Delft University of Technology - TU Delft (reviews)

I really enjoyed my time as a student at TU Delft. The first year was filled with courses, assignments and exams, where you learn to be an independent and critical researcher and thinker. Personally, I really enjoyed the fact that my program included a curricular internship: I got to experience a true workplace, gained a lot of hands-on practice and I feel that thanks to this I have better career prospects. Moreover, I really appreciated the many opportunities that TU Delft gives to its students. While studying, it is possible to have part-time jobs at the faculty, to join student teams, to work on your own start-up, to be part of sports teams and clubs.
On the negative side, one thing I did not like was working on the thesis. It is a very long individual project, so sometimes it is hard to keep up the motivation. Luckily, the international and friendly environment really makes it all better!

The chance to choose online or on campus is great. The campus is great, open and a good place to study. The professors that I’ve got aren’t always clear enough, they rush a lot.
There are a lot of international students and it’s cool to get to know them.

The space flight master track is amazing for anyone interested in either space engineering or space exploration. Everyone attending this track can explore their preferred topics of interest, as almost all the courses are electives, and the students can choose to attend some in other faculties or at University of Leiden. The environment is very stimulating, with courses being taught by capable professionals and several workshops held by employees of space agencies. Furthermore, the program involves a mandatory internship, allowing the students to have a first professional experience. I find the importance given to the thesis project to be refreshing: students work on their project for several months, without the external distraction of mandatory courses and exams, furthermore, it gives them an insight into how working full time on research is. However, this means that all the credits dedicated to courses are concentrated into a few months, which means that the first year is hectic, to say the least. Accommodation can also be difficult, as the university is not able to provide housing on Delft to all of its students, which means that many need to commute from adjacent cities.
TU Delft is an extremely diverse university, with almost half of the students being international. Furthermore, there are many clubs, associations, and student teams that students can join.

Doing a Master’s in aerospace engineering has several positive aspects, from the highly distinguished and competitive environment to the highly international student bodies. From an academic standpoint, the program is top-notch and is sure to guarantee extremely good professional opportunities later in life. The professors are sometimes more researchers than professors, and this can impact a bit the teaching quality.
The student life in Delft is also very developed, offering several different opportunities for personal growth.
The main drawback really is just the logistics: finding a house in Delft, whether through the university or privately, is sure to turn into an expensive nightmare if the process is not started early enough. I would recommend starting the accommodation search at least a couple of months before.

This university, compared to my previous one, and probably many others, is on a whole other level. The practical setting of many courses is very helpful to understand already during the studies how to use what we learn and to put it into practice. This is mainly done through many assignments handed throughout the courses. Moreover, we are pushed at planning our studies ahead of time, so that we always have clear what needs to be done and when.
However, all of this comes at the cost of having a very organized study & work schedule, otherwise many challenges (that imho are too time-consuming and should be lowered in workload) can be difficult to overcome. It is the drawback I have seen by going through some courses that are very helpful but at the same time very demanding.
Campus life really depends on who you spend your time with, but to highlight a general lack of this technical uni I would say there should be more faculties about non-technological disciplines. There is too much focus about tech and often a different point of view would be more than beneficial.

I’m attending the first year of the Space Flight master track (Aerospace Engineering). I started loving this track from the very first day. I struggled a lot in choosing my study planning: there are so many interesting courses. I really appreciated the teaching methodology, very different from the one I was used while studying in Italy. I’m following the Planetary Exploration theme in view of my internship and thesis, but I really had the possibility to choose whatever I wanted, thanks to the wide range of courses and the technical preparation of the professors.

As an international student, deciding to go to TU Delft was a great decision for the following reasons. Firstly, the cost of studying here is extremely low in comparison to that of comparable programs in the United States without compromising the quality of education. Secondly, I found their aerospace engineering curriculum to be very good and the professors to be very knowledgeable. Moreover, I really like that the program offers several “profiles” to tailor your education to your interests.

I first thought of applying for the Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft because I couldn’t find any other study program that was so specific and encapsulated what I like. In fact, within the degree, you can choose between tracks, that are completely focused on a specific area (aerodynamics, propulsion, space…), and I chose spaceflight. The most amazing thing about the program is that apart from the compulsory and core courses (astrodynamics, planetary sciences, instrumentation,…) there is the possibility to choose between a large range of elective courses from all TU Delft faculties (other engineerings, geosciences, applied sciences, mathematics…). Moreover, students can also follow courses at other Dutch universities: for example, I followed two courses from the Master’s Degree in Astronomy of Leiden University.
Most professors are very friendly and knowledgeable, and always available to answer the questions of the students, both about the study material and only for advice regarding the study plan, internships or thesis. There are also many services thought for the students, like the possibility to talk with academic counsellors and study advisors. Moreover, new students are divided into groups during the first day, and each group has a mentor (an older student who studied the same things) who gives advice, tips and answers all the questions of the new students. It is also a nice way of getting to know your fellow students and making friends.
The facilities are modern, continuously improved and ample. For example, the library is full of different types of rooms and spots to study.
It is a very international environment, the professors speak English very well, and in general Dutch people (also “normal” adults in a small city like Delft) understand and speak English. So students can integrate into the city and university quite well. The cultural exchange is huge.
The only flaw is that the study program is way too demanding. Sometimes, it really feels like there is no time to learn everything and investigate the topics further, because of the large amount of time needed to do the assignments and study the basic material. This can also be good because it means that you learn how to organise yourself and many other important skills. However, I really think most of the courses are really too demanding.
Another weak point is that accommodation and housing are completely saturated, so it is quite difficult to find a house here, so I suggest anyone who is thinking of applying to look for a house well in advance and mind scammers!

Ok how can I start this. First with the positive remarks. First thing to say is that everything is fairly well organized, and everything is fairly well structured. Generally everything is communicated to us fairly well, and timely, and we’re usually well informed about certain situations and about our course materials. And also many nice places to study, along with a nice sports center. There’s various events always going on, from our study association, and from others.
Now with the negatives. At times I feel like some of the communication in English isn’t super clear since the translations weren’t fully accurate, and times where it would help to have an English translation for a Dutch page. Also, the sports center could maybe make a separate membership to use the gym that doesn’t include anything else (to save money)? Also, communication of the events maybe could be a bit better, since many times people just don’t know what’s going on.
But overall I’ve enjoyed my experience thus far, and look forward to continuing here 😀

I am quite happy with the way PhD is structured at TUD. Graduate school offers good courses to add to the skillset of the PhDs. Additionally, close collaboration with industries helps you see the impact of your research on society.