Have you gained professional experience during or after your Bachelor's degree? Or are you already deepening the skills you have acquired with us in professional practice? Then a dual Computer Science Master's programme could be the right choice for you. You combine the academic education at our university with practical work experience in a company. In this way, you can put your newly acquired knowledge into practice straight away.

The structure and content of the full-time and dual study programmes differ in that the work to be completed in the compulsory elective area is shifted in favour of the work in your chosen company. The duration of the programme does not change. The same profile lines are open to you. You can start your degree programme in the regular summer semester or in the winter semester.

Instead of two cross-profile compulsory electives, you will only take one cross-profile compulsory elective in the first semester and already earn 6 ECTS credits in the company via the mentor-accompanied practical work module. This module continues in the second semester, in which you do not have to take any further cross-profile compulsory electives. The dual study programme is therefore characterised by a stronger focus on your future work in the company.

The degree programme
In the first two semesters, challenging courses deepen and broaden your specialist knowledge.
In addition to the compulsory subjects and the profile subjects of your chosen specialisation, you will take two compulsory electives. One from your specific specialisation and one cross-profile module. In contrast to the regular full-time or part-time degree programme, you will start your qualification in the first semester with the mentor-supported practical activity module in your chosen company and continue this in the second semester. This provides two times 6 ECTS towards your Master's qualification.
Depending on the chosen profile line, this is supplemented by the 12 ECTS Software Development or Human-Technology Interaction project in the second semester. The difference between mentor-accompanied practical work and the projects lies in the amount of supervision provided by the university during your work.

The dual study programme concludes in the third semester when you finally write your Master's thesis (30 ECTS) in your training company.
The main difference to the regular degree programmes is that you are tied to the company of your choice for the three modules Mentor-accompanied practical activity, Project and Master's thesis, which gives you a high degree of continuity in terms of content, whereas students on the regular degree programmes can / must choose a company again or complete their work at the university.
You can find details on the study programme in the examination regulations.

Initially, the same regulations apply as for the full-time Computer Science Master's programme. The standard requirement is a good degree from a related Bachelor's degree programme with 210 ECTS, admissions with 180 ECTS degrees are possible under certain conditions.

In addition, a contract with the company for participation in a dual Master's degree programme must be submitted upon enrolment for the dual Master's degree programme in Computer Science. For the English-language dual study programme variant, this contract must guarantee that the company's lingua franca is English.

To apply for the English-language dual Master's degree programme in Computer Science, if your native language is not German or you have not obtained your Bachelor's degree in a German-language degree programme, you must provide proof of German language skills at least at level B1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

If your native language is not English or you have not obtained your Bachelor's degree in an English-language degree programme, you must provide proof of English language proficiency of at least level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in order to apply for the English-language dual Master's degree programme in Computer Science.

As proof of language proficiency, applicants must submit a certificate from a recognised language test that is no more than 24 months old.

If the collaboration with your chosen company no longer proves feasible for whatever reason, it is possible to switch to the regular full-time Master's degree programme. Achievements will be recognised on an individual basis. However, if you are a native English speaker without a previous degree from a German-language degree programme, you must ensure that your German language level can be proven to be B1 at the time of transfer.

Complex software projects are a challenge. Technical aspects challenge us. No project without the human factor - customers and users take centre stage. We prepare you for the next challenges. You will learn how to integrate data science and machine learning into products in a meaningful way and how you can use them to increase your productivity in your professional life.

In the Machine Learning and Software Engineering profile line, in addition to the basic subjects of Automata, Computability and Complexity and Advanced Software Engineering, you will take the following subjects

• Project Software Development
• Social Skills
• Machine Learning and
• Data Science

In the software development project, you will work in a team on a complex topic in software engineering.

Depending on your profile, you will take at least two of the profile electives:

• Deep Learning,
• IT management,
• Secure Software Engineering,
• Advanced Robotics,
• AI-supported image analysis,
• software quality management.

How will we interact with technology in the future? Will we control the technology, or will the technology control us? We need to be able to design and implement outstanding interfaces.

In the Human Computer Interaction profile line, in addition to the basic subjects of Automata, Computability and Complexity and Advanced Software Engineering, you will take the following subjects

• Project Human-Technology Interaction,
• Social Skills,
• Framework-based UI development and
• interaction design.

In the Human-Technology Interaction project, you will work in a team on a complex task relating to user interfaces.

Depending on your profile, you will take at least two of the profile electives:

• Advanced Interactive Systems,
• Market and advertising psychology,
• Automotive User Interfaces,
• Methodology of empirical research

Computer science is international! Studying on a dual degree programme ties you to a company in a special way. Stays abroad are also possible as part of this commitment. However, this should not jeopardise your participation in the courses. Preferably, you should therefore arrange this in consultation with your company during the semester break. The choice of mobility module for full-time and part-time degree programmes is not provided for in the dual study programmes.

You have gained professional experience after completing your bachelor's degree? Or you want to deepen the skills you acquired with us in professional practice! We think that's excellent. You can bring these skills into the module Mentor-guided practical activity and thereby replace the cross-profile elective courses!

Prof. Dr Thomas Allweyer and Prof. Dr Uwe Tronnier head of the Master's degree programme in Computer Science, are available as contacts for questions and concerns regarding the dual study programme. The programme director is also responsible for coordination with the companies and the seminars on the modules taking place in the companies.

Each participating company also appoints a supervisor for the dual students.

The contact persons at the university and the companies are in regular contact in order to achieve the best possible integration of university studies and practical work.