Mechanics of Sustainable Materials and Structures (MS²)

Following European Commission acceptance in July 2024 of a proposal for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's (EMJM) Degree, the MS² programme is set to welcome four cohorts of students under the EMJM label from the September 2025 intake.
The construction industry has a significant impact on global energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. With building operations accounting for 36% of global energy consumption and 39% of carbon dioxide emissions globally, it‘s no surprise that the United Nations has made sustainable development in the building sector a top priority.

However, there is a shortage of civil engineers with the expertise to design and implement sustainable building practices. To address this shortage, the new Master‘s programme in 'Mechanics of Sustainable Materials and Structures' (MS²) offers students the opportunity to acquire expertise and an open-minded sensitivity towards sustainable solutions.

The programme represents a unique opportunity for aspiring civil engineers to become leaders in the field of sustainable construction, making a significant contribution to the clean energy transition and building a more sustainable future for all.

At a glance

  • Master of Science - 3 degrees from the participating institutions
  • Study in three countries
  • Language of instruction: English
  • 120 ECTS credits
  • Four specialisations on offer
  • Next intake: September 2025
Programme overview

Objectives

This programme is designed to train the next generation of civil engineers with the expertise to design and implement innovative building technologies with a focus on sustainable materials and structures. The main objective is to educate future leaders in the development of innovative solutions for sustainability and performance in the built environment by fostering creative and independent thinking and promoting low-impact oriented problem-solving.

This is done by providing a solid background in fundamental mechanics, coupled with cutting-edge research in innovative materials and structures, and a research and development environment in the private sector. This blend of solid fundamental skills, innovative research and link to the private sector is the perfect environment to train engineers who are able to provide innovative solutions to the global today’s challenges.

The programme, which is taught in English over two years, requires a high degree of mobility since all students will study in three different countries: Germany, Italy and France.
 

Consortium Partners

The three partner institutions are:

  • TU-Dortmund University - Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering | Germany
  • University of Trento - Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering | Italy
  • Centrale Nantes - Department of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering | France
 

Mobility Scheme

All first year students will spend their first semester at TU-Dortmund in Germany, then move to Italy for the second semester at the University of Trento. The second year commences with the autumn semester at Centrale Nantes. For the final semester students can choose in which of the three countries they wish to undertake their Master's thesis.

Degrees Awarded

The following qualifications will be awarded to students that successfully complete all programme requirements:
  • Laurea Magistrale in Ingegneria Civile (class LM 23) from the University of Trento
  • Master of Science (M.Sc.) from TU Dortmund
  • Master sciences, technologies, santé, mention genie civil / Civil engineering from Centrale Nantes
Course content

30 ECTS Credits per semester.
Language of instruction: English
 

M1 Year - Autumn Semester - TU Dortmund
ECTS
Engineering Mathematics 5
Advanced Continuum Mechanics 8
Enriched Continua and Metamaterials 5
Nonlinear Structural Analysis 6
Construction with trees in practice # 3
How sustainable can building materials be? # 3
Structural systems in Engineering Practices # 3
Organic Design and Structures # 3

# Elective course - choose two of four
M1 Year - Spring Semester - University of Trento
ECTS    
Modelling and simulation of structures 6
Stability of Structures 6
Mechanics of Solids and Structures under Extreme Conditions 6
Machine Learning for Wireless Structural Health Monitoring 6
Metastructures # 6
Risk Analysis and Structural Reliability # 6

# Elective course - choose one of two
M2 Year - Autumn Semester - Centrale Nantes
ECTS
Mechanics of Porous Media 5
Homogenization Methods for Materials and Structures 5
Coupled problems in mechanics: from mathematical formulation to numerical methods 6
Design and Behaviour of Modern Concrete 5
Durability and Structural Maintenance # 5
Earthquake Engineering # 5
Summer school 2
Modern Languages * 2

# Elective course - choose one of two
* 'French as Foreign Language' except for French native speakers who will study 'Cultural and Communicational English' or Spanish (depending on sufficient demand).
NB Course content may be subject to minor changes
 
M2 Year - Spring Semester - Master Thesis

Master Thesis supervised by one of the three partner institutions
Possible collaboration with associate partners
30 ECTS credits

Eligibility and Admissions

Admission requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in the field of civil engineering according to the European Qualifications Framework, or another comparable degree in a comparable course of study of at least three years;
  • Proven knowledge of the English language of at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

How to apply

Applications for September 2025 entry open and close as follows:
 
  • Applicants without EU/EEA citizenship with a foreign university degree obtained in a country outside the EU/a country of the European Economic Area: from 1 January 2025 to 15 June 2025 > Apply here
  • Applicants with EU/EEA citizenship or a university degree obtained in a country part of the EU/a country of the European Economic Area: from from 1 January 2025 to 31 July 2025 > Apply here
Tuition fees and funding

Tuition Fees

  • Applicants without EU/EEA citizenship: The total amount of the fees per student for the entire program is €13600, i.e. €3400 per semester.​
  • Applicants with EU/EEA citizenship or who have obtained their Bachelor's degree in EU/EEA: The total amount of the fees per student for the entire program is €7600, i.e. €1900 per semester.

​NB The tuition fees are susceptible to slight change before the application process opens.

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships

15 Erasmus Mundus scholarships - approx €1400 per month for 2 years - are ​available for the 2025 intake for applications submitted between 1 January 2025 and 15 March 2025.​

Consortium Scholarships

A further 15 students per year will be offered a partial tuition fee waiver based on merit. The reduced fees for these students are as follows:
 
  • Applicants without EU/EEA citizenship: The total amount of the fees per student for the entire program is 7600€, i.e. 1900€ per semester.​
  • Applicants with EU/EEA citizenship or who have obtained their Bachelor's degree in EU/EEA: The total amount of the fees per student for the entire program is 4600€, i.e. 1150€ per semester.
This sum encompasses the contribution to students' services for the entire program, known as "Semesterbeitrag," at TU Dortmund University, along with the tuition fees required for enrollment at the University of Trento and Ecole Centrale de Nantes.

Learn more: https://www.ms2master.com/more
Programme Coordinator at Centrale Nantes

Giulio Sciarra, Programme Coordinator at Centrale Nantes


Giulio Sciarra is Professor in Mechanics at Centrale Nantes. He heads up the GEOMEC (Environmental Geomechanics) research team in the GeM (Research Institute in Civil and Mechanical Engineering) at Centrale Nantes. He is interested in the mechanics of porous media and geomechanics, both in the framework of numerical modeling and advanced experimental activity, with a particular emphasis in hydro-mechanical instabilities.

 
Published on June 30, 2023 Updated on November 27, 2024