• A state-of-the-art degree program focusing on Polymer Engineering and Science. The latest scientific and research approaches based on sustainable plastics technology, a circular economy, and enhanced through extensive digitalization aspects.
• Actively practiced interdisciplinary approaches at the JKU and a strong international industry and science network even during your Master's degree program.
• The JKU provides support services to pursue an optional study-abroad semester.

Sophie Pachner, a JKU graduate holding a degree in plastics engineering, is currently pursuing a professional career at the Erema Group. See our JKU YouTube account, opens an external URL in a new window to watch more videos of what our graduates are doing!

Graduates from the degree programs in Mechanical Engineering or Medical Engineering may be admitted to the Master's degree program in PES by taking their own "bridging" subjects (max. 18 ECTS credits), thereby bypassing the mandatory electives.

Detailed information about the Master's degree program and the required courses will be available shortly in the JKU course catalog/curriculum.

The curriculum and the course catalog provide detailed information about the degree program requirements and mandatory courses.

The Master's degree program in Polymer Engineering and Science will educate you as a professional expert in the sustainable development, design, production, application and recycling plastics and plastic components. You will focus on the following questions:
 

• How could we design and manufacture sustainable and recyclable products using plastics?
• How can we use simulation and data science to optimize processing and recycling technologies and minimize their carbon footprint? How could we continuously monitor and control these processes in an energy-efficient way to turn recycled biopolymers and post-consumer materials into new, high-quality products?
• How can we adapt and apply testing methods when using bioplastics and recycled materials?
• How can we modify plastics chemically and physically so that they stay in the materials cycle for as long as possible? What kind of recycling methods (mechanical, chemical, thermal) work best for which types of plastics and plastic components?
• Which types of plastics could serve as key materials to better support sustainable energy technologies?
• What kind of management skills would help to successfully launch one's professional career?

Graduates of the degree program Polymer Engineering and Science are highly sought after and are ideally qualified to pursue a wide range of careers at industrial companies, at businesses, and at other institutions:
 

• In the plastics industry (including plastics manufacturing and processing companies as well as machinery and product suppliers in the plastics industry
• Within industries utilizing plastics and polymeric materials, such as packaging, construction, the automotive industry, electronic accessories and electrical engineering, sports and recreation equipment, the aerospace industry, power generation, medical technologies, etc.
• At agencies and regulatory bureaus regulating the use of polymer materials and products (such as certifying agencies, government ministries, patent offices, etc.)

Today's economic environment would be unimaginable without products and technologies that are based on polymer materials. Their innovative potential is truly unlimited. In line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), graduates of the PES degree program can also pursue the following career opportunities

• Positions in academia, at public or private research institutions, or pursue a more advanced degree and earn a doctorate degree in Technical Sciences.
• Launch a start-up company in the production sector, or as a service provider, or serving as a qualified consultant at engineering offices or at technology transfer centers

You will contribute significantly toward sustainable developments and applications in polymer technologies within industry and research. You will be capable of working for companies serving international customers and working effectively as part of an intercultural team, able to flexibly adapt to changing market conditions and emerging scientific and technological developments in the field of polymer engineering and science.

On average, graduates in this field are able to find a job approximately three months after successfully completing the program.

After completing your graduate degree, you can continue your education by pursuing an advanced degree:

You might also find these academic degree programs interesting: