Master’s Program in English

Form of education: Full time

Duration: 4 semesters, 120 credit

Aims, objectives and learning outcomes:

The aim of the course is to train students to become technically advanced automotive engineers.  After completing their studies automotive engineers will be able to participate in high level scientific, specified technical automotive, information technology, and business and project management tasks related to vehicle development, internal combustion engines and alternative drive systems.    Using their knowledge vehicle engineers will be able to research and develop, design and manufacture vehicles, engines and their components.  

The master’s program prepares students to participate in and lead project related to vehicles, drivelines and engines.

Students will be also prepared to continue their studies in the Ph.D. training program at Széchenyi István University. 

Language:

The master’s program is in English that will enable students to secure positions and/or participate in project in the vehicle industry internationally.   They will also be able to continue their studies abroad or fulfill leadership roles in multinational firms.                                

Project based learning:

The training program is project oriented, students participate in and/or lead a project in every semester.    The semester projects can be individual or team effort, they can be independent or based on each other.  This philosophy prepares students to work, cooperate, and lead at the international level.    

Philosophy of the master’s program:

The vehicle engineering master’s program gives a large degree of freedom and a wide variety of engineering subjects when selecting their subjects.  After they have fulfilled the required master level basis subjects, students will be able to select their higher level specialized engineering subjects according to their own interest from three specific focus areas: Alternative drive systems, Internal combustion engines and Whole vehicle engineering.  

Possible outcomes:

1, Students take subjects according to their own interest with no specific emphasis from the three specific focus areas.  They will get a wide scope in vehicle engineering.

2, Student know exactly in which of the three specific focus areas  he/she is interested and with guidance he will chose the subjects that are related to the specific focus area.  They will get a focus and a deeper knowledge in one of the three specific focus areas: Alternative drive systems, Internal combustion engines and Whole vehicle engineering.  

Specific focus areas:

Alternative Drive Systems
The area of Alternative Drive Systems focuses on both drive systems internal combustion engines as well as electric drives with energy storage devices.   The program also covers a wide variety of alternative vehicles, design and development as well as autonomous driving.  The master’s program takes the students through conceptual layout, simulation, development and design, building and testing alternative drives systems.  The training program is supported by the new electric drive laboratory at the Automation Department. 

Whole vehicle engineering
The area of Whole Vehicle Development covers the prediction and control of vehicle characteristics, such as internal noise, fuel consumption, durability, etc., in which the car is considered as a complex engineering system expected to satisfy demanding customer expectations. The main focus areas of the program are Acoustics, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics, Strength- and Fatigue Analysis as well as Conceptual Vehicle Design. Beside the lecture-based learning, students get the chance to take part in a project-based learning environment by participating in the development team of a Formula Student race car, which allows to put their theoretical skills to practice as well as to test their design in a highly competitive international contest.

Internal combustion engines
The area of Internal Combustion Engines focuses on thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, design, control and testing of internal combustion engines.  Besides the classroom based education, students will participate in engine related projects at the Department of Internal Combustion Engines gathering real life on-the-job experience.  Students will also have a chance to participate in the engine development student team SzEngine that develops internal combustion engines for the Formula Student competitions series. 

Course content: The percentage of each training area:

Professional Practice/Internship:

To be completed outside the university, duration least 4 weeks

The supervisory system of knowledge:

- After the 2nd semester and at least six week long professional practice outside the university
- in the 4th semester the preparation of the thesis is done in the framework of a professional practice. 

Requirements of the thesis:

The preparation and planning of the thesis is a concrete tasks which can include the solving of an engineering problem arising in the professional field or the elaboration of a research topic. This must be based on the students’ knowledge acquired throughout the course and must reveal the use of supplementary literature. The process is assisted by a professional consultant and is to be done in one semester. The candidate student in the thesis proves that he/she has obtained sufficient skills for individually applying the knowledge learnt, he/she is capable of carrying out design and development tasks in vehicle engineering and he/she can effectively use literature outside the compulsory subjects which he/she can utilise in creating added value.

Conditions for taking the final exam:

Meeting the requirements of the curriculum, including:

-          Obtaining at least 120 credit points out of which the thesis is 30 credit points

-          Fulfilling the conditions of the practical training as part of the curriculum

-          The thesis evaluated and approved by the reviewer. 

Conditions of issuing the degree:

On all the courses of the Faculty regardless of the course level (Bachelor or Master) the Student must have a complex state language exam at intermediate level (B2) or an equivalent secondary school leaving certificate in any of the following foreign languages: English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish.

Parts of the final exam:

Evaluation and defence of the thesis and comprehensive oral exam including the appointed subjects and subject areas related to the topic of the thesis of which the total number of credit points is 10 points.

The result of the final exam:

The arithmetical mean of two results: the grade received for defence of the thesis and the grade of the comprehensive oral exam rounded to the nearest integer. If any of the two grades is „fail” the final exam is regarded as „fail”.  

The assessment of the degree:

The arithmetical mean of four results: the grade received for the thesis, the grade received for the defence of the thesis, the result of the comprehensive oral final exam and the corrected cumulative credit GPA (grade point average).

Notation to the chart of courses

Courses:

Type of assessments:

Optional subjects: