University Programme in Sustainable Construction

TU Graz
Graz University of Technology

The building sector has the doubtful honour of being the single largest emitter of greenhouse gases. As such, however, it exhibits a great potential to lead the fight against the climate crisis.
As societies move towards climate neutrality, therefore, it is necessary to both develop and use the current building stock optimally and to find new ways to use necessary resources efficiently in the construction sector and to make them recyclable. Several goals must be met: to protect people, to protect the environment, and to create conditions that enable both economical and socially compatible continuing development.

For these reasons, the University Programme in Sustainable Construction has been dedicated to considering buildings from holistic, life-cycle-oriented perspectives, taking into account the ecological, economic and socio-cultural levels. This programme integrates current trends in the construction sector, but also addresses legal requirements and framework conditions at the national and European levels.
As a participant, we will bring you up to speed by presenting state-of-the-art research and practical knowledge and help you to apply the theoretical knowledge, methods and tools you have acquired to address practical issues and carry out project work.

Content

You acquire comprehensive knowledge of the following areas:

1st and 2nd semester (certificate and Master of Engineering):

Introducing and changing the environment
Ecological sustainability
Economical sustainability
Social sustainability
Buildings and energy
Project development and design
Repair, maintenance and refurbishment
Certification of buildings

3rd and 4th semester (Master of Engineering):

Economic factors and facility management
Regional planning and spatial planning
Integrated design
Writing of master’s thesis

Both variants also include training to become an ÖGNI consultant (including ÖGNI Registered Professional). The master's degree also provides the authorisation to work as an ÖGNI auditor. The examination ÖGNI examination is is carried out in cooperation with ÖGNI.

Target Groups

The university programme is aimed at

planners from the construction sector (e.g. architecture, civil engineering, building services engineering),
clients, investors (e.g. at real estate funds, project developers from larger municipalities, provincial real estate organisations, national real estate organisations, building departments at large companies).
public administration departments, and
future auditors for the ÖGNI building certification.

Furthermore, this programme provides postgraduate training for managers in the construction industry, who have specialised in sustainable construction, or who wish to specialise in this area.

Admission Requirements

An internationally recognised academic degree, e.g. a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a technical subject, natural sciences, law or economics from a university or university of applied sciences in Austria or abroad
Graduates from a non-technical field of studies also need to have 2 years of relevant professional experience.

Dates and Deadlines

Next course start: 20 October 2022

Application deadline: 28 August 2022

Early Bird Discount: until 29 May 2022

Info Sessions:

16.05.2022, 5:30 p.m., Online via Zoom
23.06.2022, 5:30 p.m., at TU Graz
28.06.2022, 5:30 p.m., at TU Wien

Registration at officenoSpam@nachhaltigesbauen.eu

Man at a table with a notebook and a smartphone.

Sustainability Award of the Federal Ministry for Science and Research and the Food Ministry in the category of teaching and curricula

Cooperation

The university programme in Sustainable Construction is a cooperation between TU Graz (Life Long Learning) and TU Wien (Academy for Continuing Education).

Quick Facts

Final degree and length of programme:

TU Graz and TU Wien certificate: 2 semesters part-time
Master of Engineering (MEng) Sustainable Construction: 4 semesters part-time

ECTS credit points:

Certificate: 42
Master of Engineering (MEng): 90

Language of instruction: German
Course days and times: Courses are usually blocked fortnightly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday - Timetable
Registration fee
Place of study: TU Graz and Vienna University of Technology
Curriculum:

Registration Fee

Master of Engineering (MEng): € 18,000 (VAT free)
Certificate: € 10,000 (VAT free)
If, after completing the certificate, you also decide to complete a Master of Engineering degree, you will be charged an additional fee of € 9000.
Early Bird Bonus: Applications received by 29 May 2022 are entitled to a 10% early bird bonus on the total tuition fee. This means that the tuition fee is € 16,200 instead of € 18,000 or € 9,000 instead of € 10,000. Only one bonus can be claimed for each student. No further discounts are possible.

This fee does not include travel, lodging or meals expenses.

Further information:

25% discount for the first 4 applicants that are member of the Kammer der Architekten und Ingenieurkonsulenten: Details (in German)
Further possible subsidies

Application

1. Online Application

Fill in the online application.

2. Application documents

Afterwords we ask you to send the required documents (scans) by e-mail to officenoSpam@nachhaltigesbauen.eu:

Digital photo (min. 284 x 426 Pixel,:file format bmp, wbmp, jpg, jpeg, png, gif)
CV (max. 2 pages)
Cover letter
proof of school graduation and academic degree
proof of former inscriptions at Austrian universities
copy of passport

3. Application Interview

You will be invited to an interview with the programme director.

Climate change is the greatest threat to sustainable development in all parts of the world and has far-reaching, unprecedented impacts. The construction sector, including buildings, is the biggest polluter, but also holds enormous potential.

Since January 2022, Alexander Passer holds the new professorship for Sustainable Construction at TU Graz, endowed by the Fachverband Steine-Keramik.

Karin Stieldorf — Alexander Passer, programme director, TU Wien

Excellent architecture is sustainable. Excellent technology is architecture’s perfect partner. This combination of architecture and engineering results in houses that are forward-looking, environmentally friendly and great to live in. This is how we tackle climate change and the energy crisis.

Career Options and Qualifications

An increasing number of real estate companies are reworking their internal planning guidelines to reflect the principles of sustainable construction, and want to certify new buildings. This means that there is a dramatic increase in demand for qualified technicians. As there is no comprehensive training in sustainable construction in standard degree programmes, graduates of this study programme have a clear advantage in the job market. Graduates work

in all areas of building construction design,
in project development and
in building operation.

In addition, graduates can work as experts for ÖGNI building certification.

Tobias Hutter, ATP Sustain GmbH, course graduate 2015

The topic of sustainability has fully captured the building sector. More and more people want to use buildings that have a positive relationship with the environment. This programme is a good starting point for dedicated people wishing to help design a better world.

Harald Knor, programme participant 2021-2023

My ambition is to support the development of practicable solutions as well as to encourage suggestions for applying these solutions. In the future, appropriate priority should be assigned to optimizing interfaces in construction processes as well as to ensuring the high-quality execution of these processes. I also see great added value in networking and exchanging ideas with experts. The university programme in Sustainable Construction offers the ideal conditions for this.

Information Events and Individual Advice

We are happy to provide you with information and talk to you in person. Please contact

Lucia EDELSBRUNNER
Mag.phil.
TU Graz Life Long Learning
Phone: +43 316 873 4937
lucia.edelsbrunnernoSpam@tugraz.at

Benefits of Completing this University Programme

After completing the programme, you will have the following competences:

Certificate:

you will view the life cycle of buildings in a holistic manner, understanding the need for better design quality, modified construction products and construction systems.
you understand the changes in competition and the design process, connected with sustainability in the construction sector.
you have mastered the fundamentals of sustainable economics and use the necessary tools in building practice and construction projects.
you are aware of the connections between building energy use and climate protection, and can issue energy certifications for buildings.
you have the necessary specialist knowledge to complete the ÖGNI consultant examination (including ÖGNI registered professional).
you develop and implement sustainable strategies in an interdisciplinary working environment.

Master of Engineering:

In addition to the competences from the certificate, you will also be able to

bring the acquired knowledge to your working environment, further developing and adapting it,
develop implementation strategies for sustainability in the construction sector,
adapt knowledge and tools of construction to different situations,
use sustainable strategies in new situations and adapt them as required,
work as an auditor for the ÖGNI.

Programme Directors

TU GRAZ
Alexander PASSER
Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. MSc
Phone: +43 316 873 5250
alexander.passernoSpam@tugraz.at

TU WIEN
Karin STIELDORF
Ass.Prof.i.R. Projektass. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn.
Phone: +43 1 58801 253441
karin.stieldorfnoSpam@tuwien.ac.at

University Programme in Sustainable Construction

Content

Target Groups

Admission Requirements

Dates and Deadlines

Cooperation

Quick Facts

Registration Fee

Application

Career Options and Qualifications

Information Events and Individual Advice

Benefits of Completing this University Programme

Programme Directors

TU Graz

Service points

COVID-19 („coronavirus“)

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