Among other things, the department offers a range of interdisciplinary degree courses. Here, mechanical engineering or process engineering can be combined with courses in the natural sciences (chemistry, physics, biology) or engineering courses (economics, computer science, power engineering). These combinations prepare graduates for increasingly evolving tasks in the working world, especially in the fields of research and development. The Master’s degree is the goal, and every student in the department is eligible to study towards the Master’s degree.

There are exchange programmes with French and Chinese universities and the international Master's degree course "Commercial Vehicle Technology".

Thanks to the large number of projects with third-party funding, the department has excellent technical equipment. The laboratories are state-of-the-art.

Research in the department is split evenly between industry-related research and basic research. Numerous research projects are conducted in cooperation with the Chairs or with other departments and research institutions in Germany and abroad. Research in the department includes exciting questions about bioprocess engineering, process engineering and power engineering, the entire area of mechanical engineering and automotive engineering, materials science and production engineering.