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.

Admission to the Master's degree program is granted to students who have a first professionally qualifying degree with a good final grade in a computer science degree program. Further details can be found in the subject examination regulations.

If your Bachelor's degree has 210 ECTS points, your standard period of study is 3 semesters, as specified in the study plan

If you have completed your Bachelor's degree in 6 semesters, i.e. you only start with 180 ECTS credits, you will need to complete a further 30 ECTS credits in the Master's degree. You can achieve this through a selection of cross-profile compulsory electives. You will then study for 4 semesters. It is not possible to choose the mobility module or the mentor-accompanied practical activity module in the dual Master's degree program.

If you have already acquired professional qualifications, it may be possible to have these recognized up to the 30 ECTS credits required. The best way to do this is to contact the head of degree program for the Master's in Computer Science.

In addition, a contract with the company for participation in a dual Master's degree program must be submitted when enrolling for the dual Master's degree program in Computer Science. This contract must ensure that the language of communication in the company is English for the English-language dual study program variant. You can find more information about companies here.

To apply for the English-language dual Master's degree program in Computer Science, 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 German or you have not obtained your Bachelor's degree in a German-language degree program.

If your native language is not English or you have not obtained your Bachelor's degree in an English-language degree program, 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 program in Computer Science.

As proof of language proficiency, applicants must submit a certificate from a recognized language test, which must not be older than 24 months.

As an applicant with a 180 ECTS Bachelor's degree, you can also aim for a reduced Master's degree with 270 ECTS as an alternative to the additional 30 ECTS mentioned above, although this does not qualify you for a higher career in the civil service.

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.

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.