Curriculum

The course curriculum has a modular structure. It consists of compulsory modules, compulsory optional modules and optional modules. Every course schedule includes lectures, exercises, and sometimes assignments. Credit points (CP) according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) are awarded for the successful completion of each module. One CP according to the ECTS corresponds to an average student workload of 30 hours. The number of credit points awarded for a certain module depends on the workload. At RUB the academic semester comprises 15 weeks of lectures.

Compulsory Courses

In the first semester, all students must complete four introductory courses, which provide fundamental and core skills in Mathematics, Soil and Rock Mechanics, Hydrogeology and Computational Methods. The last compulsory course is a project work the students must complete in the third semester.

Compulsory-Optional Courses

In our opinion, you can only be good at things you like. We thus give our students a chance to specialise in the field they are most interested in. Students can choose subjects from various elective courses in the second and third semesters. The specialisation phase is flexible and allows students to specialise either in Geotechnics and Tunnelling (GT) or Subsurface Characterisation and Utilisation (SCU).

Optional Courses

Optional courses can be chosen from practical training in geosciences or tunnelling, numerical methods, programming, environmental engineering, or German language. There are more than 12 optional courses directly related to Subsurface Engineering. Students can also take any class offered at RUB as an optional course, with the previous approval of the Student Counsellor. Students decide how many optional courses they take. However, they must ensure they choose at least nine credits for optional courses.

Master Thesis

Registration for Master's examinations after the third semester and for the Master's thesis is only permitted with fully passed requirements. The Master's thesis should be written in the 4th semester of the Master's program. The sum of the credit points of all modules (without the Master thesis) is at least 90.

For a more detailed overview of all courses and credit points, please click on the following table