There’s no formal restriction to the order in which courses are taken, so in principle students are free to choose their own schedule. On this page you can, however, find recommendations regarding which semesters you should take the courses of the Mandatory subjects and basic modules and the Keys areas in.

You'll also find recommendations regarding starting in summer semester: It's possible to enroll in winter as well as in summer semester, but most courses are only offered in one or the other. Therefore, and due to the consecutive character many courses in the degree programme starting in winter semester will benefit the sequence of your chosen courses.

Mandatory subjects and basic modules

For the sake of clarity the following recommendations are structured by semester. The module structure is detailed on the page Examination subjects and modules and information regarding which modules the courses belong to can be found in the curriculum, opens a file in a new window (only available in German) and on TISS, opens an external URL in a new window.

VO Introduction to Computational Science and Engineering (3 ECTS)
VU Numerical Simulation and Scientific Computing (6 ECTS)
VU Scientific Programming with Python (2 ECTS)
VU Applied Mathematics Foundations (5,5 ECTS)
VU Numerical Computation (5,5 ECTS)

VU High Performance Computing (4,5 ECTS)
VU Numerical Simulation and Scientific Computing II (6 ECTS)
VO Numerical Methods for PDEs (4 ECTS)
UE Numerical Methods for PDEs (3 ECTS)

VU Advanced Multiprocessor Programming (4,5 ECTS)
VU Computational Science on Many-Core Architectures (3 ECTS)
VU Advanced Programming with C++ (3 ECTS)

Please note that it is mandatory to attend lectures from your two chosen key areas from the first semester on.

Key areas

Regarding the key areas the following course combinations and course sequences are recommend (KX stands for the respective combination recommendations, which make the most sense in terms of thematic focus and amount to the required 15 ECTS-points):

1st semester (winter semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VU „Foundations of Building Science“ (mandatory)
  • 2.0 ECTS VU „Introduction to Digital Twins for Buildings and Cities“ (mandatory)

semester overall: mandatory: 5.0 ECTS

2nd semester (summer semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VU „Advanced Numerical Methods in Building Science 1“ (mandatory)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Multiscale Material Modelling“ (K2)
  • 2.0 ECTS UE „Multiscale Material Modelling“ (K2)
  • 1.5 ECTS VO „Modelling and Simulation in Water Resource Systems“ (K3)
  • 2.0 ECTS UE „Modelling and Simulation in Water Resource Systems“ (K3)

semester overall: mandatory: 3.0 ECTS + optional: K2: 5.0 ECTS or K3: 3.5 ECTS

3rd semester (winter semester)

  • 3.5 ECTS SE „Advanced Visualization and Numerical Methods in City Science“ (mandatory)
  • 3.5 ECTS VU „Advanced Numerical Methods in Building Science 2“ (K1)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Engineering Biochemoporomechanics“ (K4)
  • 1.0 ECTS „Data Management“ (K1, K4)

semester overall: mandatory 3.5 ECTS + optional: K1: 4.5 ECTS or K4: 4.0 ECTS

1st semester (winter semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VU „Introduction to Atomistic Calculations“ (mandatory)
  • 3.0 ECTS VU „Concepts in Condensed Matter Physics“ (mandatory)

semester overall: mandatory: 6.0 ECTS

2nd semester (summer semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Theoretical Molecular Chemistry“ (K1)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Physical and Theoretical Solid State Chemistry“ (K1)
  • 3.0/2.0 VU „Computational Materials Science“ (K2)

semester overall: optional: K1: 6.0 ECTS or K2: 3.0 ECTS

3rd semester (winter semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS PR „Selected Topics in Theoretical Chemistry“ (K1)
  • 3.0 ECTS „Simulations of Solids“ (K2)
  • 3.0 ECTS PR „Selected Topics in Materials Science“ (K2)

semester overall: optional: K1: 3.0 ECTS or K2: 6.0 ECTS

1st semester (winter semester)

  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Introduction to Semiconductor Physics and Devices“ (mandatory)

semester overall: mandatory: 4.0 ECTS

2nd semester (summer semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS „Introduction to Finite Element Methods in Solid Mechanics“ (mandatory)
  • 4.0 ECTS „Simulation of Semiconductor Device Fabrication“ (K1, K2)

semester overall: mandatory: 3.0 ECTS + optional: K1 & K2: 4.0 ECTS

3rd semester (winter semester)

  • 4.0 ECTS PR „Selected Topics - Computational Electronics“ (K1)
  • 4.0 ECTS „Semiconductor Sensors“ (K2)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Theory, Modelling and Simulation of MEMS and NEMS Devices“ (K3, K4)
  • 5.0 ECTS PR „Selected Topics - MEMS and NEMS“ (K3)
  • 1.0 ECTS SE „Recent Advances in Computational Electronics“ (K4)
  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Finite Element for Multi-Physics I“ (K4)

semester overall: mandatory: K1: 4.0 ECTS or K2: 4.0 ECTS or K3: 8.0 ECTS or K4: 8.0 ECTS

1st semester (winter semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Numerical Methods for Fluid Mechanics“ (mandatory)

semester overall: mandatory: 3.0 ECTS

2nd semester (summer semester)

  • 5.0 ECTSVU „Fundamentals in Fluid Mechanics“ (mandatory)
  • 2.0 ECTS SE „Seminar on Stability and Pern Formation” (K1)

semester overall: mandatory: 5.0 ECTS + optional: K1: 2.0 ECTS

3rd semester (winter semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS UE „Calculating Turbulent Flows with CFD-Codes“ (K2)
  • 2.0 ECTS UE „Numerical Methods in Fluid Dynamics“ (K3)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Hydrodynamic Stability and Transition to Turbulence“ (K4)
  • 3.0 ECTS VU „Aeroacoustics“ (K5)
  • 5.0 ECTS VU „Computational Aerodynamics“ (K1, K3)
  • 4.0 ECTS PA „Project Study in Fluid Mechanics“ (K2, K4, K5)

semester overall: optional: K1: 5.0 ECTS or K2 & K4 &K5: 7.0 ECTS or K3: 7.0 ECTS

1st semester (winter semester)

  • 4.5 ECTS VO „Modelling with Partial Differential Equations“ (K1, K3)
  • 1.5 ECTS UE „Modelling with Partial Differential Equations“ (K3)

semester overall: optional: K1: 4.5 ECTS or K3: 6.0 ECTS

2nd semester (summer semester)

  • 4.5 ECTS VO „Numerics of Partial Differential Equations: Instationary Problems“ (K1, K2)
  • 1.5 ECTS UE „Numerics of Partial Differential Equations: Instationary Problems“ (K2)
  • 3.0 ECTS SE „Computational Mathematics“ (K1, K2, K3, K4)
  • 4.5 ECTS VO „AKNUM Iterative Solution of Large Systems of Equations“ (K3, K4)
  • 1.5 ECTS UE „AKNUM Iterative Solution of Large Systems of Equations“ (K4)

semester overall: optional: K1: 7.5 ECTS or K2: 9.0 ECTS or K3: 7.5 ECTS or K4: 9.0 ECTS

3rd semester (winter semester)

  • 3.5 ECTS VU „Optimization with PDE Constraints“ (K1, K3, K4)
  • 4.5 ECTS VO „AKFVM-AKNUM Computational Finance“ (K2)
  • 3.0 ECTS UE „AKFVM-AKNUM Computational Finance“ (K2)
  • 4.5 ECTS VU „AKNUM Finite Element Methods in Technical Applications“ (K4)

semester overall: optional: K1 & K3: 3.5 ECTS or K2: 7.5 ECTS or K4: 8.0 ECTS

1st semester (winter semester)

  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Finite Elements for Multi-Physics I“ (mandatory)

semester overall: mandatory: 4.0 ECTS

2nd semester (summer semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Finite Element Methods for Multi-Physics II“ (mandatory)
  • 2.0/2.0 UE „Finite Element Methods for Multi-Physics II“ (K2, K3)
  • 3.0/2.0 VU „Nanoelectromechanical Systems“ (K2)

semester overall: mandatory: 3.0 ECTS + optional: K2: 5.0 ECTS or K3: 2.0 ECTS

3rd semester (winter semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Theory, Modelling and Simulation of MEMS and NEMS Devices“ (K2, K3)
  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Implementation of a Finite Element Program“ (K1)
  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Computational Methods in Structural Mechanics“ (K1)
  • 3.0 ECTS SE „Seminar Mechatronic Systems“ (K3)

semester overall: optional: K1: 8.0 ECTS or K2: 3.0 ECTS or K3: 6.0 ECTS

1st semester (winter semester)

  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Finite Element for Multi-Physics I“ (K1)
  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Composites Engineering“ (K2)

semester overall: optional: K1 & K2: 4.0 ECTS

2nd semester (summer semester)

  • 3.0 ECTS VU „Introduction to Finite Element Methods in Solid Mechanics“ (mandatory)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Finite Element Methods for Multi-Physics II“ (K1)
  • 2.0 ECTS UE „Finite Element Methods for Multi-Physics II“ (K1)
  • 2.0 ECTS UE „Design of Composite Structures“ (K2)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Advanced Material Models for Structural Analysis“ (K2, K3)

semester overall mandatory: 3.0 ECTS + optional: K1 & K2: 5.0 ECTS or K3: 3.0 ECTS

3rd semester (winter semester)

  • 4.0 ECTS VU „Implementation of a Finite Element Program“ (mandatory)
  • 3.0 ECTS VO „Nonlinear Finite Element Methods“ (K3)
  • 2.0 ECTS UE „Nonlinear Finite Element Methods“ (K3)

semester overall: mandatory: 4.0 ECTS + optional: K3: 5.0 ECTS

Please note that there’s no temporal priorization recommended here.

Starting in Sommer Semester

Due to the consecutive character of the mandatory courses: If students start in the summer term we recommend taking only courses for which students feel sufficiently prepared for. If in doubt, we recommend taking free elective and transferable skills courses in the summer term and start with the regular schedule in the subsequent winter term.