Pre-course Mathematics
Module Fundamentals of Mathematics for Engineers
The preliminary course is designed for students on Bachelor's degree programmes in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Industrial Engineering and Management in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics. We look forward to seeing you!
It starts on 7 September 2026 at 9:00 am (lecture hall 01301 in Goethestrasse 1) and takes place in presence. From 7 September to 2. October 2026, the courses will take place in two groups in the mornings, with tutorials from 13:00-14:30 in the afternoons. It is possible to join the course at any time. It is not necessary to register for the preliminary course.
Students are divided into 2 groups according to their degree programmes, more details about that are published later.
The four-week course is divided into two parts. The first part (7. - 18. September 2026) is the Maths pre-course. In these first two weeks, topics of school maths - from fractions, geometry and trigonometry to elementary building blocks of vector calculus - are repeated and refreshed.
The second part, "Mathematical Basics for Engineers" (21. September until 2. October 2026), teaches some essential basic principles of mathematics, such as solving different types of equations, derivation rules and the integration of simple elementary functions.
The contents of the entire preliminary course are assumed in the "Mathematics 1" module. Participation is voluntary for both sections, but passing the written examination for the second section "Mathematical Foundations for Engineers" is a prerequisite for admission to the Mathematics 1 examination at the end of the first semester and all examinations from the second semester onwards. The written examination will probably take place on Monday, 5. October 2026, 8:30 a.m., during the Freshers' Week. And additionally at the middle or end of November, too.
Schedule for the winter semester 2026/2027
- Start: on September 7th, 2026 (see above for time schedule). We look forward to seeing you!
- End: on October 2nd, 2026
- As soon as you are enrolled, you will receive your FH Aachen ID and thus have access to the contents of the learning platform Ilias from September 7th,2026.
- On Ilias, you will find all further information under "Vorkurs Mathematik & Grundlagen der Mathematik".
Documents required for the Maths pre-course
The documents for the preliminary course consist of
- Self-studymaterial:
The content of the self-study material is not presented during the course, but must be worked through independently if necessary. These are elementary arithmetic skills and include the laws of fractions, powers, roots and logarithms.
Tasks in Maths 1 and Maths 2 are worked on without a calculator. This also applies to the written examinations. It is therefore essential to have a firm grasp of the elementary rules of arithmetic. - Lecture material:
This script contains all the topics of the entire four-week preliminary course. - Exercises - Part I and Part II:
The lecture material is supplemented by an extensive collection of exercises.
The pre-course materials - consisting of lecture notes and parts of the exercises - are now available in the copy shop Afterglow (Vaalser Straße 20-22, 52064 Aachen, Tel.: +49 (0)241-900 7976) and for FH students as downloads from September 7th, 2026: ILIAS Server of FH Aachen, (Magazin > Dozenten > K-M > Melcher, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Karin > Vorkurs Mathematik & Grundlagen der Mathematik).
If you would like to refresh your knowledge before starting the preliminary course, we recommend the online bridging courses OMB+.
