(Short) Overview + Information for Master Computer Science
Four main research areas
of Uni Bonn/Computer Science
In this masters
program, a focus on one of these areas will be selected by the student
Modules are gathered under the
correspondent area in the online course
Examination Rules M.Sc. Computer Science and Module Handbook
Where to find?
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/master-of-science-in-computer-science/regulations-and-forms/
Examination rules, Paragraph 4, section 4:
Requirement: 120 CP in total
• Focus Area: 31 – 61 CP, of these 4-10 CP from seminars, 9-18 CP from labs
• Other Areas: (at least two): 27-57 CP, of these each with at least 6 CP
• Master Thesis: 30 CP + 2 CP from accompanying seminar
-> from very general to quickly focusing on one research area
Lecture (Research Area A) Seminar (Course Emphasis) Lab (Course Emphasis) Lecture (Research Area B) Lecture (Research Area C) Lecture (Research Area D) Lecture Lecture (Course Emphasis) (Research Area B) Lecture Lecture Lecture (Research Area D) Lecture (Research Area C)
Master’s Thesis with accompanying seminar
Three suggestions for structuring your studies
Sample Study Plan I:
General approach: all four research areas covered
1st 2nd 3rd 4th (Research Area B) (Research Area C)
Lecture (Research Area A) Seminar (Course Emphasis) Lab (Course Emphasis) Lecture (Research Area B) Lecture (Research Area C) Lecture Lecture (Course Emphasis) (Course Emphasis) Lecture Lecture Lecture (Research Area D) Lecture (Course Emphasis)
Master’s Thesis with accompanying seminar Sample Study Plan II:
Specializing approach: three areas covered, focus on one area
1. 2. 3. 4. (Course Emphasis) (Course Emphasis)
Lecture (Research Area A) Lab (Course Emphasis) Seminar (Course Emphasis) Lecture (Research Area A) Lecture (Research Area B) Lecture Lab (Course Emphasis) (Course Emphasis) Lecture Lecture Lecture (Research Area C) Lecture (Research Area B)
Master’s Thesis with accompanying seminar Sample Study Plan III:
Hybrid: three areas covered, focus on two areas
1. 2. 3. 4. (Course Emphasis) (Research Area B)
What to do in your first semester?
(here: for summer term 2015, starting in April 2015) Look at the course overview in BASIS, available at
https://basis.uni-bonn.de/qisserver/rds?state=wtree&search= 1&trex=step&root120151=108340|123654|123689&P.vx=lang
The structure of module numbering is explained as follows:
„Module numbers MA-INF ASXY have been assigned according to the following key: • A = number of the area of research
• S = semester within the master‘s curriculum
• XY = sequential number within the semester and the respective area of competence (two digits)
According to the curriculum, all modules ought to be taken between the 1st and 3rd semester. The 4th semester is reserved for preparing the master‘s thesis.“
for the first semester, you should choose from all offered courses with module numbers MA-INF A1XY or A2XY!!!
Continued: What to do in your first semester?
(here: for summer term 2015, starting in April 2015)
In your first semester, you should start with the first or second semester lectures.
Please note that most introductory (or first semester) lectures are exclusively offered in winter semester.
Please be aware that
• you should not choose more than 4 modules per semester
• lectures consist of the lecture itself plus exercises groups; you register for your exercises group in the lecture; depending on the regulations for the individual lecture, you need to pass a certain amount of exercises in order to take the exam of the lecture (“Übungserfolg”)
• you should take your time during the first two weeks of the semester to attend all the modules you are interested in and then choose up to 4 modules
• some of the courses have some prerequisites for participation (see module handbook) • At the latest at the end of your second semester, the course emphasis needs
to be selected
=> good planning and “look ahead” is important to stay in the recommended study length of four semesters
Summary:
• requirement: in total: 88 CP from selection of modules, 30 CP from Master Thesis and 2 CP from accompanying Master Thesis seminar (overall total 120 CP)
• first semester basically used for orientation on topics of four main research areas • requirement: one of the four areas needs to be selected as course emphasis
(no later than at the end of your 2nd semester)
• requirement: course emphasis with module selection of minimum of 31 CP up to
maximum of 61 CP
• requirement: course emphasis needs 4 CP coming from a seminar and 9 CP coming from practical training/lab
• requirement: a total of (max.) 57 CP to (min.) 27 CP need to come from modules from other areas than the course emphasis
• requirement: at least 6 CP must be obtained from three of the four areas
• no registration in BASIS for lectures (but for seminars and labs!) • registration in BASIS for exams of lectures, seminars, labs
Registration for lecture exams, seminars and labs
• Info on registration deadlines:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/general-information/
• Registration in BASIS (login and initial password sent by enrollment office along with student ID): https://basis.uni-bonn.de
• Important info on registration/deregistration:
(1) "Übungserfolg" has to be announced at the latest two weeks before the examination date of the first attempt
(2) In accordance with the examination rules, deregistration from seminars, labs and project groups is not possible
(3) Deregistration from lectures is to be carried out via BASIS until one week before the examination date of the first attempt
(4) Resignation from examination after the examination has already started is not possible (5) in case of illness: immediately submit to exams office medical certificate from doctor
plus the form „Medical certificate – attachment“, available at:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/examination-office/forms-for-our-institution/
Information on exam regulations:
• our exams office is located on 4th floor Römerstraße, room A.403 • person in charge: Mrs. Judith König
• all exam-related questions need to be asked there! • for office hours and additional info see:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/examination-office/
Questions on BASIS (exam registration only) :
• technical questions on exam registration via BASIS need to be directed to (Mr.) Dr. Stefan Lüttringhaus-Kappel!
• his office is located on 2nd floor Römerstraße, room A.209 • For office hours see (right column):
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/general-information/
Resitting of Exams and Grade improvement
• Each module exam which is failed or regarded as failed, may be re-sat up to two times
• If a candidate fails to appear for a re-sit without providing a medical certificate, the exam will be evaluated as “nicht ausreichend” (5.0) (inadequate)
• A module exam marked at least “ausreichend” (4.0) (adequate) cannot be re-sat. Exception:
• A maximum of three module exams successfully completed within the first year of study, may each be re-sat once for result improvement in the next
semester the relevant module is taught again. In this case, the student has to file a written request to the Examination Board no later than three months before the relevant module exam is intended to be re-sat (i.e. three months before the relevant examination date). By request, the re-sitting of a module exam for result improvement may also take place at the second attempt of the module exam in the relevant semester, if the module exam has already been successfully
completed at the first attempt. The request needs to be filed to the examination board no later than two weeks after the first attempt’s exam results have been published. More than one re-sitting of a successfully completed module exam will not be granted. Form for grade improvement to download at:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/examination-office/forms-for-our-institution/
Registration at the institute
• having successfully enrolled at the university, you still need to register at the institute to get a file at the exams office and an extra clearing of your BASIS account for exam registration
• without this registration, you will not be able to study in our program! • Date will be announced by me via email
• Documents to bring along:
- Original of Bachelor‘s Degree and copy (if already available)
- if necessary: certified English or German translation of Bachelor‘s Degree
- Original of Bachelor‘s transcript plus copy (plus translation)
- Original of TOEFL or IELTS result plus copy (for German students:
original of Abiturszeugnis plus copy)
- filled-in registration form (will be sent by email) - student ID plus passport
Institute‘s E-Mail Account
• E-Mail account needed for communication within the institute plus for computer pools
• Registration at computers in mail room on ground floor • For registration, you need your final student ID
• For questions and problems contact Helpdesk in container building:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/start/it-services/about-us/sgn/
• Detailed info on IT-services available at:
Study Advisory Service
• study advisor (Mr.) Dr. Matthias Frank
• service open to all students of computer science • help on study-related problems
• further info plus contact details:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/student-advisory-service/
Master Program Office
• person in charge: Ms. Sibylle Hahn
• office on 4th floor, Römerstraße, room A.404
• for office hours see (right column):
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/de/fuer-studenten/master-of-science-in-computer-science/
• first point of contact on all issues, if you are unsure on whom to contact! • In case of emergency, you can call me or come by in person anytime
(during working hours – Mon thru Fri 9am to 5pm). Otherwise, please respect our office hours!
• If you have a problem affecting your personal life, please contact me immediately. I know where you can get legal advise, for example
• important info distributed by email to your Informatik email-account and via our closed Facebook group: masterstudents@informatik
Institute‘s campuses
A = Römerstraße 164, 53117 Bonn (department III, exams office, master program office, IT support, CIP (computer) pools, lecture halls I+II)
B = Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 144, 53113 Bonn (departments I, II IV, V and VI, computer pool, lecture hall III.03)
How to get from A to B:
• Buses 551, 600, 601 from bus stop „Pädagogische Fakultät“ to „Markt“ (direction Bonn City Centre)
• Walk to underground station „Universität/Markt“ and take tram 16, 63 or 66, direction Bad Honnef or Bad Godesberg, get off at „Deutsche Telekom/Olof-Palme-Allee“, the institute‘s building is right opposite the tram stop
• Please also see the following website for up-to-date info on bus and tram schedules: http://www.vrsinfo.de/englisch/the-vrs/vrs-about-us.html
Important pages on Informatik-Website at a glance:
• Contact details of institute‘s members:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/start/members/ • Student union: http://www.fachschaft.info/en • IT-services: http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/institute/it-services/ • For students: http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/general-information/
• Information for current students:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/master-of-science-in- computer-science/student-support-service/information-for-current-students/ • Job offers: http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/job-openings/ • Scholarships: http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/scholarships/ • Study abroad: http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/de/fuer-studenten/master-of-science-in-computer-science/exchange-programs/ • Learning German: http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/de/fuer-studenten/master-of-science-in-computer-science/learning-german/
• Our Institute‘s Facebook Page:
Extra-curricular activities:
• Free German classes offered by International Office (registration necessary!):
http://www3.uni-bonn.de/studying/international-students/german/german-courses?set_language=en • Tandem-Program:
http://www.ikm.uni-bonn.de/sprachlernzentrum/selbstgesteuertes-lernen/tandem
• Counseling and Service by International Office:
http://www3.uni-bonn.de/studying/international-students/counceling-and-service?set_language=en
• Counseling and Service by AStA: http://www.asta-bonn.de
• University Sports Activities (Hochschulsport):
http://www.sport.uni-bonn.de/ • Studium Universale:
Last, but not least….
• Please respect our office hours! All services at our institute and the university as a whole have certain hours where you can come by and
discuss your issues. You can find the office hours of the relevant services on their websites. A list of contact details and office hours of exams office, master program office and BASIS support is published here:
http://www.informatik.uni-bonn.de/for-students/general-information/
• If you have a question related to your studies, please come by the exams office or my office to get an official answer. Don‘t rely on rumours! They might be wrong…
• A lot of information at our university is only published in German. If you don‘t understand it, either contact the person in charge mentioned on the respective webpage or else me. Many university employees speak
