The Department of Materials Engineering, Glass and Ceramics of Koblenz University of Applied Sciences offers two full-time degree courses: Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Materials Engineering, Glass and Ceramics and Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Ceramics Science and Engineering.
It is located in Höhr-Grenzhausen, some 12 km (7 miles) from the attractive city of Koblenz, which is renowned as the meeting-point of two major rivers, the Rhine and the Moselle. Koblenz is also well known to tourists, who like to enjoy the internationally renowned wines of the region as well as the spectacular landscape.
The town of Höhr-Grenzhausen has a long association with ceramics, both in terms of the local industry and as a centre for craft pottery. This is a consequence of the high quality plastic clays that are mined nearby in the Westerwald, the district to which Höhr-Grenzhausen belongs.
Apart from this economic activity, the town prides itself on over 130 years of Ceramic Education, both in Further and Higher Education. As the subject of Ceramics has developed over the past sixty years, so has the teaching approach of our Department changed. Students are nowadays exposed to a modern treatment of Ceramics based on the principles of Materials Science and Engineering.
The traditional clay-based knowledge has thus been broadened out into a wider treatment of inorganic, non-metallic materials, where the natural plasticity of clays often has to be provided instead by organic additives. Ceramic materials for high technology applications are also an important part of our degree courses. Since the ceramic components are often used in combination with metals, either as electrodes or as partners in a Ceramic-Metallic-Composite (CMC), it is also necessary to learn the fundamentals of Metallurgy. Similarly, modern Process Technology demands a grasp of Mechanical and Applied Electronic Engineering. So it is not difficult to imagine that our B.Eng. graduates, as qualified Ceramic Engineers, are highly sought after as "problem solvers" in Industry, as a result of their good practical skills and their ability for lateral thinking.
For those students who subsequently wish to deepen their understanding of Ceramic Materials, the M.Eng. course, which is offered in cooperation with the University of Koblenz-Landau, provides the opportunity for acquiring a Master's Degree with full German University status. This can be the stepping stone to a career in industrial management or in materials research and development. Alternatively it can be the precursor to a higher, doctoral qualification (e.g. Dr.-Ing. or Ph.D.).
The Department of Materials Engineering, Glass and Ceramics has seven professors, all specialists with established reputations in their respective fields. A small minority of courses is offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the main campus in Koblenz. We aim to recruit 25 students per semester. This leads to a lively institute in which everyone is known by name.
