Neuroengineering – Elite Master Program

Type of Study: Full-time

Standard Duration of Studies: 4 Semesters

Credits: 120 ECTS  + optional 30 ECTS for Research Excellence Certificate

Main Locations: Munich

Start of Degree Program: Winter Semester

Language of Instruction: Englisch

Costs: semester fee, tuition fees for students from non-EU countries

Please find here information on scholarships and waivers for international students: Scholarships and Waivers

Professional Profile: Electrical and Computer Engineering

As an emergent research and technological field, neuroengineering requires a new kind of engineer who is firmly educated in fundamental neuroscience as well as engineering theory and is able to apply and combine the methods from both domains. The purpose of the neuroengineering master program at TUM is to educate such a new generation of interdisciplinary engineers and to equip them with the ethical sensitivity to integrate societal values and stakeholders into their future work.

Students not only enhance their knowledge in neuroengineering, but also develop research skills through the coursework and thesis. Apart from the cutting edge knowledge and technical skills acquired, students also develop their basic soft skills. Beyond the skill sets of only one or two disciplines, Neuroengineering students become proficient in neuroscience, engineering, mathematics, psychology, and informatics, which is specifically geared towards solving complex engineering problems with high societal impact. Students are able to combine several aspects of neuro-inspired systems and are able to define an own research focus, thereby going beyond the ability to conduct research with the ability to identify an individual research field that allows a smooth transition into doctoral studies.

The main career opportunities for graduates of the master's degree program in MSNE are in academia and in research-orieted industry. MSNE perfectly prepares students for a start to doctoral studies at TUM or elsewhere in the world. Two thirds of all MSNE graduates are following this path, propeled by a professional network students are building during their Masters and further propeled in case of first research publications, all together bolstering a smooth transition into PhD studies.

Further MSNE graduates are employed mainly in research oriented industry (e.g. medical engineering domain, hardware & software development, AI/ML-focused companies) or they are entrepreneuring.

The MSNE curriculum spans a total of 11 mandatory modules (58 ECTS). Due to an included lab part, all MSNE mandatory modules are exclusive for MSNE students, with guaranteed seats for all MSNE students. Most lecturers allow for 1-2 more students in the classes, limited to students of partnering ENB Elite Master Programs and PhD Programs. Latest after second semester, MSNE students must have pased 4 mandatory modules. Students must pass all mandatory modules in order to graduate in MSNE.

The MSNE curriculum encloses 20 ECTS of elective modules (typically 4 modules). In addition, students may enhance their individual profile by taking an optional Research Excellence Certificate, including another 20 ECTS of elective modules.
All electives (for MSNE and for REC!) require a mentor approval in order to become part of a student's curriculum. The so-called "MSNE Learning Agreement" reports on this discussions. The Learning Agreements will evolve during studies. In general, all (!) modules offered by TUM , LMU or any other university may become part of the electives section in your curriculum. Outside the scope study programs partnering with MSNE, ressource constraints may limit availability, especially in case of labs.

MSNE provides a list of elective modules completed by MSNE-Students so far (browse for MSNE section). This list is intended to support MSNE students starting to explore opportunities in MSNE program. As well, the list may help applicants to get a very first overview. This list is not intended to limit or to bind students to a fixed set of elective modules. Students may discuss any module offered at TUM, LMU or elsewhere with individual mentor in order to generate individual learning agreements. 

Effective January 2024 and effective for all enrolled MSNE students: Students no longer have to request mentor approval for electives modules listed in MSNE Electvies and REC electives Section in TUM Online (those modules are mentor-approved by default). 

The list of MSNE tracks may help students to combine elective modules aligned to a certain specialization.

MSNE Make-up Modules - preparing for a smart start

MSNE Make-Up Modules are designed exclusively for MSNE students, enabling MSNE students lacking specific engineering-related background knowledge to catch up quickly with peers during the first semester. All MSNE students are allowed to attend on a voluntary basis. Make-Up modules may become an elective (i.e. counting towards study progress) in case of a mentor assignment (considering student's previous transcripts, preferences, and students self-estimation). In the past, MSNE offered Make-Up modules for

• EI60014 Fundamentals of computer science for Neuroengineering (WS, 1|3|0, 5 ECTS)
  -> discontinued, became recently part of MSNE Project Week 
• EI60015 Fundamentals of electronics for Neuroengineering (WS,1|3|0, 5 ECTS)
  -> discontinued, became recently part of MSNE Project Week 
• EI60022 Fundamentals of Mathematics for Neuroengineering (WS,1|3|0, 5 ECST)
  -> active module

Sophomore MSNE students also contribute to the MSNE Project Week (~ week before lectureperiod) offering student-driven workshops and trainings, such as trainings on electronics for Neuroengineering, trainings on Python for Neuroengineering. The offer depends on admitted students' requirements and sophomore students initiative/capacity. Some workshops are offered ina blocked fashion, some during the entire first semester.

Learning Agreement

All electives that are not part of the MSNE Electives catalogue in TUM Online must be mentor-agreed in order to become part of your transcript. MSNE Students use a Learning Agreement form sheet for this purpose. Please pre-fill the form and discuss this list with your mentor, finally have it signed mutually and send a scan to msne(at)ei.tum.de. Deadline for summer semester is September 30th, deadline for winter semester is March 31st. Students are allowed to pick freely within all modules in the individual learning agreement. We consider all learning agreements received so far. There is no need to attend and to pass all modules included in your learning agreement. In case you once passed a module, you may not register for the same module once again (i.e. no retakes for grade-tuning). However,  you may do more electives and pick the one with best results later for your transcript, tuning your cGPA. All results (i.e. grades) in modules not listed in students individual Learning Agreement automatically become part of a transcript appendix, labeled with the semester of examination. Such additional modules do not count towards the 120 ECTS + 30 ECTS curriculum. It is not possible to convert such modules to MSNE Electives effective to the past.

Best Practice: Discuss your plans with your mentor early. You may agree on a superset of modules in your learning agreement in order to have some flexibility while aligning your individual electives schedule  with mandatory modules schedule.

The MSNE curriculum includes 2 research projects, a mandatory project and a project for the optional REC. Students opting for a career in research-oriented industry are strongly encouraged to do the 6-week project (EI60013) in industry.

Default process for your research projects (EI60013, 6-week Reserach Project; and EI60016, 9-week Research Project):

-search for a MSNE examiner
-register the project with MSNE examiner (via the CIT Koinon Portal)
<do the work>
-send your report to MSNE examiner, check for presentation requirements with examiner
- upload the project report in the CIT Portal
-MSNE examiner confirms on completion 

In case you would like tp perform your research project in industry, we recommend these steps: 

- create a workplan (1-2 pages, confirmed by industry partner) 
- find a suitable MSNE examiner who fits the topic of the project
- if this is not possible: you may contact Prof. Kozielski 
 

The curriculum suggests to do both projects in the first two semester breaks, however students may decide to sequence the projects differently. The main part has to be completed in a blocked fashion, while remaining parts of the project (e.g. writing the report) may also be done in parallel to the lecture periode. 

You cannot upgrade a 6 week project to a 9 week project by starting another tiny project of two weeks duration. 

The research internship can be carried out at the university or in industry, as long as a MSNE examiner agrees to the research plan and signs responsible for the project. Research projects are assessed in a passed/not passed way, not counting toward your final cGPA. Since you're supposed to present your neuroengineering research work in the "Neuroengineering Summit" module (part of optional REC), it is a good idea to perform at least one project during the first two semester breaks.

Registration /Completion:

Process for Research Projects and Thesis:

MSNE examiners have to start the process, using the CIT Koinon Portal-→ https://portal.cit.tum.de/de/Theses

• Supervisor: The person who actually supervises the student (e.g. professor, post-docs, doct. candiates & contact information). Projects performed not at an institute operated by MSNE official examiners provide the name of the remote supervisor.
• Professor: Your MSNE examiner
• Chair/Professorship": Affiliation of MSNE examiner (e.g. ICS/TUM for Prof. Gordon Cheng)

Remote Supervisor

The cooperation between MSNE examiner and remote supervisor is not specified by MSNE regulations. Ideally, all three stakeholders agree on a work plan and deliverables before the project starts. Typically, this also safes effort on students' side. A good strategy is to agree with your MSNE examiner on report and presentation details first and provide this information to your remote supervisor in a second step. Most remote supervisors will adapt to this suggestion. Requirements and Assessment: The person finally giving a pass/not passed grade is your MSNE examiner at TUM. Therefore, the MSNE examiner will decide on the requirements with respect to your study program. In case of projects performed at external institutes (i.e. not under direct supervision by MSNE examiner), the remote supervisor may also have constraints. 

The final requirement for the master's degree is the master's thesis (30 ECTS, equivalent to 900 hours workload). A Master's Thesis may be conducted at any research facility or in a company, as long as a MSNE examiner agrees to the research plan and signs responsible for the project.

Before you can commence work on the thesis, you must have completed 60 credits of the coursework requirements (not considered: REC specific modules). 

It is required to register a Master's Thesis once you start to work on the thesis. You may consider to use the first 1-2 weeks to check if all equipment / supervision / ressources are available before registering the thesis. 

You have max. six months to write this scientific research paper. Upon submission of the thesis, you are required to give a presentation on its contents (the presentation will not be included in your grade).

Date of thesis completion will be the date of submission or date of final presentation (whatever is later).

TUM MSNE does not provide thesis templates. Therefore, we recommend to approach the examiner for constraints or e.g. to use a TUM thesis template (not mandatory). 

Registration /Completion:

Process for Research Projects and Thesis:

MSNE examiners have to register your thesis or research project, using the CIT Koinon Portal-→ https://portal.cit.tum.de/de/Theses

The MSNE program is pushing student's research profile. All students are encouraged to present their research work at conferences and workshops. Beside of the Neuroengineering Summit (part of REC), it is also possible to attend at research conferences or summer/winter schools, at TUM or abroad.

In order to apply for funding, an abstract of the planned activity as well as a detailed cost plan has to be sent to msne.asa(at)xcit.tum.de .Applications may be provided anytime, hence at least 4 weeks in advance to the intended activity.

Furthermore, students are encouraged to suggest scientific projects, retreats, workshops, scientific guests etc. anytime. We involvve our students in organizing academic events in a self-responsible fashion, facilitated by MSNE funding and administrative support.

TUM - School of Computation, Information and Technology

• Prof. Dr. Gordon Cheng, Cognitive Systems
• Prof. Dr. Kristen Kozielski, Neuroengineering
• Prof. Dr. Werner Hemmert, Bioanaloge Informationsverarbeitung
• Prof. Dr. Alois Knoll, Robotik, Künstliche Intelligenz und Echtzeitsysteme
• Prof. Dr. Bernhard U. Seeber, Audio-Signalverarbeitung
• Prof. Dr. Bernhard Wolfrum, Neuroelectronics

TUM - Other Departments

• Prof. Dr. Silke Beck, Sociology of Science and Technology (TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology) 
• Prof. Dr. David Franklin, Neuromuscular Diagnostics (TUM School of Medicine and Health)
• Prof. Dr. Julijana Gjorgjieva, Computational Neurosciences (TUM School of Life Science)
• Prof. Dr. Simon Jacob, Translational Neurotechnology (TUM School of Medicine and Health)
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Misgeld, Neuronal Cell Biology (TUM School of Medicine and Health)
• Prof. Dr. Markus Ploner, Human Pain Research (TUM School of Medicine and Health)
• Prof. Dr. Ruben Portugues Peters, Brain Circuit Function and Disfunction (TUM School of Medicine and Health)
• Prof. Dr. Gil Westmeyer, Neurobiological Engineering (TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Natural Sciences)

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

• Prof. Dr. Anton Sirota, Cognition and Neural Plasticity (LMU Faculty of Biology)

As of March 2023