George Mason University

The Institute for Materials Testing, Materials Science and Strength of Materials (IMWF) offers, in cooperation with the  College of Science (CoS) and the George Mason University (GMU), the opportunity for three students from the field of mechanical engineering or related fields to participate for an academic year in a program in the greater area of Washington, D.C., USA. During the stay courses are visited and a student research paper has to be written. The program leads to a Master’s degree in “Applied and Engineering Physics” with a specialisation in “Transportation Safety”.

The George Mason University is approx. 15 miles (around 25 km) away from the capital Washington, D.C., USA in Fairfax in the state of Virginia. Washington, along with its numerous sights such as the White House or the National Mall, is very good to reach with the Orange Line of the Metro from Vienna. Between the Metro station and the campus runs a Shuttlebus (travel time about 15 minutes). The shuttle is free for students and employees of the GMU. 
The GMU offers a grand variety of different lectures, including classical fields such as engineering, natural sciences, medicine and humanities. Also, there are modern major fields of study that are focusing on the computer-based advancement of many fields. Culture and sports programs are also an important part of life at the GMU. The library and computer pools are up-to-date. Furthermore, a big food court and the possibility of participating in a diverse  Sportangebot ensure among other things very good external conditions for students.

The most important requirements to participate in the exchange program are:

• A full-time study at the University of Stuttgart in the field of engineering and related fields

• An academic performance above average, i.e. a (at the time of the stay) completed Bachelor’s degree with a grade of at least “good” (2.3 or better)

• Very good knowledge of the English language, i.e. at least 88 points at the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL-Test) with at least 20 points per section at the internet based TOEFL

• Successful participation in the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

• Interest in topics of active and passive transportation safety

It would be preferable (but not mandatory) that the TOEFL- and GRE-results are already present at the time of the application deadline listed below.

During your stay you will attend the lectures and write a project work at the "Center for Collision Safety and Analysis" (CCSA) The institute was newly founded in autumn 2013. It is located at the College of Science and deals with safety issues concerning vehicle construction, especially with simulations of vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-object collisions (article about the  CCSA). In the offered courses, you will learn application-oriented the finite elements method as well as other common simulation methods. The program aims at getting a Master of Science degree in “Applied and Engineering Physics” with a specialisation in “Transportation Safety”. You also have to attend mandatory courses at the GMU.

To the course selection

You also have the opportunity to have rendered academic achievements recognised for the master’s degree at the University of Stuttgart. The possibility of recognition of courses attended in the USA should be early on clarified with the respective professor of the University of Stuttgart. For the participation in the master’s program, it is recommendable to transfer up to two courses from your study so far (grade 2.0 or better) to the program. Therefore, it is necessary that the College of Science offers an equivalent course and the academic advisor at the GMU agrees to the transfer.

Since the academic year 2016/2017 there is no funding from the DAAD anymore.
Starting in the winter semester 2017 our partner institute takes on the financial support to the same extent.

There are two study places for the academic year 2019/2020.
You can get an overview of studying in the greater area of Washington, D.C. and the first impressions from the current students of the George Mason University in the progress report .

• Cover letter to Mr. Prof. Dr.-Ing. S. Weihe

• Information about academic achievements that should be rendered during the stay

• A short statement about what you hope for from the stay

• Tabular curriculum vitae with picture

• A copy of the bachelor’s certificate (if existent) and the last notification from the examination office (current grade report)

• A copy of the “Abitur” certificate

• Information if you receive BAföG

• TOEFL result (if already existent)

• GRE result (if already existent)

Enter your application to the following address until the 30^th of November 2023 an:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. S. Weihe
Institut für Materialprüfung, Werkstoffkunde und Festigkeitslehre
Pfaffenwaldring 32
70569 Stuttgart