, characterization, and sustainability. You will design new materials, optimize processes, and contribute to solutions our society urgently needs. You will learn how to positively influence the life cycle of materials and understand that future technologies are impossible without innovative materials.

Your degree opens up numerous career paths – for example in development, project management, or research, including work in international companies. At the same time, it provides the foundation for a Master’s programme in engineering.

What are typical fields of activity?

• You develop new materials and products – for example for lightweight construction, medical technology, or sustainable technologies.

• You optimize manufacturing processes and material life cycles in industry and research.

• You test and ensure material quality – for instance in energy engineering or high-tech industries.

• You take on consulting and project management roles in international corporations, SMEs, or research institutions.

Graduates of the Materials Engineering programme take on responsibilities in a wide range of fields. They plan, develop, manufacture, characterize, and test materials. Thanks to their interdisciplinary expertise, they often act as key interfaces within companies – connecting research, development, production, quality assurance, and environmental topics.

Skills in materials engineering are in high demand across numerous industries, including automotive, medical technology, energy, and sensor technology. With growing professional experience, career paths open up toward leadership positions – for example in quality assurance, research & development, or production management.

The Materials Engineering programme at FHNW is modular in design, combining scientific foundations with practical application. From the very beginning, you will apply your knowledge in projects – in laboratories, technical centers, interdisciplinary teams, and in collaboration with industry.

In the first semesters, you build a solid foundation in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering sciences. Afterwards, you deepen your expertise in material classes such as metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites, while tailoring your studies to your individual interests and career goals.

How is the programme structured?

• Student projects
  In every semester, you work on real projects – from laboratory experiments to industry collaborations. This allows you to connect theory and practice right from the start.

• Specialist training
  You gain in-depth knowledge in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering sciences. These fundamentals form the basis for your advanced expertise in materials. In the first year, you attend lectures together with Mechanical Engineering students.

• Signature Modules
  In the first year, the Signature Modules immerse you in the fascinating world of materials through company visits, challenges, and research lab tours at the School of Engineering and Environment.

• Materials
  From the second year onward, you specialise in materials: metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites. Industry cases and laboratory work make the content tangible and practice-oriented.

• Environment
  Materials are always part of a larger system. In the environmental modules, you learn about recycling processes and evaluate life cycles using appropriate analysis tools (LCA). You address sustainability issues and gain knowledge of regulatory aspects as well as the selection of alternative materials.

• Digital Skills
  These modules introduce you to essential digital tools, such as programming skills, FEM simulations, material databases, and design tools, as well as the efficient and responsible use of AI.

• Science, Technology and Society: Context
  These modules link the foundations and specialisations in the humanities and social sciences with technical expertise. You learn how to create a positive impact on society through your work, act responsibly and with foresight, consider problems from multiple perspectives, and lay the groundwork for ethical and sustainable action.

In this programme, you will explore the full spectrum of materials science. Key modules include, for example:

• Deep Dive into Material Classes: Metals, ceramics, polymers, composites

• Industry Cases: Practice-oriented projects with partners from energy, medical technology, and high-tech industries

• Life Cycle & Sustainability: Life-cycle assessment, recycling, circular economy

• Failure Analysis & Materials Testing: Investigating root causes and applying testing methods

• Nanotechnology & Surfaces: Developing materials for high-tech applications

In the second year, you will gain an in-depth understanding of the material classes: metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites.

In the third year, you may choose to continue as a generalist, working across all material classes.

Alternatively, you can specialise in selected material classes and deepen your expertise according to your personal interests.