Brewing and Beverage Technology

The beer and beverage industry is constantly evolving, with modern production processes, large-scale plants, new products. An interdisciplinary education is essential to keep up with the increasing requirements. The Bachelor's program in Brewing and Beverage Technology equips you with the scientific foundation to understand relevant biotechnological processes, the biotransformation of raw materials and the physical and chemical properties of beverages. For the planning, design and automation of modern production plants, on the other hand, you need engineering knowledge. This is the second main pillar of this study program alongside the natural sciences.

In addition, you will learn to develop new products, requiring your specialized knowledge and creativity. We will give you the necessary theoretical and practical skills in the Brewing and Beverage Technology course and you will revolutionize the industry!

In Germany alone, there are over 1,400 breweries, 400 fruit juice producers, 320 soft drink manufacturers and countless distilleries and wineries. In addition, the field of plant engineering as well as the suppliers, pharmaceutical and bio-fermentation industries are other interesting areas of employment.

Most students continue their studies with the consecutive Master's program in Brewing and Beverage Technology at TUM after graduation. Nevertheless, there is also the possibility for graduates to directly enter a professional career. Besides the beverage industry, you will find jobs in the food, chemical or pharmaceutical industry.

Possible fields of activity are quality assurance, research and development of new products or manufacturing processes, planning of plants, organization of production processes or purchasing and assessment of raw materials. You will also find job offers as an operation controller, production manager or technical director.

The first two semesters allow you to acquire a comprehensive and fundamental knowledge of the natural sciences, especially in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. You will take the first specialization subject in the Beverage Technology module.

Building on this foundation, you will deepen your knowledge in engineering sciences and brewing and beverage technology from the third semester onwards. Important subjects include technical mechanics, apparatus engineering, biochemistry, microbiology, brewery plants, raw material and wort technology as well as yeast and beer technology. In order to bring your modules to life, we link the written theory to various laboratory practices.

During the Bachelor's program, we make sure that the focuses on engineering science and on brewing and beverage technology are intensified in parallel to ensure that knowledge is evenly acquired. The Bachelor's degree in Brewing and Beverage Technology does not forego the economic sciences that are essential today. In modules such as Business Administration of the Beverage Industry or Accounting, Cost Accounting and Investment Calculation, you will learn the necessary knowledge to always have your products’ profitability in mind.

In addition to your required modules, you can begin to mold your own profile during your Bachelor's degree by means of elective modules and follow your own interests and talents.

At the end of your studies, you will apply your knowledge to a scientific problem in an area of your choice and write your Bachelor's thesis on it. In addition to your engineering and scientific knowledge, statistical expertise acquired during your Bachelor's degree will help you to evaluate experiments that you have planned and conducted independently.

A further component of your studies is a professional internship. Within 6 weeks you will gain first impressions of the working world.

Interested? Take a look at our curriculum.

Whether in production, analytics or quality assurance, you will know your way around and be well prepared for a leading position in the food and beverage industry.

You will gain knowledge, skills and methodological competence in brewing and beverage technology as well as in engineering and process technology. You will be able to produce and test beverages, plan brewery plants, analyze profitability, understand and monitor production processes, ensure product protection, select raw materials, apply fermentation techniques and much more.

Completing your Bachelor's thesis demonstrates your ability to plan and carry out research projects as well as structure, present and discuss results. You will learn to work scientifically and gain initial laboratory experience.

All students have to pay a semester fee for the student union (Studierendenwerk).

++ NEW ++ International students from third countries, i.e. countries that do not belong to the European Economic Area, will be charged tuition fees as of winter semester 2024/25.
All information on fee levels, waivers and scholarship programs can be found on the website on tuition fees for international students.

During the application period you can easily apply for a place in the winter semester via the application portal TUMonline. You can upload your documents for admission to the Brewing and Beverage Technology program directly from the portal.

Prerequisite for the study is the general qualification for university entrance or a comparable qualification. There are no other admission restrictions, the program is admission-free.

If you are subsequently admitted, you must submit a few certified hard copies for enrollment.

A pre-study internship before the start of the program is not required for admission.

• Curriculum:
  The degree chart gives you an overview and recommendation, which modules you should take in which semester according to academic and examination regulations (FPSO).
• Timetable (TUM ID required for login):
  This timetable is intended to give you an overview of the planned compulsory and elective modules of a semester. It is for orientation purposes only and will not be updated during the semester!
  
  Via TUMonline you can have a timetable created for each semester according to FSPO.
  You can also create your own individual timetable, which can contain not only the dates of the selected courses but also your personal appointments.
  
  First steps with TUMonline

• General Academic and Examination Regulations at TUM (APSO)
• Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO)

• Examination dates & registration via TUMonline

  Important: You can only take most of the exams if you have actively registered yourself via TUMonline within the registration period. The registration and deregistration period will be displayed at the exam date.
  Please note! In the basic and orientation exams (GOP) in the 1st and 2nd bachelor semester you will automatically be registered for all examinations during the respective semester, i.e. independent registration is not necessary in the 1st academic year.

• Further examination matters
  • Academic progress check
  • Examinations
  • Recognitions
  • Theses
• Board of Examination

The board of examination is a committee consisting of university professors and lecturers of the degree program. The chairperson of the board of examination of your degree program is Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Becker. Applications to the board of examination are received by the secretary and submitted to the board of examination for decision. You can reach the secretary by sending an email to examination.co(at)ls.tum.de.