Sustainable Resources and Energy Supply, B.Sc.
To maintain our accustomed standard of living, our resource demands must continue to be met and sockets must still provide electricity. At the same time, however, the environment cannot continue to be damaged as it has been. We need innovative strategies for energy and raw material supply – an exciting task with great responsibility for future engineers! This interdisciplinary course of study at RWTH meets these challenges: It focuses on both aspects of a sustainable, resource-conserving raw material and energy supply: environmentally compatible extraction and utilization of raw materials on the one hand and provision of sufficient quantities of energy on the other.
Programme facts
| Degree | Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) |
|---|---|
| Duration | 6 semesters, 180 ECTS |
| Language of instruction | German |
| Required German | C1 |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Winter semester |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.10 |
| Admission | No admission restriction: every eligible applicant is admitted |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €375.19 per semester |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
Every applicant who meets the formal requirements is admitted — but places can run out before the deadline, so apply at the start of the window.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →About the programme
Would it not be frightening to think if we did not have any more raw materials – we could not produce smartphones and without energy, we could not charge them? We would literally lose contact with the outside world.
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To maintain our accustomed standard of living, our resource demands must continue to be met and sockets must still provide electricity. At the same time, however, the environment cannot continue to be damaged as it has been. We need innovative strategies for energy and raw material supply – an exciting task with great responsibility for future engineers! This interdisciplinary course of study at RWTH meets these challenges: It focuses on both aspects of a sustainable, resource-conserving raw material and energy supply: environmentally compatible extraction and utilization of raw materials on the one hand and provision of sufficient quantities of energy on the other.
In order to meet humanity's need for raw materials long-term, methods for finding and mining these so-called primary resources must be improved. However, even if technology is improved, raw materials cannot be infinitely mined. Resources are limited. Thus, the importance of promoting technologies to recover raw materials is even greater. Recycling plays a key role in this effort as secondary raw materials can be used to produce new products.
A suitable raw material is at the center of energy supply. Fossil fuels, which have a bad reputation, play just as important of a role as renewable energies. Coal, gas, and oil on the one hand and biofuel, sun, wind, and water on the other – they all contribute to a basic supply. The impending withdrawal of nuclear energy from our energy supply means a good mix of consistently available resources and intermittent energy sources is needed.
What you study
Aside from subjects focusing on theory, practical courses are also offered which provide an important insight into and contact with professional practice. The practical component includes a 40-day internship at a German company but it is not restricted to the German market. The curriculum is supplemented with exciting field and laboratory work in addition to research excursions to, for example, Australia, Canada, and Brazil.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
Engineers with comprehensive skills and practical experience in the field of raw materials and energy engineering are highly sought after in the wake of the arising energy transition and resource scarcity, especially with their special course-specific focus on the energy mix from raw materials to security of supply.
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Not only in Germany but also worldwide, a process of rethinking can be observed when it comes to raw material extraction and energy supply. Due to the shortage of raw materials and the increasing energy demand of the world's population, graduates with an interdisciplinary view of the overall supply system also have the best career prospects internationally.
The interdisciplinary education at RWTH opens up entry-level opportunities in the entire energy sector, for example in the areas of raw materials extraction, power generation, and distribution. In addition to the large energy corporations and producers of power generation plants, smaller engineering firms also offer attractive entry-level opportunities.
Furthermore, career paths in administration and politics are good options, e.g. with municipal and state governments or the federal government. Engineers with expertise in sustainable raw material and energy supply are also often called upon as specialists for risk and damage assessments.
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €375.19 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | f you are interested in studying sustainable resources and energy supply, you should be interested in science and engineering. |
|---|---|
| Language | German C1 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.10 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2German up to C1 and a certificateDSH or TestDaF has to be passed before you apply.
- 3Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 4Application directly to the university until 15.10Send the documents well before the deadline — an incomplete application cannot be completed after it.
- 5Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
If your level is not enough yet
The two most common stoppers are a language level below the requirement and a certificate without direct admission. Both can be solved, but they take months — plan them now, not after a rejection.
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 15.10.2026 (1 day left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.