Master's 2027 in mechanical and automotive engineering: application dates and recommendation letters

The deadlines for European master's programmes starting in autumn 2027 are spread between October 2026 and May 2027, and the most selective close before Christmas: ETH Zurich on 30 November and EPFL on 15 December 2026. This guide lists the dates for eight mechanical and automotive engineering programmes, and what to prepare early.

By Baptiste Petit · Published 13 October 2026 · Updated 23 October 2026

Dates and details checked on 13 October 2026 on the official websites. Always confirm on the official page before applying.

Written with the help of AI and published by Baptiste Petit, who is responsible for what it says. Spotted a mistake? Write to baptouai@gmail.com.

University	Programme	Applications	Deadline	Recommendation letters	Good to know
ETH Zurich	MSc Mechanical Engineering	1 Nov 2026	30 Nov 2026, 11:59 CET (Bachelor's from outside Switzerland)	2 academic letters	GRE required if your Bachelor's is not from an EU/EFTA country; one-page motivation letter in English; rank three tutors.
EPFL	Master's programmes, e.g. Mechanical Engineering	Online form	15 Dec 2026 (paid and validated)	At least 2 (three referees' contacts; they upload the letters about a week after the deadline)	15 December is also the deadline for the Excellence Fellowship. Only one master's programme per year at EPFL.
TU Delft	MSc Mechanical Engineering	15 Oct 2026	15 Jan 2027 (non-EU/EFTA) · 1 Apr 2027 (EU/EFTA)	See the programme page	Admission depends on your Bachelor's: check the pathway for a non-Dutch degree.
KTH and other Swedish universities	e.g. MSc Vehicle Engineering	16 Oct 2026	15 Jan 2027; documents by 1 Feb 2027	Usually none (check the programme)	One application on University Admissions in Sweden: up to four programmes, ranked.
TUM	MSc Mechanical Engineering	1 Apr 2027	31 May 2027	None listed	Foreign degrees first go through uni-assist (preliminary documentation): start in February. Selection by aptitude assessment. Can be taken in German or in English.
Imperial College London	MSc Advanced Mechanical Engineering	30 Sep 2026	Rounds: 6 Jan, 10 Mar, 28 Apr 2027	See Imperial's application guidance	£90 application fee. Tuition 2027: £47,250 for overseas students. Later rounds may be full: apply early.
Cranfield University	MSc Automotive Engineering	Open	No fixed deadline published: apply early	See the application guide	One year, starts in October. Tuition 2027-28: £13,700 (home) or £30,500 (overseas).
Politecnico di Milano	Laurea Magistrale (MSc) Mechanical Engineering	September intake: windows in September–November and January–March; the call depends on your nationality		Check the call	Non-EU students: use the earliest window, for the visa.

When should I ask for recommendation letters?

Ask four to six weeks before the deadline. ETH Zurich and EPFL each want two academic letters, sent by the referees themselves, and professors receive many requests in November and December. Give each referee your CV, your transcript, the list of programmes with their deadlines, and two or three lines on what you'd like them to highlight (a project you did in their course, your ranking, your internship).

What else takes time besides the application form?

Four things: the GRE, uni-assist, an English test, and fees and funding.

GRE for ETH Zurich if your Bachelor's comes from outside the EU/EFTA: book the test early enough for the score to arrive before 30 November.
uni-assist for TUM: foreign degrees must be checked before you can apply, which can take several weeks.
English test (IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge) when your degree wasn't taught in English: check each programme's minimum score.
Fees and funding: application fees (e.g. £90 at Imperial), tuition (very different between EU and UK universities) and scholarships, whose deadlines often come before the application deadline.

Which master's should I apply to first?

Start with the earliest deadlines: ETH Zurich (30 November 2026), then EPFL (15 December 2026). Both depend on documents that take weeks to arrive: your referees' letters and, for ETH Zurich, a GRE score if your Bachelor's is from outside the EU/EFTA. Imperial's 6 January round, KTH and TU Delft for non-EU/EFTA students (both on 15 January 2027) come next. Programmes with later deadlines, such as TUM (31 May 2027), can wait, but TUM's uni-assist check should start in February.

How many master's programmes can I apply to?

It depends on the university. EPFL accepts one master's programme per candidate per year, and the Swedish central application on University Admissions in Sweden lets you rank up to four programmes in one go. For the other universities in the table, check the programme page for its own rule.

What does a realistic calendar for a September 2027 start look like?

Spread the work from October 2026 to May 2027, with the first deadline on 30 November.

October 2026: shortlist programmes, ask your referees, book any tests. TU Delft, Imperial and Swedish universities are already open.
November: ETH Zurich (by 30 November).
December: EPFL (by 15 December).
January 2027: Imperial round 2 (6 January), KTH and Sweden (15 January), TU Delft for non-EU students (15 January).
February–March: Swedish documents (1 February), uni-assist for TUM, Politecnico di Milano's second window, Imperial round 3 (10 March).
April–May: TU Delft for EU students (1 April), TUM (1 April to 31 May), Imperial round 4 (28 April).

What does that look like for one student?

Take a student with a Bachelor's from a French university who applies to ETH Zurich, EPFL and KTH. In October 2026 they choose the three programmes, ask three referees for letters (two for ETH Zurich, at least two for EPFL) and start the one-page motivation letter ETH Zurich asks for. Their degree is from an EU country, so the GRE required from applicants outside the EU/EFTA doesn't apply to them. They submit the ETH Zurich application before 30 November, pay and validate the EPFL one before 15 December (the referees upload their letters about a week later), then apply to KTH on University Admissions in Sweden by 15 January 2027, with supporting documents before 1 February.