Course Structure

The foundation course (1st & 2nd semester) teaches mathematical, scientific, engineering, economic, and ecological principles with the modules:

• Global change and ecology
• Energy technology
• Project management and communication
• Business administration and economics 
• Electrical and mechanical engineering
• Biomass production
• Maths and physics
• Laboratory practical course in renewable energies

The individual courses of the modules can be found in the module handbook of the degree programme.

The 3rd semester marks the start of the main study programme (3rd to 7th semester) and thus the in-depth study of the degree programme. In the main study programme, the knowledge and skills acquired in the basic study programme are deepened, applied in advanced subjects, and consolidated through many practical exercises and a practical semester. The main study programme is divided into a compulsory part and a broad selection of compulsory elective modules for individual profile development.

The compulsory modules in the general part of the main study programme are:

• Firing systems and fuel technology
• Wind and hydropower
• Biogas technology and agricultural raw materials
• Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• Scientific project work
• Solar energy systems
• Energy industry
• Measurement, control, and regulation technology
• Heating networks, CHP, and system planning
• Grids, storage, and smart energy
• Mobility concepts and future scenarios
• Project planning of energy concepts

The range of compulsory elective modules in the main study programme offers opportunities to specialise in the following areas:

• System planning
• Asset management
• Energy concepts for buildings
• Bioeconomy
• Sustainable crop production systems
• Forest biomass production and biomass potentials
• Harvesting and processing wood
• Logistics
• Regulation and competition
• Technical thermodynamics
• Technical mechanics
• Higher mathematics   

The individual courses of the modules can be found in the module handbook of the degree programme.

Study profiles B.Sc. Renewable Energies 

In addition to the compulsory modules, six compulsory elective modules are taken in the course of the main degree programme. This allows students to develop an individual study profile.

Examples of how to create a study profile are presented below. In principle, however, any combination is possible.

Energy systems engineering

Students learn to combine their technical skills with systems thinking. On the one hand, mathematical and engineering fundamentals are strengthened to prepare students for a subsequent Master's degree in a technical field. On the other hand, using the example of energy technology in buildings, students gain practical insight into how the optimisation of building physics, systems engineering, and economic factors contributes to sustainable energy concepts.
The range of fields of activity is correspondingly broad. Most graduates of the degree programme find exciting jobs in planning and engineering offices or with regional and national energy suppliers. However, the creation of energy and climate protection concepts for local authorities and ministries, as well as management consultancy and association work, are also challenging prospects. Possible certificate courses accompanying your studies, such as BAFA Building Energy Consultant, KfW Energy Efficiency Expert, or Energy Auditor, also offer successful paths to self-employment.

The following modules can be combined to create a profile:

• Specialisation in technical thermodynamics
• In-depth system planning
• Energy concepts for buildings
• Specialisation in Advanced Mathematics
• Specialisation in technical mechanics
• Technical mechanics

Bioenergy is a central pillar in the renewable energy portfolio: it can be stored, is available on a decentralised basis (including in the Global South), and makes important contributions to the circular economy through the recycling of residual materials and cascade use. A sustainable economy also requires a transformation in raw material use to fully replace fossil resources, for example, through bio-based materials, biomethane, and biorefinery technologies.

The skills to be acquired here are relevant, for example, for biomass heating (power) plants and regional energy suppliers, for the sustainable production of forestry and agricultural biomass, as an interface between the provision and utilisation of renewable raw materials, for future raw materials markets, or for international cooperation.

The compulsory elective modules match this profile:

• Bioeconomy
• Logistics   
• Regulation and competition
• Asset management
• Sustainable crop production systems
• Harvesting and processing wood
• In-depth study of forest biomass production and biomass potentials

Energy industry

Students deepen their knowledge of the energy industry. They are able to analyse economic aspects and energy technology framework conditions and understand the entire energy supply value chain.

Numerous jobs are offered, for example, by stationary and mobile storage operators and virtual power plants, energy traders, energy producers and large-scale consumers, consulting companies, public institutions (e.g., energy agencies), and also research and development.

The profiling programme comprises the following modules:

• Regulation and competition
• Asset management
• In-depth system planning
• Specialisation in Advanced Mathematics
• Bioeconomy

Pellet heating systems instead of oil, or perhaps a heat pump. The chimney sweeping trade is undergoing a transformation. At the same time, our degree programme provides students with a wealth of knowledge and skills that chimney sweeps also require. We have therefore launched a partnership with the Central Guild Association of the Chimney Sweeping Trade for the 2024/25 winter semester.

By selecting the following combination of compulsory elective modules:

• Energy Concepts for Buildings
• Facility Management
• Business Management in the Chimney Sweeping Trade
• Law and Administration in the Chimney Sweeping Trade

students will acquire the ‘Chimney Sweep’ study profile. The fifth and sixth compulsory elective modules remain freely selectable.

IMPORTANT: The “Chimney Sweep” study profile is also noted on the bachelor’s degree certificate. This is because those who undertake training as a chimney sweep alongside their studies can, upon completion of both their training and degree, obtain the right to manage a district, just like a master chimney sweep.

• Further information here

The internship semester integrated into the 5th semester, which can be completed in Germany or abroad, enables students to apply their knowledge in companies, take on tasks and responsibility, and gain their first professional experience. Initial contacts are made with future employers.

Suitable practice companies are, for example:

• Planning and consulting offices
• Energy agencies
• Clubs / Associations
• Research institutes
• Companies in the wind/hydro/solar or biomass sector
• Manufacturer of plant technology
• (Supra-) regional energy suppliers
• Certification companies
• Actors in development cooperation 

Some companies in which students have completed an internship semester present themselves here.

To obtain the B.Sc. degree in "Renewable Energies", students are required to write a thesis. The task of the thesis can be derived from cooperation with the internship company or other companies and is carried out in close dialogue with the supervisor.

The Bachelor's degree in the Renewable Energies degree programme entitles the holder to use the professional title of engineer.

Further information, forms, and documents can be found here.

Numerous excursions and field trips, as well as project-based and team-orientated work in which typical challenges in energy technology and the energy sector are addressed independently, further strengthen the programme's practical connection.

In order to optimally prepare students for their career entry, they learn to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical tasks with partners from industry. Student projects that have been planned and realised for the university campus or the surrounding region in recent years include, for example:

• The HFR solar bicycle parking area – planning of a new bicycle stands for approx. 300 bicycles with solar energy generation,
• Solar power from shading elements,
• Preparation of a specification sheet for a ground-mounted PV system,
• the solar power project for the city of Rottenburg,
• as well as the RE systems in operation on the university campus.

Completion of the Bachelor's degree also opens up access to a large number of technical or economic Master's degree programmes in Germany and abroad. Rottenburg University of Applied Sciences offers the two Master's degree programmes "M.Sc. Sence (Sustainable Energy Competence)" and "M.Sc. Resource-efficient Building" for graduates of the degree programme.