Overview
- Educational areaAcoustics Engineering
- DegreeMaster of Science, MSc
- LanguageEnglish
- Duration2 years
- Rate of studyFull-time, 100 %
- Instructional timeDaytime
Important dates
- Application opens
- Application closes
Summary
Think about how traffic noise drifts over a neighbourhood, the sound of a modern electric vehicle moving through a city, or how music reverberates around a concert hall. Scenarios like these all require close consideration of the way sound waves travel and react to different environments. This programme will teach you how to understand, predict and control that behaviour, to both reduce noise, and elevate sound.
Specialisations
Programme description
Acoustics is a truly diverse field, bringing together many different disciplines in a way that is still underserved by most university educations. This programme offers a rare combination of skills and learning opportunities, to ensure you graduate with a highly specialised and desirable profile for a variety of roles in industry or research.
Many students come to acoustics without having previously studied it in depth. The programme is designed so that you first gain a shared foundation in acoustic understanding, while also allowing the diversity of experience and backgrounds to shine through.
There is a strong emphasis on teamwork, working together on open-ended, real-world problems, with input and collaboration with relevant industry practitioners. There is also a well-established mentorship culture, with students working in close proximity to researchers and teachers throughout their time in the programme.
The early courses in the programme are designed to get you into the way an acoustician thinks. You will understand how trends and practices in architecture, engineering and urban design are impacting the industry, and your eventual role as an acoustician. For instance, wood is reemerging as a popular building material, a trend that poses immediate questions and considerations for the field.
Core elements of the programme include air-borne and structure-borne sounds, as well as electroacoustics and measurement techniques, learnt through hands-on experimental work. Later in the programme, you will have the option to choose different courses tailored to your interests, or branch into specialisations in engineering acoustics and audio and music technology. You will have access to a number of highly advanced research facilities, including an anechoic chamber, a vibroacoustics lab, a reverberation chamber and more.
Job opportunities
Acoustical engineers play an increasingly critical role across a wide range of industries. Car manufacturers like Volvo Cars, for instance, typically employ significant numbers of acousticians in their Noise, Vibration, and Harshness departments where they work on a variety of topics that typically include structural vibrations, noise reduction, and pedestrian safety.
You will have excellent opportunities to move into roles in the automotive industry, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector environmental agencies, as well as audio and music technology companies. There are also direct recruitments from the programme by acoustic consultancies working in the construction and environmental sectors. The programme's international reputation means graduates are highly competitive in global research roles, including technology companies working in spatial audio and virtual reality.
If you are interested in continuing your research, the programme provides an excellent foundation for doctoral studies at several divisions at Chalmers and at partner institutions abroad.
Research
Chalmers has internationally recognised strengths in areas including urban acoustics, traffic noise, and railway mechanics, and the programme is closely connected to these wider research environments, in particular through the Division of applied acoustics. There is also a long-running research collaboration with Meta Platforms on spatial audio and virtual sound environments.
Other contributing research environments include the divisions of Fluid dynamics, Marine technology, Signal processing and Biomedical engineering, as well as Data science and AI. There are also collaborations with the School of Public health and Community medicine at the University of Gothenburg.
Many master’s thesis projects are carried out in connection with ongoing research at one of these divisions. Many students also collaborate with industry partners such as Volvo cars and Volvo trucks for their final projects. Alternatively, you will be ideally-suited for further studies at PhD level, either at Chalmers or other international universities.
Requirements
Bachelor's degree in: Architecture and engineering, Civil engineering, Electrical engineering, Engineering mathematics, Mechanical engineering, Physics, Acoustics, or the equivalent
Prerequisites: Mathematics (at least 10 cr.)
English language requirements: Prove your English proficiency
How to apply
From application to admission
This guide explains how to apply for a Master's programme and which documents you need to submit to complete your application.