Medical Engineering M. Sc.

Here you can find the general dates and deadlines at TUM.

Binding examination dates for your degree program can be found in TUMonline.

The exam registration for your degree program usually takes place during the following periods:

• May 15 – June 30 for exams following the summer semester
• November 15 – January 15 for exams following the winter semester

Here you will find all relevant documents relating to your degree programme:

• General Academic and Examination Regulations
• Program-Specific Academic and Examination Regulations
• Aptitude Assessment: See Attachment 2 of FPSO
• Degree Program Documentation: Select degree program → Information on Degree Program → Program Profile
• Module Catalog
• Timetable: Your degree program does not have a fixed timetable. You choose your modules according to your own preferences from the current offer in TUMonline.
• Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice and for Dealing with Scientific Misconduct (only available in German)

Here you will find all relevant forms for your degree program:

Recognitions

(for achievements from a pre-study or study abroad)
Application for recognition of academic achievement
Letter of justification for the inclusion of a module in the Engineering Flexibilisation pillar 

Supplementary Benefits

(for achievements from a parallel double degree program within TUM)
Application for Supplementary Benefits of Credits earned at TUM

Modules

Application for inclusion of TUM internal modules

Internships

Internship proof

Examinations

Application for withdrawal from the examination

Written work

Request for extension of processing time
(Important: Applies exclusively to Research Practice; extension requests for Final Theses must be submitted immediately via the ED portal!)
Minimum requirements for academic theses (formatting, cover page and declaration of independence)

Certificate documents

Activity list and routing slip (for recording special activities during the studies for documentation in the Diploma Supplement)

Exam Registration

All relevant times around exam registration can be found under Dates and Deadlines. In principle, you register for all exams via TUMonline. Instructions on how to register for exams can be found in the central IT Wiki. For your own safety, we advise you to print out a registration confirmation from TUMonline after registration. Registrations after the official registration period are not possible. If you have problems registering, assigning or deregistering from examinations, please contact the examination board responsible for you immediately.

Exam deregistration and withdrawal from exams

As a rule, you can cancel your exam independently in TUMonline up to 7 days before the respective exam date. After the one-week deadline has expired, deregistration from the exam is generally only possible by withdrawing from the exam.

The following applies to the application for withdrawal from the examination:

• Only reasons for which the student is not responsible will be recognised.
• The request for withdrawal must be submitted immediately, e.g. by personal submission, by dropping it in the mailbox next to room MW0011 (Bachelor's Examination Board MW) or MW0011a (Master's Examination Board MW), by post (Attention: receipt of the application can only be guaranteed by registered mail), by email at bpa.me(at)ed.tum.de (Bachelor's Examination Board MW) or mpa.me(at)ed.tum.de (Master's Examination Board MW).
• The reasons for failure to do so must be credibly substantiated (proof required).
• In case of absence due to illness, a certificate must be submitted. The certificate must always be based on an examination that was carried out on the day on which you assert that you are unable to take the exam. Please note our instructions.
• If the exam is interrupted due to sudden illness during the examination, the invigilators must be notified and an application for withdrawal with a medical certificate, issued on the day of the examination, must be submitted immediately to the Bachelor's/Master's Examination Board in Mechanical Engineering. If the examination is completed regularly, no withdrawal from the examination can be recognised.
• If, although a request for withdrawal has been submitted, an examination is recorded, the request for withdrawal is invalidated and can no longer be asserted retrospectively. If a student takes part in an examination in knowledge of his/her condition despite health or other circumstances that reduce performance, he/she can no longer assert this impairment retrospectively.
• Attention: Withdrawing from an exam for recognized reasons is equivalent to deregistering from an exam. According to the provisions of the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act, only failed examinations can be written as repeat examinations during the leave of absence. If you have been notified of a withdrawal from an examination with a recognised reason (approved withdrawal from the examination), this examination is not considered a repeat examination in the next semester and can therefore not be taken as a repeat examination during the leave of absence.

When does it make sense to withdraw from an exam?
At TUM, there is usually no limit on the number of exam attempts or the repetition of individual exams - as long as you are within the permissible study progress (credit limits) according to §10 of the APSO. However, when is it necessary or sensible to withdraw from an examination?

1. Basic examinations HM1 and TM1 in the Bachelor's degree programme in Mechanical Engineering: Participation in the two basic examinations Higher Mathematics 1 and Technical Mechanics 1 is mandatory. They only have one retry at a time. The exams must be passed by the end of the second semester at the latest! An exam that has been registered but not taken will be considered a failed attempt. Accordingly, if you are unable to attend an examination date at short notice (e.g. due to illness or other valid reasons), you must immediately withdraw from the examination (with the submission of appropriate proof). This is how you prevent a failed attempt due to "no-show".
2. Problems with the study progress check in the Bachelor's or Master's degree: If you only just reach the credit hurdle of the study progress review, you should immediately apply for a withdrawal from the exam in question in the event of illness or other valid reasons in order to meet the immediacy of the valid reasons according to §10 APSO. Valid reasons can only be given if the report is made immediately.

Please note that even in the case of recognized exam withdrawals, this does not automatically trigger an extension of the deadline. You must apply for this separately. The examination board decides on the granting of an extension of the deadline and §10 APSO applies.

Examination Notices

You will be informed by the Graduation Office and Academic Records Garching by e-mail that you can retrieve the official examination notice via TUMonline. Three days after dispatch, the notice is deemed to have been delivered! The objection period of one month runs from the date of service. An objection must always be filed in writing with the TUM Center for Study and Teaching - Studium und Lehre - Recht. If you have any questions about the decision, please contact the examination board responsible for you first. The number of attempts required is only listed in the account statement, which is also part of the notices. In the Transcript of Records, the passed exams are listed without the number of attempts required.

Exam results

You can find out your exam results in the following ways:

• Account statement from TUMonline: All results are listed here (for your own check).
• Transcript of Records from TUMonline: Only the passed exams are listed here.
• Official Bachelor's/Master's Certificate of Achievement exclusively from:
  Graduation Office and Academic Records, Campus Garching
  Boltzmannstr. 17/III
  85748 Garching bei MünchenTel: +49 (0)89 289 - 14543
  E-Mail: birgit.neurath(at)tum.de
  www.tum.de/studium/im-studium/pruefungen-und-ergebnisse  

Audit review

If students are unable to attend the examination for reasons beyond their control, they can apply for an alternative date. To do this, an informal application must be submitted immediately to the responsible examination board. The application must be accompanied by copies of the reason for the impediment (e.g. stay abroad, internship, illness, etc.). After receipt of the documents by the Examination Board, they will be reviewed and, if the subsequent inspection is approved, forwarded to the responsible examiner. For the purpose of scheduling an appointment with the responsible examiner, please give the Examination Board your consent to forward your personal data (e-mail address). Please note: Private reasons (e.g. holiday trips) cannot be taken into account. Inspection by an authorised representative is not possible (except in the case of pending opposition proceedings or legal disputes). You will receive copies of your examination documents during the examination review.

Repeat examinations

Repeat examinations are failed examinations for which you were registered and did not pass (grade 5.0) or were registered and did not appear (X n.e.). Withdrawing from an examination for recognised reasons is equivalent to deregistering from an examination. According to the provisions of the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act, only failed examinations can be written as repeat examinations during the leave of absence. If you have been notified of a withdrawal from an examination with a recognised reason (approved withdrawal from the examination), this examination is not considered a repeat examination in the next semester and can therefore not be taken as a repeat examination during the leave of absence. You will not be automatically registered for repeat examinations. All students must register for all exams independently in TUMonline via the study tree.

As a rule, examinations can be repeated as often as desired until passing, provided that the required study progress according to APSO §10 is adhered to. Exceptions are:

• For Bachelor's students: According to §38 para. 2 FPSO, the basic examinations HM 1 and TM 1 must  be passed by the end of the 2nd semester and may only be repeated once within this period  .
• Bachelor's thesis and Master's thesis: The final thesis  may only be repeated once within the required study progress.

Study progress monitoring

If you can prove that you have not been able to complete your studies properly over a long period of time (possibly even an entire semester) for reasons beyond your control (illness, etc.), you can apply for an extension or suspension of the deadline. The reasons must be reported to the responsible examination board immediately. If you fail to pass the study progress assessment, you cannot retroactively refer to long-term illnesses or other reasons if you did not report them to your examination board immediately. As a rule, a suspension of the study progress check is only possible 1x. If the restrictions persist, the student must inquire at the Application and Enrolment Department about the possibility of a leave of absence or an interruption of studies. You can also take advantage of the advice provided by the student advisory service or the secretary of your degree programme. Please find out more about the necessary certificate under Certificates.

Compensation for disadvantages

APSO § 19 defines:

"If a student credibly demonstrates that he or she is unable to take the examination in whole or in part in the intended form due to a long-term or permanent physical disability or chronic illness, this can be compensated for by a corresponding extension of the working hours or a different design of the examination procedure."

The application for disadvantage compensation must be  submitted immediately at the beginning of lectures, but no later than 15.11 in the winter semester and by 15.05 in the summer semester. The application for disadvantage compensation must be submitted to the responsible examination board. The application for compensation for disadvantages must be accompanied by a medical certificate. Information on the certificate can be found in the letter accompanying the certificate under Forms [insert link!!]. After receipt of your application for compensation for disadvantages, the examination board will examine with appropriate proof whether and, if so, in what form the compensation for disadvantages can be granted. You will receive a notification from the examination board. If you are granted disadvantage compensation for the duration of your studies in the corresponding degree programme, the examinations for which you need disadvantage compensation must be reported to the examination board every semester by the end of the examination registration period at the latest. For more information, please refer to the notification. The Examination Board will inform the chairs/professorships if it reports in due time.Compensation for disadvantages will not be granted in the case of acute, temporary illnesses or injuries. If necessary, please apply for a withdrawal from the examination if there are severe restrictions. Further information about disadvantage compensation (including the application form) can be found on the central TUM page on the topic.

Examination Board

The Bachelor's Examination Board in Mechanical Engineering or the Master's Examination Board in Mechanical Engineering, which is made up of professors from the respective degree programmes and a secretary, is responsible for your degree programme. It meets once a semester, discusses motions and implements them by passing resolutions. You can contact the examination board via the respective secretary. You can find your responsible contact person in the contact box on the right.

If you have any further questions, please also check our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). 

If you have completed examinations from a previous degree course that are equivalent to the achievements of your current degree course, you can have it checked whether recognition is possible. The prerequisite for the recognition of credits is that there are no "significant differences with regard to the acquired competencies (learning outcomes)" (BayHSchG, Art. 63, Lisbon Convention Art. V1).

In your degree program, there are three ways to have credits recognized. Prerequisite: The recognition of examination achievements is only possible if the maximum credits to be earned in the individual elective sections, as defined in Annex 1 of the FPSO, have not yet been fulfilled.

1. Recognition of equivalence:

A recognition for an equivalent module at TUM. The content is assessed by the module coordinator on the basis of the module description submitted by the student.

2. Recognition as an "individual Master's module":

The examination of the content relevance is carried out by the program representative on the basis of the module description submitted by the student and a letter of justification.

3. Recognition as a "recognized supplementary subject from a semester abroad":

You can submit an application for general recognition for a maximum of two (old study regulations three) supplementary subjects. For the general recognition of supplementary subjects, there must be an engineering reference to the degree program and the work completed abroad must correspond to at least 3 ECTS credits each. For supplementary subjects from the semester abroad, 3 ECTS are credited (even if you have completed more than 3 ECTS abroad). It must also be proven that the academic achievement completed abroad is equivalent to Master's level.

It is up to the student to decide on the basis of the module handbook whether the module could be equivalent at the university abroad. There is no 100% certainty, i.e. you cannot submit an amended application if your application is rejected. The examination of the content relevance is checked by the program coordinator or the equivalence of content by the module coordinator. Unfortunately, the Master's Examination Board cannot provide you with any information on the relevance/equivalence of module content. This is only done once an application for recognition has been submitted to the Master's Examination Board.

Please contact the secretary of the Master's Examination Board in Mechanical Engineering for an application or advice (see box on the right side of the screen for contact details). All necessary forms can be found here. The processing of an application for recognition usually takes about twelve weeks. During this time, we ask you to refrain from inquiries about the processing status. When processing is complete and your recognitions have been entered, you will see them in your TUMonline transcript of records.

If you have any further questions, please also check our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

There is no mandatory internship in your degree program. Voluntary internships can be completed. Under certain circumstances, a leave of absence may then make sense. You can get advice on this from the Internship Office (see box on the right side of the screen for contact details).

If you have any further questions, please also check our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

There is the possibility of a stay abroad at a European or non-European partner university. Double degree programmes have been agreed with selected universities. You can find more information about the various options for a stay abroad on the website of the TUM Global & Alumni Office.

At the TUM School of Engineering and Design, there is also a contact person for international affairs who will support you in planning and organization (see contact Student counseling).

What is research practice and where can I find topics?

The prerequisite for registering for research practice is enrollment in a master's program.

In the master's programs (enrollment in the 2019/2020 academic year or later), you can choose between

• a semester paper
• a team project, or
• a research internship.

For information on content, etc., please refer to the respective module descriptions. You can search for topics on the homepages of the chairs and in the database of the mechanical engineering student council, for example. When selecting a topic, please note who is authorized to propose topics in your degree program.

Who can be my supervisor?

The authorization to set topics is regulated in the examination and study regulations (FPSO §37a) of the respective degree program. Below you will find the current authorization to set topics (as of October 2021).

In all Master's degree programs in the field of Mechanical Engineering Thesis:

• expert examiners that offer master modules in the respective degree program (except for master modules included in the section "Flexibilation in Engineering Sciences"),
• expert examiners of the Departments
  • Aerospace and Geodesy,
  • Engineering Physics and Computation,
  • Mobility Systems Engineering,
  • Mechanical Engineering,
  • Materials Engineering, 

  • Energy and Process Engineering. 

    of the TUM School of Engineering and Design as well as

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Timo Oksanen (Associate Professorship of Agrimechatronics),
• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Gaderer (Associate Professorship of Regenerative Energy Systems),
• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jakob Burger (Associate Professorship of Process Engineering)
• Prof. Dr. Allister Loder (Professur für Mobility Policy).

What is the workload of my research practice?

The workload of a scientific thesis is reflected in the credits. You can either complete a term project, a practical research course or a team project. All three options are assessed with 11 credits = 330 working hours each (equivalent to 2 months full-time work).

The period for writing this thesis is 6 months in each case.

Can I give back a research practice which has already been registered?

No.

It is only possible to return a topic for the final thesis.

Can I extend the processing time?

Yes. Upon request, an extension of up to one month is possible. The application is submitted via the ED portal.

In case of illness, the period for writing this thesis may be extended by the duration of inability. The application for this must be submitted via ED-Portal (a medical certificate must be provided). 

Please see Final Thesis for further information.

Can the research practice be written outside of TUM?

Yes, but the issue and initial supervision must be carried out by a TUM supervisor.

There is no entitlement to supervision of a thesis that is written externally. The topic is always set by an expert examiner from TUM. If you would like to work on an interesting topic in a company, please contact the relevant chair/department (= topic setter) at an early stage to inquire whether a thesis can be written externally. Please note the following summary of the examination regulations:
The topic is always set by an expert examiner in accordance with APSO §18 (4), sentences 1 and 3.

Those setting the topics may offer students the opportunity to complete the topic externally, e.g., in cooperation with a company.
Under no circumstances may students present a topic already specified by an external partner to the examiners and demand supervision from the university.
A student research project is an examination and is therefore subject to the regular examination procedure. Examiners must be able to view the student research project in its entirety and be in a position to evaluate it.
The written paper may not contain any declaration prohibiting the publication of the student research project or parts thereof. (Restrictive notes are not permitted. Faculty Council decision, valid from WS17/18).
Copyright/usage rights requirements (contact: Till von Feilitzsch): There is no obligation to publish student research projects. The copyright remains with the student.

Can I submit my research project during my semester off?

No. You are not permitted to submit any academic work (research project, thesis) during your semester off. This means that you must submit your academic work before the start of your semester off or you may only begin it after it has started. The requirements for submission are set out in §14 (1) sentence 4 of the APSO in its currently valid version, i.e. if you registered your research practice/thesis in the previous semester, you can still submit it until the end of the first week of lectures in the new semester (= leave of absence semester). See also “Leave of absence.” An exception is leave of absence due to pregnancy or parenthood (also for men).

How do I register my research practice?

All research practices (in the ED portal under the menu item Project Work) starting on or after April 15, 2025, must be registered via the ED portal.

The procedure is similar to that for registering theses. For detailed instructions, please refer to Final Thesis.

The general procedure is as follows:

1. The chair registers the project work in the ED portal.

2. The students confirm their registration in the ED portal.

3. The School Office approves the registration.

4. The students upload the project report.

5. The chair enters the grade in the portal.

6. The project work data is transferred to TUMonline.

How do I submit my research practice?

Submission is done directly via the ED portal. For detailed instructions, please refer to Final Thesis.

Master's Thesis

Take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions sections in the ED Wiki!