Faculty of Process Sciences

Bachelor's level

At Bachelor's level, the faculty delivers broad, methods-driven foundations that deliberately combine natural science theory with engineering design thinking — an approach that distinguishes these programmes from single-discipline engineering degrees elsewhere. Programmes span the full scope of the faculty's six institutes, including B.Sc. Biotechnology, B.Sc. Food Technology (Lebensmitteltechnologie), B.Sc. Renewable Energies and Process Engineering (Erneuerbare Energien und Verfahrenstechnik), B.Sc. Environmental Protection Engineering (Technischer Umweltschutz), B.Sc. Materials Science and Engineering (Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik), B.Sc. Food Chemistry (Lebensmittelchemie), and B.Sc. Energy and Process Engineering (Energie- und Prozesstechnik), among others. Instruction is primarily in German. Graduates typically proceed to a Master's at TU Berlin or move into junior engineering roles in the chemical, food, or energy industries.

Master's level

Master's programmes are research-oriented and narrowly specialised, designed to qualify graduates for leadership roles in industry, research institutes, and engineering consultancies. Several programmes are English-taught, making this level the primary entry point for international applicants: M.Sc. Environmental Science and Technology, M.Sc. Process Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering (PEESE), and M.Sc. Sustainable Energy and Process Engineering are fully or largely delivered in English. Other Master's programmes include M.Sc. Biotechnology, M.Sc. Brewing and Beverage Technology (Brauerei- und Getränketechnologie), M.Sc. Energy and Process Engineering, M.Sc. Building Energy Systems (Gebäudeenergiesysteme), M.Sc. Regenerative Energy Systems, M.Sc. Food Technology, and M.Sc. Materials Science. Master's thesis projects are frequently carried out in collaboration with faculty research centres or external industry and Helmholtz partners.

PhD / Doctoral studies

Doctoral research is a core pillar of the faculty's scientific activity, with funding drawn from DFG, EU Horizon, the Einstein Foundation, and federal programmes. A newly established DAAD-funded international doctoral programme in biotechnology — designed to link global talent with Berlin start-ups — illustrates the faculty's push towards internationally competitive postgraduate pathways. Doctoral candidates work within the faculty's six institutes and affiliated centres such as Si-M (Der Simulierte Mensch) and the Werner-von-Siemens Centre for Industry and Science.

TU Berlin is a member of TU9 — Germany's alliance of the nine leading technical universities — which means your degree carries weight with employers across Europe and internationally. The faculty's interdisciplinary blend of life sciences and engineering is described by the university itself as unique in the German academic landscape, giving graduates a cross-disciplinary profile that purely engineering or purely science graduates cannot offer.

• English-taught Master's programmes (PEESE, Environmental Science and Technology, Sustainable Energy and Process Engineering) mean you can complete a full Master's without German fluency, while still living in one of Europe's most vibrant cities.
• €27 million+ in third-party research funding (2022 data) ensures that students work in genuinely active research environments, not just lecture theatres.
• Industry partnerships with Siemens, Charité – Universitätsmedizin, and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft create direct pathways from thesis work to professional networks.
• The Si-M research centre, co-founded with Charité and backed by €34 million in federal and state funding, gives students access to frontier biomedical engineering research including 3D bioprinting and organ-on-chip technology.
• The faculty participates in the Excellence Cluster UniSysCat (Unifying Systems in Catalysis), connecting students to one of Germany's nationally funded research flagship programmes.

The faculty's overarching research theme is resource efficiency of processes and products — investigated through physical, chemical, and biological transformations of matter and energy. Six institutes structure the faculty's research portfolio:

• Institut für Biotechnologie — biotechnological processes, cell and molecular biology applications, biopharmaceuticals
• Institut für Energietechnik — energy conversion, renewable energy systems, sustainable energy supply including projects on energy access in Africa
• Institut für Lebensmitteltechnologie und Lebensmittelchemie — food health effects, nutrition in ageing, food safety; active in 'Nutrition in Old Age' collaborative project
• Institut für Prozess- und Verfahrenstechnik — phase systems in process engineering, green chemistry, aerosol and indoor air quality (Hermann-Rietschel-Institut work)
• Institut für Technischen Umweltschutz — environmental systems engineering, life-cycle assessment, ecological footprint modelling
• Institut für Werkstoffwissenschaften und -technologien — sustainable materials research, additive manufacturing, high-voltage insulation materials

Key externally funded initiatives include the Si-M 'Simulated Human' research centre (TU Berlin + Charité, €34 million investment, focus: 3D bioprinted tissue, organ-on-chip models, cancer and infection therapies), the Werner-von-Siemens Centre for Industry and Science (Siemens, TU Berlin, Fraunhofer, BAM — focus: additive manufacturing, novel materials, digital production), the Einstein Centre 3R (animal-free testing using 3D organ models), and the EU-funded UniSysCat Excellence Cluster in catalysis. The faculty also contributes to TU Berlin's six Key Application Areas, spanning Energy Systems and Sustainable Resources, Materials, Design and Manufacturing, Human Health, and Digital Transformation.

For international applicants, the most important filter is language of instruction. At Master's level, three fully or largely English-taught programmes are available: M.Sc. Environmental Science and Technology, M.Sc. Process Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering (PEESE), and M.Sc. Sustainable Energy and Process Engineering — all delivered within the Faculty of Process Sciences. These programmes do not require German as a condition of admission, though some German will help with daily life in Berlin.

Most Bachelor's programmes and the remaining Master's programmes are taught in German, so a certified German language level (typically B2–C1, verified at TU Berlin's general admission stage) is required for those pathways.

A DAAD-funded international doctoral programme in biotechnology, announced in 2026, specifically targets international graduates and links them to Berlin's biotech start-up ecosystem — an unusual structured entry route for PhD-level international applicants.

The faculty maintains study abroad and practical placement options for enrolled students, and TU Berlin participates in Erasmus+ exchanges across Europe. For programme-specific admission requirements and application deadlines, prospective students should consult the faculty's study programmes page directly.

The Faculty of Process Sciences is based at TU Berlin's main campus in Charlottenburg, Berlin's city-west district — one of the most internationally connected urban research campuses in Germany. The campus sits directly on the Straße des 17. Juni, minutes from the Tiergarten park, with excellent S-Bahn and U-Bahn connections to the rest of Berlin.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is approximately 40–50 minutes by direct S-Bahn, making the faculty easily accessible for international arrivals. Central Berlin is extraordinarily well-connected by public transport, with no real need for a car.

The faculty occupies several buildings across the main campus, with laboratories, seminar rooms, and specialist research infrastructure distributed across its six institutes. The newly inaugurated Si-M science building — located in Berlin-Wedding as part of a planned biomedical technology campus — provides a second major research site for biotechnology and biomedical engineering students. TU Berlin's central library and student union (Studentenwerk) facilities, including canteens and study spaces, are shared across the campus.

Graduates of the Faculty of Process Sciences enter a wide range of technically demanding sectors where the combination of natural science knowledge and engineering design is directly valued:

• Pharmaceutical and biotech industry — process development, bioprocess engineering, quality assurance; Berlin's growing life-sciences cluster (including Charité-linked spin-offs) is a direct hiring ground
• Food and beverage industry — product development, quality management, regulatory affairs; the Brauerei- und Getränketechnologie programmes have strong ties to the European brewing and beverages sector
• Energy and utilities — renewable energy systems design, grid integration, energy consulting; relevant to Germany's ongoing Energiewende and EU Green Deal infrastructure build-out
• Environmental consulting and public sector — environmental impact assessment, waste management engineering, sustainability reporting
• Materials and advanced manufacturing — additive manufacturing, novel materials R&D, particularly through the Werner-von-Siemens Centre partnership with Siemens and BAM
• Research and academia — doctoral graduates from the faculty's DFG- and EU-funded programmes transition into postdoc roles at Helmholtz centres, Fraunhofer institutes, and international universities

The faculty explicitly trains graduates for leadership roles (Führungsaufgaben) in industry, research, and engineering consultancies — the curriculum is structured to that end from Bachelor's through Master's level.