MSc Photovoltaics Engineering Science Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Halle (Saale)

Courses are held in English (100%).

No knowledge of German is requested, but it is helpful for daily life.

For those with knowledge of German at the beginner level, it is recommended to embark on German courses offered by the university or other institutions. Alternatively, you can choose the elective subject German for Professional Practice I or II. In this case, the subject will be credited. To find a job in Germany, some German language skills are usually needed.

Starting in summer semester 2026, the programme will re-start with an updated structure.

Detailed information about the Master's programme can be found here: www.hs-anhalt.de/mpv.

• Solar Cell Technologies: silicon and wafer manufacturing, solar cell manufacturing, types of crystalline Si solar cells, advanced concepts and future developments, overview of thin-film technologies
• Renewable Energy Technologies and Applications: overview of renewable energy technologies and their possible applications, PV and its complementary renewable energy sources
• Solar Modules: module types, design, production, materials (polymers, interconnects, glass) and components (bypass diodes, junction box, cables, mounting)
• Power Converters: power electronic devices, concepts of converters (DC/DC, DC/AC, AC/DC), types of PV inverters, MPP tracking, power optimisers
• Energy Storage Systems: rechargeable batteries (lead, lithium, future systems), battery control, alternative storage systems (hydrogen, methane, electrolysis, pumped water storage)
• System Design, Yield and Performance Analysis: PV system design, monitoring systems, yield calculation, performance analysis
• Electric Grids and Solar System Integration: overview of electric grids, transmission and distribution grids, PV generator integration issues, reactive power management, smart grids
• System and Component Reliability and Assessment: test standards, failure mechanisms, light induced degradation, potential induced degradation (PID), polymer degradation, mechanical tests

In addition, for every semester, one elective subject has to be chosen: Machine Learning and AI, Internet Security, Solar Cell and Material Diagnostics, Real Time Systems, German for Professional Practice I & II

Although Germany is still leading in PV research & development, many companies have moved their main production sites to the Far East. Therefore, this programme is ideal for students who want to return to their home countries after graduation and help to promote PV there. However, Germany continues to offer a lot of job opportunities in PV system engineering and project management. Taking into account the general lack of qualified engineers and technicians in Germany and Germany's ambitious plans for the transition to a renewable energies economy, the job opportunities for those who want to stay in Germany after graduation are also good. In this case, at least a minimum knowledge of German is needed, which can be acquired during the programme.

The winter semester begins on the first working day in October and lasts 15 weeks (not including a two-week break over Christmas and New Year's Eve).

The summer semester begins on the first working day in April and lasts 15 weeks.

Exams take place either in the two weeks following a lecture period, or in the two weeks before it starts.

15 July for the following winter semester (application and participation in pre-assessment process before 15 June recommended)

15 January for the following summer semester (application and participation in pre-assessment process before 15 December recommended)

For the pre-assessment process: www.hs-anhalt.de/mpv

Please check the course website www.hs-anhalt.de/mpv for possible short-notice changes before applying or coming to Germany.

Summer semester:

• Solar Cell Technologies
• Renewable Energy Technologies and Applications
• Solar Modules
• Power Converters
• One elective subject: Machine Learning and AI, Internet Security, German for Professional Practice I

Winter semester:

• Energy Storage Systems
• System Design, Yield and Performance Analysis
• Electric Grids and Solar Energy Integration
• System and Component Reliability and Assessment
• One elective subject: Solar Cell and Material Diagnostics, Real Time Systems, German for Professional Practice II

All technical courses comprise lectures, exercises, and practical laboratory work.

Some lectures will be given by scientific experts from the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP) or other partners from science and industry. A part of the practical laboratory work will be done at the CSP.

Excursions to PV companies, the university test site and the Intersolar fair accompany the university courses.

The programme can be started either in the winter or in the summer semester.

The third semester is a research semester for the Master's thesis. It can be performed in the PV laboratory of Anhalt University, at the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP) in Halle, or in any other PV laboratory or PV company worldwide.

For students who do not speak German, it is recommended to embark on voluntary additional German courses, which are offered by the university and other institutions. Alternatively, you can choose the elective subject German for Professional Practice I or II.

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Optionally, students can apply for internships in companies during the semester breaks.

No tuition fees

From 2026 onwards the semester contribution is 304.80 EUR. The semester contribution consists of 96 EUR administrative costs and 208.80 EUR for the semester ticket for regional buses and trains. Please visit www.hs-anhalt.de/mpv for the latest updates.

Roughly 1,000 EUR per month are needed for accommodation and living.

Accommodation is relatively cheap in Köthen in comparison to bigger German cities.

Roughly 140 to 150 EUR per month must be budgeted for the compulsory health and care insurance, if you are under 30 years of age (this is a special reduced students' rate). If you are over the age of 30, it can cost substantially more (by a factor of two or three) and depends strongly on the insurance type and company you have chosen.

In addition, a voluntary personal liability insurance is recommended (roughly 80 to 140 EUR per year, also varying greatly depending on the company).

For students from most countries outside the European Union, it is requested that you prove you have the amount for roughly one year's cost of living and accommodation on a blocked account in order to be entitled to receive the visa that will allow you to enter Germany.

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, electrical and information engineering, physics, engineering physics, materials science or similar subjects

Students with a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, mechatronics, process engineering, or industrial engineering (or similar subjects) will be admitted, if the Bachelor's curriculum sufficiently covers the required basics in mathematics, physics, chemistry, semiconductor materials, basic electronics (semiconductor diodes, transistors), and electrical engineering. The assessment whether this is the case is done by the study advisor ("Studienfachberater").

A minimum of seven semesters or 210 ECTS credit points is required.

Applicants with a Bachelor's degree of less than seven semesters duration (or less than 210 ECTS credit points) can be admitted, if they have a sufficient knowledge of the basic subjects. This will be assessed according to the individual situation of the applicant by the study advisor (Studienfachberater). In order to compensate for missing knowledge, additional bridging modules worth up to 30 ECTS points can be defined which the applicant has to take at Anhalt University before starting the MSc programme. There will be an official list of these additional subjects, but they will not count towards the MSc grade.

The university at which the Bachelor's degree was attained must be rated H+ according to the Anabin list, and the programme should include a final thesis, in which the applicant shows that he/she is able to work according to scientific methodology and knows how to write a scientific paper.

The total grade of the Bachelor's degree must be at least 2.5 according to the German grading system (conversion by the Bavarian formula – Bayerische Formel).

A participation in the pre-assessment process is strongly recommended before you apply via uni-assist. For this process, submission of a complete up-to-date CV, transcript of Bachelor's results, motivation letter (at most one page) and summary of final thesis (one page plus references) to mpv@hs-anhalt.de is necessary.
(For further details, see: www.hs-anhalt.de/mpv.)

Applicants who have not achieved their university's entrance qualification or Bachelor's degree at an English-speaking institution have to demonstrate proficiency in English (as demonstrated by appropriate scores of TOEFL: score of 500 paper-based, or 180 computer-based, or 90 Internet-based, or IELTS 6.0, or similar tests at least at B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

15 July for the following winter semester (application and participation in pre-assessment process before 15 June recommended)

15 January for the following summer semester (application and participation in pre-assessment process before 15 December recommended)

For the pre-assessment process: www.hs-anhalt.de/mpv

No

Local student jobs are open to international students, as are student tutor positions at Anhalt University (depending on qualifications and job availability).

If the third semester (research for the Master's thesis) is done at a company (or at some research institutes outside the university), usually roughly 500 EUR are paid per month.

Accommodation is available through the Student Services Office ("Studentenwerk Halle") or on the private market. Rent for a single room in a student residence on campus from Student Services Office is approx. 250 to 300 EUR (including all(!) additional costs and electricity). A private rental is approx. 400 to 500 EUR (including all (!) additional costs and electricity).

Student Services runs an online application portal for student housing. Only online applications are accepted. Applications need to be submitted to https://tl1host.eu/SWHAL/#home.

For further information, see: http://www.hs-anhalt.de/international/international-students.html.

A career advisory service is offered by the university.

With its sites at Bernburg, Dessau, and Köthen, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences can call upon proud traditions in science, innovation, and cultural cosmopolitanism. These traditions guide us in research and teaching and are the backbone of our commitment in the central German region of Anhalt.

Since its foundation, Anhalt University has established close links with both national and international research institutions as well as industry partners.

In 2021, the site at Köthen celebrated its 130th anniversary of engineering education.

Every subject at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences has been developed with the emphasis on practical training and a high standard of education. Project work based on practical application, international practical semesters, and practice-oriented final year theses are part and parcel of day-to-day course work. Students' ideas are directly implemented in practice. New forms of teaching and e-learning, small study groups, excellent research, and first-class contacts offer ideal conditions for a good start to a career either at home or abroad.

In the field of research, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences occupies a premier position among German universities of applied sciences and is well placed for attracting third-party funding. Successful application-oriented and transfer-oriented research projects extend their reach across central Germany. Furthermore, thanks to close industry contacts, many research results are employed directly in practice by small and medium-sized companies.

In the field of photovoltaics, Anhalt University has been very successful in raising funds for research projects in recent years. About 12 third-party financed PhD students have finished or are currently pursuing their research at Anhalt University in photovoltaics, usually in cooperative graduate schools with other universities. In most cases, this is done in close cooperation with the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP) or with Martin Luther University in the nearby city of Halle.

Due to their strength in scientific research, all three professors of the photovoltaics group at Anhalt University are members of the PhD programme centre for Engineering and Information Technology of Universities of Applied Sciences of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, which entitles them to act officially as supervisors of PhD theses performed in the field of photovoltaics at Anhalt University.

The main topics of research at Anhalt University are bifacial modules, performance and technology comparison at our university test site, reliability of cells and polymers, agri-PV, and performance analysis by LED sun simulators.

Professor Dr Ralph Gottschalg, the chair for Photovoltaic Energy Systems at our university, is also co-director of the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP). This is one of the leading PV research institutes in Germany, which covers many further fields of research in PV metrology, diagnostics, reliability, materials, process and system technology. 

Although it is a small town of roughly 25,000 inhabitants, Köthen (Anhalt) offers a wide range of places of interest. Many sights in the historical town centre are worth a visit. Examples of sights include the castle with its newly designed event centre, the St Jakobs Church with its double towers that serve as the town's landmark, the historical council chamber in the town hall that is over a hundred years old, and many other buildings and memorials as well as the pleasant parkways. Moreover, there is also a range of internationally well-known people whose steps can be retraced here in town.

First of all, there is the composer Johann Sebastian Bach, whose work in Köthen gave the town the nickname Town of Bach. He worked as "Hofkapellmeister" (court conductor) for prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen and created many of his famous compositions here in Köthen, such as the Brandenburg concertos. The life and work of the composer has been celebrated in Köthen with events such as the Bach festival and the Bach Competition for young pianists, which alternate annually.

Additionally, well-known people are connected with Köthen in the field of homoeopathy. The founder and developer of modern homoeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, spent his most productive years in Köthen. The town appropriately preserves its national heritage even today. This was demonstrated by the opening of the European library of homoeopathy in Köthen in October 2009. The European library of homoeopathy is an institution of the German central association of homoeopathic doctors.

Köthen has good railway connections to other cities, and, therefore, it offers a lot of opportunities for weekend trips. Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden are easily reached by train. Other nearby destinations include Magdeburg (the capital of Saxony-Anhalt) with its famous Gothic cathedral (with the grave of Otto I "the Great", co-founder of the first German empire), Halle (Saale) with the Leopoldina (German National Academy of Science), Dessau with its world-famous Bauhaus, the Harz mountains with many hiking trails, Quedlinburg with its picturesque old town and castle (the castle church features the grave of Heinrich I, co-founder of the first German empire together with his son Otto I), Wörlitz with its gardens, Wittenberg with its Luther memorial sites, and other sites that offer many historically or culturally interesting places to be discovered.