Master in Civil and Mechanical Engineering

Why study civil and mechanical engineering?

Imagine designing a bridge capable of withstanding a century of climate change, optimising load‑bearing structures for offshore wind, shaping future‑oriented industrial process plants, or developing the smart water and transport systems of tomorrow. The Master’s degree in Civil and Mechanical Engineering equips you with the knowledge and skills to make these innovations a reality. You will learn to analyse and solve complex engineering problems with advanced calculation and simulation tools used in industry and you will gain an interdisciplinary profile that will stand out in the job market.

The programme allows you to shape your own specialisation. If you are interested in how structures carry loads over time, you can immerse yourself in fatigue design, fracture mechanics, and finite element method. If you are more concerned with society's infrastructure, you can choose the direction with water and wastewater modelling and transport technology. Regardless of direction, you will get expertise that is in high demand and that makes you ready to take responsibility for projects that matter.

What kind of job will you get?

With a Master in Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME), you can design structures that can withstand extreme loads, lead large construction and infrastructure projects, or advise on sustainable solutions for the cities of the future. You can work in consulting companies, contracting firms, builders, public administration or research, the higher education sector, as a structural engineer, project manager, computational engineer, or researcher.

The demand for Masters in Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) is high. That means distinguished career opportunities, competitive salary, and the freedom to choose the direction that suits you. The master's degree also gives you the title "sivilingeniør", a recognized quality designation in the Norwegian labor market.

Contact with working life

Already from the first semester, you will work with real-life challenges. Through project assignments, laboratory work, and simulations, you face the same challenges that engineers in the industry solve daily. Guest lecturers from the industry give you insight into how the subject knowledge is used in practice and can become your first professional contacts.

You can write your master's thesis in collaboration with a company or the public sector. USN has close contact with regional players in infrastructure, building, construction and industry, and many students get their first job through the network they build during their studies.

What you will learn

In the first semester, the programme provides you with a solid academic platform through obligatory courses in automatic control, modelling of dynamic systems, scientific calculation, project management, and cost estimation, as well as advanced dynamic analysis of pipes and structures. You will learn to use modern calculation and simulation tools that are standard in industry.

In the second semester, you choose a specialisation: structural engineering or planning and infrastructure engineering. In structural engineering, you specialize in life cycle analysis and materials technology, advanced fatigue, and fracture design, as well as advanced calculation and simulation methods. In Planning and Infrastructure Engineering, you focus on modelling of water and wastewater systems and advanced transport technology, in addition to life cycle analysis and materials technology.

In the third semester, you will take research seminars and projects, combined with elective courses such as industrial optimization, machine learning and sensor technology, offshore wind power, fluid mechanics simulations (CFD) or energy technology perspectives. In the fourth semester, you will take the master's thesis (30 credits), an independent engineering project under supervision.

The teaching combines lectures, practical laboratories, computer simulation lab, project work, group work, and presentations. You will learn to write academically, collaborate in teams, and communicate professionally both orally and in writing.

Get international experience

You can spend part of your studies abroad. Studying or doing an internship abroad can give you the opportunity to expand your international competence, language skills, and adaptability. It can also make you more attractive in the job market. USN has agreements with several foreign universities within the Erasmus+ programme and other exchange schemes adapted to the programme. All or part of the third semester can be completed at a partner university.

Further studies

A completed master's degree qualifies for admission to doctoral studies (PhD) both at USN and other universities in Norway and abroad. At USN, you can apply for admission to the PhD programme in technical and natural sciences at the Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences.