and Transport Engineering
2.5 Electrical Engineering Study Field Outline
Electrical engineering is concerned with the application of electrical and electro- magnetic phenomena and laws for techni- cal or engineering purposes. Nowadays, the field is essentially characterised by advances in information and communica- tion technology and microelectronics. Several study branches have developed to take account of the various practi- cal needs. The main ones are: electrical power/energy engineering, information and communications technology (ICT), (micro)electronics, automation engineer- ing and general electrical engineering, whereby the general nature of the latter means that courses from the previously mentioned study branches are included in the degree course.
Electrical power/energy engineering involves the generation, transmission, distribution and application of electri- cal power (energy). Disciplines such as electro-mechanical-engineering, thermal power engineering, high voltage engineer- ing, power supply systems and power electronics belong to this field. Increasing attention is being placed on renewable energy sources (solar and wind energy, biomass).
Information and communications technol- ogy treats the transmission, conveyance and distribution of information using wire/line-borne and wireless/radio tech- nology. Important branches are digital signal processing, electrical and optical
communications technology, high fre- quency engineering and communications networks. On account of the great signifi- cance of digital communications technol- ogy (digital engineering), the use of com- puters and programmable processes plays a predominant role in this field.
Automation engineering deals with the development and application of proce- dures for controlling technical processes, including the development of the requisite hardware and software for these processes. Automation tasks plus instrumentation and control problems require, among other aspects, the application of systems theory and control technology methods, measurement technology, process compu- ter and communications technology.
(Micro)electronics has taken on great significance for all three fields. With its development of electronic circuits, semi- conductor elements and highly-complex integrated circuits, (micro)electronics forms the basis for the commercial and technical expansion of the above-men- tioned fields. This study branch treats both the physical-technical principles of electronic components as well as their systems-specific, i.e., applications focused aspects. Computer-aided design methods and simulation techniques play a major role, along with the technological aspects.
Further fundamental subjects required for studying electrical engineering are math- ematics, physics and applied computer science, whereby mathematics is more
important here than in other engineering disciplines. Mechanics, materials science, engineering thermodynamics are impor- tant complementary subjects. Yet, essen- tial business administration and manage- ment methods are also studied. In the advanced study stage, systems theory plays an important role, since it deals with mod- elling, analysing and optimising complex systems in ICT, power engineering and
automation engineering. A wide range of focus areas are available which will not be given closer treatment here. The following fields are closely related to electrical engi- neering: mechanical engineering, particu- larly precision engineering, mechatronics and computer science. Because the various branches are so closely tied to each other, students should avoid very early specialisa- tion.
Studies at Universities
Standard period of study: 9 to 10 semes- ters; 6 or 7 semesters for a Bachelor’s.
Practical experience/internships: In most cases, half a year (26 weeks) to be com- pleted by the time the final examination is taken, but generally with 13 weeks being completed before the studies commence.
Basic study stage: Lectures, exercise and practical courses in electrical engineering, applied computer science, mathematics, physics as well as complementary subjects which depend on the higher education institution in question, such as mechanics, materials in electrical engineering, components, systems theory and business administration essentials.
Main study stage: Besides in-depth and extension courses in the fields of informa- tion and communications technology (ICT), electrical power/energy engineering, auto- mation engineering, microelectronics and general electrical engineering, focuses, e.g., on mobile phone technology, optical com- munications technology, telecommunica- tions networks, multimedia systems, medi- cal technology, traffic control technology, electrically-driven vehicles, regenerative energies, and many other fields.
Degrees:Diplom, Magister (only as a 2nd major or minor subject), Bachelor’s, Master’s.
Programmes in this field
Aachen TH • Bayreuth U • Berlin TU • Bochum U • Braunschweig TU • Bremen IU • Bremen U • Chemnitz TU • Clausthal TU • Cottbus TU • Darmstadt TU • Dortmund U • Dresden TU • Duisburg-Essen U (Duisburg) • Erlangen-Nürnberg U (Erlangen) • Hagen FernU • Hamburg UBw • Hamburg-Harburg TU • Hannover U • Hildesheim U • Ilmenau TU •
Kaiserslautern TU • Karlsruhe U • Kassel U • Kiel U • Lüneburg U • Magdeburg U • München TU • München UBw • Münster U • Paderborn U • Rostock U • Saarbrücken U • Siegen U • Stuttgart U • Ulm U • Wuppertal U
Programmes in this field
Aachen FH (Aachen, Jülich) • Aalen FH • Amberg-Weiden FH (Amberg) • Anhalt HS (Köthen) • Aschaffenburg FH • Augsburg FH • Berlin FHTW • Berlin TFH • Bielefeld FH • Bingen FH • Bochum FH • Bochum TFH • Bonn-Rhein-Sieg FH (Sankt Augustin) • Brandenburg FH • Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel FH (Wolfenbüttel) • Bremen H • Coburg FH • Darmstadt FernFH (Pfungstadt) • Darmstadt FH • Deggendorf FH • Dortmund FH • Dresden HTW •
Düsseldorf FH • Esslingen FHTE • Flensburg FH • Frankfurt am Main FH • Fulda FH • Furtwangen FH • Gelsenkirchen FH (Bocholt, Gelsenkirchen) • Gießen-Friedberg FH (Friedberg, Gießen, Wetzlar) • Hamburg HAW • Hannover FH • Harz HS (Wernigerode) • Heidelberg FH • Heilbronn HHN • Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen HAWK (Göttingen) • Ingolstadt FH • Jena FH • Kaiserslautern FH • Karlsruhe HS • Kempten FH • Kiel FH • Koblenz FH • Köln FH (Gummersbach, Köln) • Köln RheinFH • Konstanz FH • Landshut FH • Lausitz FH (Senftenberg) • Leipzig FHTelekom • Leipzig HTWK • Lippe und Höxter FH (Lemgo) • Lübeck FH • Magdeburg-Stendal FH (Magdeburg) • Mannheim FHTG • Merseburg FH • Mittweida HS • München FH • Münster FH (Steinfurt) • Niederrhein HS (Krefeld) • Nürnberg FH • Offenburg HS • Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven FH (Emden,
Wilhelmshaven) • Osnabrück FH • Pforzheim HS • Ravensburg-Weingarten HS (Weingarten) • Regensburg FH • Rosenheim FH • Saarland HTW • Schmalkalden FH • Stralsund FH • Südwestfalen FH (Hagen, Meschede, Soest) • Trier FH • Ulm FH • Vechta/Diepholz FHWT (Oldenburg) • Westküste FHW (Heide) • Wiesbaden FH (Rüsselsheim, Wiesbaden) • Wismar FH • Worms FH • Würzb.-Schweinf. FH (Schweinfurt) • Zittau/Görlitz HS (Zittau) • Zwickau HS
Studies at Universities of Applied Sciences
Standard period of study: 8 semesters incl. 1 or 2 practical semesters, in some cases 7 semesters, Bachelor’s 6 semesters.
Practical experience/internships: Several weeks of pre-study practical training, for example in an electrics company (trade or industry), depending on previous educa- tional/professional qualification. During the degree course, practical internships of varying lengths.
Basic study stage: Lectures, exercise and practical courses in basic mathematics, science and engineering fields with special consideration given to practical aspects (applications).
Main study stage: Choice from the main study orientations of general electrical engineering, power/energy engineer- ing and communications technology (if not separately covered from the start of the studies). Further possible focuses: electronics, high frequency engineering, measurement, control and automatic control engineering (automation engineer- ing), IT, engineering computing.