Applied Sustainability
Do you want to use your existing expertise for something good? Would you like to study Sustainable Development in your Master's programme, but your Bachelor's degree had nothing to do with it? No problem! With the Master's degree programme in Applied Sustainability, you can study sustainability and make an active contribution to a better world yourself. Whether you have a Bachelor's degree in A for Architecture or Z for Contemporary Music - you can apply the sustainability focus to anything.
At a glance
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Standard period of study:
- 3 semesters
- Programme start:
- Summer and winter semester
- Campus:
- Bochum
- Instruction language:
- German and english
- Credit points:
- 90 credit points
- Type of programme:
- Full-time studies
- Type of admission (NC):
- Restricted admission (with NC)
- Notice:
- Notendurchschnitte seit 2018
Details about the Study Programme
What is sustainable development? How does sustainability science work? What methods can I use to promote sustainable development in my environment? How do you work successfully in inter- and transdisciplinary projects? - These and many more exciting questions await you in our Master's programme in Applied Sustainability, for which you can also apply with a Bachelor's degree in another subject.
As with our other sustainability degree programmes, sustainability is examined holistically from the perspectives of the natural sciences, economics, engineering and social sciences.
You will learn to understand the complex issues of our time and develop strategies to address them. You will look at the principles and background of sustainability, explore approaches to solutions in sustainability science and learn how to implement them using a variety of methods - not only in theory, but also applied in a project of your choice. For two semesters, you will actively participate in current sustainability research and transfer projects.
*For documents such as exam regulations and module handbook, please visit the programme's german page.
- In the "eelo - electric velomobile" project you will research the alternative electric mobility of the future and develop roadworthy vehicles.
- The "Repair Culture" project supports the empowerment of people to repair, and thus a social development away from the "throwaway mentality" towards a more sustainable way of life.
- The Carbon Sequestration project explores the use of natural processes to permanently store the atmospheric greenhouse gas CO2.
These are just a few of the many projects on offer. More exciting ones are added each term.
This degree programme is part of the Ruhr Master School (RMS). Choose from additional compulsory elective modules from the partner universities Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, which will be recognised for your studies at Bochum University of Applied Sciences. Take advantage of the extended study options!
The prerequisite for admission to the Master's degree course in Applied Sustainability is a qualified completion of a 7-semester Bachelor's degree course (210 credit points) or Diplom degree course in any degree programme at a state or state-recognised university with an overall grade of 2.5 (up to 2.59) or better.
Please note: Graduates of the Bachelor's degree programme in Sustainable Development at Bochum University of Applied Sciences or comparable degree programmes cannot enrol for Applied Sustainability. The Master's degree programme in Sustainable Development is the right programme for them.
If you have completed a Bachelor's degree with 180 ECTS credits, you can still easily enrol on the Master's degree programme in Applied Sustainability. You can achieve the missing 30 ECTS credits by completing the so-called "alignment credits", which do not necessarily have to be completed before the Master's programme. The aim of the credits is to make up for, broaden or deepen the competences of the undergraduate degree programme. The 30 credit points can be taken from the entire Bachelor's programme at Bochum University of Applied Sciences at the student's own discretion. The prerequisite is that the selected courses were not already part of the previous Bachelor's degree programme. Modules from the Bachelor's degree programme "Sustainable Development" that are also offered in the Master's degree programme "Applied Sustainability" but are taught at Master's level (e.g. Fundamentals of Sustainable Development, Sustainability-oriented Business Administration and Sustainable Economics) are also excluded.
A further requirement is proof of sufficient knowledge of the English language at level B2 (CEFR). The B2 level of English is proven, for example, by:
- Highschool certificate (see Foreign languages, subject English, CEFR B2)
- TOEFL (Internet based) with at least 72 points
- IELTS (Academic English, face to face with oral component) best test): 5
- TOEIC: 400 (listening) and 385 (reading)
Sufficient knowledge of the English language with certificates (English B2 CEFR must be noted) is also deemed to have been provided.
Other language certificates / language certificates and letters of reference are not recognised. Completed semesters abroad do not replace the language certificate / language certificate.
When completing an English-language degree programme (the Diploma Supplement serves as proof of language proficiency if "language of instruction: English" is noted), language proficiency is deemed to have been achieved.
International prospective students
As an international applicant, please note the German language skills required for this degree programme.
Your Career Opportunities
Like all our degree programmes with a focus on sustainability, the Applied Sustainability degree programme opens up a wide range of fields of work for you. After graduating, you can work for start-ups, SMEs, large companies, non-governmental organisations, state and local authorities or research institutes. Sustainability challenges arise everywhere - and you can contribute to overcoming them at regional, national or international level. Here are a few examples:
- You optimise the company's internal processes and procedures in terms of Sustainable Development
- Develop and analyse products and services according to sustainability criteria
- Prepare sustainability reports and communicate with the company's external stakeholders
- Coordinate sustainability projects at home and abroad
- You organise information and education campaigns on Sustainable Development topics
- Design measures to raise funds and resources for sustainability projects
- You develop draft legislation, guidelines and recommendations for action for political decision-makers
- You create concepts for realising the transport and energy transition
- You realise projects in international development cooperation
- You lead the municipal climate protection activities
- You improve the local infrastructure from a sustainability perspective
- You increase the urban quality of life through sustainable urban development measures
- You research the major social challenges of our time
- Advise politicians and business using the latest scientific findings in sustainability research
- You transfer your research findings into practice
Do you already have a bachelor's degree in sustainability?
Then the Master's degree programme in Sustainable Development is a better fit for you!
Contact us
Help with application and enrolment, financing issues or recognition of examination results
Counselling on study content
Lisa Kränke
✆ +49 234 32 10304
Stephan Wallaschkowski
✆ +49 234 32 10303
Studying at Campus Bochum
Modern, internationally oriented and surrounded by greenery - that's Bochum University of Applied Sciences. We have over 8,200 students studying at two locations: the main campus in Bochum and the satellite campus in Heiligenhaus (CVH).
With our six faculties and more than 58 degree programmes, we place great emphasis on peer-to-peer contact, supportive cooperation, personal mentoring and a strong practical focus. There are numerous student working and research groups in which students from different courses come together to learn. Topics such as a sustainable university in Bochum, learning and working in projects (problem-based learning), electric mobility or climate change can be tackled independently and closely supervised by lecturers. You can also do a doctorate here after completing your Master's degree.
The Bochum campus is about 15 minutes by car or tram from the city centre, right next to the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). You can take advantage of all the student activities on campus, from university sports to the cultural café and student halls of residence. As a student city, Bochum offers everything a student's heart desires: from the art museum, theatre and concert hall to the planetarium and mining museum, the party mile Bermudadreieck, the city park and Kemnader Lake - take a look at Maps to see how green it is here!
What our students say
"Thanks to the flexibility of the degree programme, I had the opportunity to get to know different areas of sustainability and actively work on problems at the same time. I particularly enjoyed the wide range of project studies and researching in groups. It was very nice to see that fellow students are passionate about their studies and that professors create an enriching learning atmosphere."
Mara Tippmann, Master's student
Portrait of a student
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