Coming to TUM: Chemistry

As one of Europe's leading universities, TUM combines top-class facilities and cutting edge research with unique learning opportunities for students all over the world.

However, coming to TUM starts at your home university, first: Please browse availabe information on the website of your home university, contact your "International Office" and ask for counselling in order to find out, whether your home university is an official partner of TUM or one of its Departments:

The relevant Departments at the TUM Garching Campus are:

Department of Chemistry (now: part of the TUM School of Natural Sciences = NAT)
Department of Physics (now: part of the TUM School of Natural Sciences = NAT)
Department of Mathematics (now: part of the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology = CIT)
Department of Informatics (now: part of the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology = CIT)
Department of Mechanical Engineering (now: part of the TUM School of Engineering and Design = ED)

Please note: Many more TUM Departments, Schools and Research Institutes are either situated at the Munich City Campus or at the TUM School of Life Sciences in Weihenstephan or on another satellite campus. In order to get a feel for the size and structure of TUM please take a look at the central TUM webpages www.tum.de or go directly to https://www.tum.de/en/about-tum/our-university/locations/ . The according maps can be found here: https://www.tum.de/en/about-tum/contact-directions/ .

The following full time degree study programs are offered by and administered at the Department of Chemistry of the TUM School of Natural Sciences:

Chemistry, Bachelor of Science / Master of Science
Food Chemistry, Bachelor of Science
Biochemistry, Bachelor of Science / Master of Science
Chemical Engineering, Bachelor of Science / Master of Science

Consequently, our range of lectures and laboratory courses are custom-made for these study programs.

Teaching language at the TUM Department of Chemistry is mainly German, in particular all(undergraduate) Bachelor lectures and laboratory courses are held in German only. The portion of Master courses in English is increasing, but still not area-wide. Advanced undergraduate exchange students may choose courses at Master level, assuming they hold the correct prerequisites, as some Master courses are specifically designed for well advanced students with their major in the respective subject.

So please be aware, that you need to have sufficient language skills by the time you arrive here.

Minimum requirement for courses in German is a solid A2 level, but we strongly advise to hold a minimum of B1.
Minimum requirement for courses in English is B1, but we strongly advise B2 or C1 for better achievements.

At TUM a study year starts on October 1st and is divided in a winter semester and a summer semester.

Winter semester (abbreviated WS or WiSe): From October 1st to March 31st
Summer semester (abbreviated SS or SoSe): From April 1st to September 30th

The lecturing period usually starts +/- two weeks after the beginn of the semester. The recent data can be found here.

"Courses" are not necessarily equivalent with "modules", as a module can consist of more than one course. In the module description you get the full information about the contents, prerequisites, time frame, teaching language, exams, ECTS etc.

The identification of a "module" are two or three letters and a four to five digit number, e.g CH3005 Hauptgruppen Molekülchemie (Main Group Molecular Chemistry).
The module ID is used for the online exam registration!
Please include preferrably the module IDs in your Learning Agreements / Study Plans.

The identification of a „course“ is a long series of digits, e.g.
0000000613 Hauptgruppen Molekülchemie (Main Group Molecular Chemistry)
The course ID is used for the online registration for participation in the lecture!

As long as you are not yet enrolled at TUM, access to the course catalog is a bit complicated. Find here a suggestion, how to work yourselves around:

For a general, curriculum based overview, related to a defined TUM study program:

Go to https://campus.tum.de/tumonline/ee/ui/ca2/app/desktop/#/login
[Proceed only with log-in, if you are already enrolled at TUM!]
Switch to “EN” (top right) for “English” if necessary
Click “continue without logging in”
Click “Degree programs”
Click “Bachelor of Science”, if you are after Bachelor level modules or click “Master of Science”, if you are after Master level modules.
Click on the little book icon behind the name of the study program of your interest.

---> Download the completed module handbook (overwhelmingly much information!)

For a completed - Chemistry related - module overview with access to module details:

Go to: https://campus.tum.de/tumonline/ee/ui/ca2/app/desktop/#/login
[Proceed only with log-in, if you are already enrolled at TUM!]
Switch to “EN” (top right) for “English” if necessary.
Click “continue without logging in”
Click “Module catalog”
Click Former TUM Department of Chemistry
--> You get an alphabetically sorted list of all Chemistry related modules (14 pages)
Filter with module ID or module title or with %keyword%
For details of a module (winter/summer term lecture, Bachelor/Master level, teaching language, necessary prerequisites, contents, terms and conditions etc.) click on the module title or on the little book icon; for a printable pdf click "Export".
Please use module IDs for your Learning Agreements / Study Plans, e.g. CH3333.

---> Not exactly comfortable, but provides reliable information!

For details on non-Chemistry related modules, which are part of highly interdisciplinary study programs like Biochemistry or Chemical Engineering you need to navigate again, e.g.

For modules in Life Sciences: TUM School of Life Sciences; module IDs start with “WZ” (old) or “LS” (new) – Attention: based on our TUM Campus Weihenstephan (Freising)!
For modules in Medicine (conditions/limitation apply): TUM Department of Medicine; module IDs start with “ME” – Attention: based on our central TUM Campus in Munich!
For modules in (Chemical) Engineering: Former TUM School of Mechanical Engineering; module IDs start with “MW” (old) or “ED” (new)
For modules in Physics: Former TUM Department of Physics; module IDs start with “PH”
For all other interests, click on the according School or Department and browse.

For a TUM-wide overview on all current modules, please use this link.

We highly advise you to stick to the course program based on the Garching Campus, as commuting between Munich, Weihenstephan and Garching (and other TUM Research Institutes) is quite time-consuming.

Once you are enrolled as an exchange student, you can find manuals and tutorials for TUMonline, available both in German and in English, on the starting page of TUMonline, hidden in the tiny bottom line.

Direct link to manuals / tutorials: https://www.it.tum.de/tumonline/--> click "en" top right for English, if necessary.

In case of questions please contact the School Office, International Affairs / Chemistry.

Find an overview concerning modules in all our Bachelor programson our School-website – suitable only for those with „robust“ German skills!

Go to https://academics.nat.tum.de/bachelor
---> Click on the relevant study program, the time tables are linked in between the text blocks
Biochemie = Biochemistry https://academics.nat.tum.de/bachelor/bioch/curriculum
Chemie = Chemistry https://academics.nat.tum.de/bachelor/ch/curriculum
Chemieingenieurwesen = Chemical Engineering https://academics.nat.tum.de/bachelor/ciw/curriculum
Lebensmittelchemie = Food Chemistry https://academics.nat.tum.de/bachelor/lc/curriculum

The best overview concerning modules for the Master program Chemistry, sorted by subject related majors (Inorganic / Organic / Physical / Technical Chemistry and other), can be found here.
The best overview concerning modules for the Master program Chemical Engineering, sorted by focus areas etc., can be found here.

In order to fulfill the conditions for your financial grants, we recommend a Learning Agreement / Study Plan with

a minimum of 15-20 ECTS per semester (average TUM module: 5 ECTS)
a maximum of 30-35 ECTS per semester for the ambitious.

Generally speaking, you may attend courses from all TUM Departments, but 50-60% of your study plan contents should be within the range of our Chemistry-related courses, or - in accordance with your full time degree study programs at home - related to other natural sciences or engineering.

For example, those studying Chemical Engineering may pick courses from our neighboring Department of Mechanical Engineering, as their modules are an integrative part of the curriculum/ syllabus of the TUM study program Chemical Engineering.

Exceptions from the rule are negotiable, if you can give convincing reasons.

Please note: Advanced Bachelor students (undergraduates) may sign up for Master modules, provided that they fulfill the prerequisites as defined in the individual TUM module description. If in doubt, only the relevant module coordinator may either grant - or deny your participation. Limitations to a defined target group may apply, too. If resources are limited, TUM degree students have priority.

In case of questions please contact the School Office, International Affairs (Chemistry).

Generally speaking, there is no direct access to laboratory courses or research oriented internships for exchange students, due to safety issues and limited resources in lab space and supervision capacity. Any participation in laboratory work affords a previous individual check of prerequisites, qualification and lab skills of the applicant.

Preferably, you already show some initiative before your mobility. These are our recommendations, how to "get the foot in the door":

1. Self-motivated orientation and research:
Research and find out relevant addressees in the desired field or subject:
www.ch.tum.de (old Chemistry website) --> click "en" top right for English --> Faculty Scientific Institutions --> Department
(Disadvantage: Will become obsolete after a while, but still provides handy information with few clicks.)
www.nat.tum.de (new School website) --> click "en" top right for English --> About us --> Professors
(Disadvantage: You have to click on each name to find out the research field and another click to enter the according website.)

2. Specified application in the desired field directly to the person in charge:
Contact directly the Chairs/Professors in charge for the relevant subjects/ research fields, hand in your CV, your transcript of records (grade report) and a motivation letter. Tell them your planned period of stay, ask for laboratory and supervision capacity and check out obligatory prerequisites.
if you find a research group or a Chair that accepts you, the Professor in charge should issue a brief "Letter of Acceptance" or "Confirmation of Supervision" for you (an informal email is usually ok).

3. Add the pre-organised intership to your Erasmus/ TUMexchange "Learning Agreement"/ Study Plan and attach the "Confirmation of Supervision" when you hand in the application at your home university.

In case you want to include a laboratory course or research internship during mobility:

The pre-assessment as described above is usually done based on your documents and a personal interview with the potential supervisor in charge before registration for the lab course. In every case you need the explicit permission of the supervisor in charge. Please also inform the School Office, International Affairs (Chemistry), when adding lab work to your study plan.

Please note, that TUM full time degree students have priority in times of shortages in lab space and supervision capacity.

Phone +49 89 289 13003
Room No: CH 26502 (ground level, near foyer)
E-Mail: international@ch.tum.de

General information, that applies to most or all exchange students, can be found on the website of the TUM Global & Alumni Office.

Orientation: https://www.international.tum.de/en/global/exchangestudents/

Erasmus+ / Swiss European Mobility Programme SEMP: https://www.international.tum.de/en/global/exchangestudents/study-at-tum-with-erasmus-or-semp/

TUMexchange: https://www.international.tum.de/en/global/comingtotum/tumexchange/

International Campus Life: https://www.international.tum.de/en/global/campuslife/