Degree structure

This two-year master track consists of four primary elements and the accompanying European Credit Transfer and Accumulation Systems (ECTS):

1. Core courses (30 ECs)
2. Specialization Electives (30 ECs)
3. Free electives (15 ECs)
4. Graduation project (45 ECs).

The mandatory expertise areas, or core courses, represent the six main areas in BPS and provide a solid foundation in all aspects of BPS:

1. Building Acoustics
2. Building Lighting
3. Building Materials
4. Building Performance
5. Building Physics; and
6. Building Services.

The optional expertise areas – we call them specialization electives – give you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge in your specific field of interest. They also include at least one research or design project (worth 10 ECs) in one of the six core areas to give you the opportunity to apply your knowledge and gain practical experience.  For access to all BPS groups, please click here.

You are the focus of the free electives. What do you find truly interesting? A certain track within or outside the Building Physics and Services master track? Or a particular area of the Architecture, Building and Planning master program? Or even a related master track at another TU/e department’s master program? Or a long-held wish to join a different Dutch or non-Dutch university for a semester? If you prefer, you can even step into everyday reality and do an internship at one of our partner companies. You create your own, flexible study plan together with your mentor.

Year 2: Much of the second year of the master track comprises your graduation project. You join one of the BPS research groups and work on your own research or design project, applying and sharpening your knowledge while learning new methodologies in one of the BPS fields.

Check out the BPS master track here:

The Building Physics and Services master track covers a wide range of interdisciplinary research topics connected to building physics and building services. The aim is to acquire new knowledge and integrate and develop design methods that lead to a sustainable, healthy, comfortable and productive indoor and outdoor environment. The focus of attention is on physical aspects and processes such as heat and moisture transfer in building constructions, indoor air quality, lighting, acoustics, heating and cooling, ventilation, wind flows, integration of renewable energy systems, and materials science. 

The premaster prerequisite
The Architecture Building and Planning (ABP) Premaster program is intended for students who have not received direct admission to the BPS master track. Amongst these students, we see:

• Bachelor graduates from the TU/e (and other Dutch universities) who did not obtain a bachelor’s in Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences or equivalent (from the Industrial Design program, for example)
• Graduates from University of Applied Sciences (HBO) programs such as ‘Bouwkunde’ / Built Environment, ‘Civiele Techniek’ and ‘Bouwtechnische Bedrijfskunde’

This ABP premaster typically takes one semester and is worth 30 ECs. We aim to give you the necessary background to enable a seamless and successful transition into the BPS master track. Included in this BPS premaster are courses in building physics and services, mathematics, an introductory course to architecture as well as a planning project. For further information please visit this site

Your graduation project
Within the six research areas of BPS, graduation projects differ from one another regarding content. You choose the main subject of your graduation project based on your desired specialization within one (or two) of the six main areas of BPS. You will develop a graduation plan – together with your mentor – that includes research questions and a research plan. Most projects include experiments, surveys, data analysis or simulations. You can also conduct graduation projects together with the business community or a government entity, in which you can also benefit from their co-supervision. The final product of the graduation project is a written thesis and presentation of the key findings. The assessment is based on the product (the scientific quality of the research, relevance of the results to practice), the presentation (written and oral) and the process during the project (independence, time management, etc.).

Recent BPS graduation projects include the following:

1. Optimal lighting conditions for a Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU). The aim of this graduation project was to assess the current lighting conditions in the PACU of an academic hospital and, if needed, provide recommendations on how to improve current lighting conditions at night.
2. Airborne transmission of diseases in care facilities. This research investigated potential improvements to the current building and ventilation design of long-term care facilities in the Netherlands to counteract the spread of infectious diseases, with special focus on the long-range airborne route. A list of potential improvements was compiled, from which the performance of one improvement, a personal ventilation system, was tested.
3. Using data mining and machine learning techniques for extracting hidden information from building energy consumption data. This study aimed to improve the consistency of the modeling techniques and define a best-unified resolution of data for different applications in the built environment to improve the energy efficiency of Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning systems.
4. Air purification in parking garages. This study used detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the airflow and particulate matter (PM) distribution in parking garages and the surrounding urban area, aiming to determine the potential of filter unit placement, related to the reduction of PM10.
5. Road traffic noise interventions. This study aimed at providing new insights in the effectivity of noise interventions in terms of health and wellbeing on a low‐level scale. It addressed the effects of a road surface intervention and two barrier interventions. The main goal was to assess if a method can be developed to quantify the effects of road traffic interventions on a low‐level scale.
6. Design of an innovative bio-concrete. This study aimed to research the characterization and properties of Miscanthus x giganteus fibers as a lightweight aggregate in a cementitious matrix to design a natural fiber-based concrete. In addition, the methodology behind the design processes was studied.

You can find all completed graduation reports here: