Applied Research in Computer Science M.Sc.

Digitalization is not mainly about converting analog information to a digital format, but includes open innovation, changing business models and providing services around products. In a world where fast time to market is increasingly important, corporations are well advised to listen to their customers for suggestions for improvement or new products and work closely together with universities and research labs to incorporate the latest technologies that help them fulfilling their customers’ needs.

If you want to become part of this game and help bringing results from foundational research to practical use with usage scenarios from the local enterprises in upper Franconia and its surrounding, then this Master study program is right for you. Become part of our multi-disciplinary team of experts and start your scientific career, become an entrepreneur or prepare for a job.

With this Master’s program, you will be able to 

• identify and analyze current and future challenges in the IT industry,
•  bring together user needs and technological possibilities,
• develop appropriate solutions and
• implement and evaluate them in interdisciplinary teams.

In addition, you benefit from 

• a unique Master‘s degree focusing on applied research,
• well-trained and structured problem solving skills,
• development of your intercultural competence,
• excellent career perspectives, both in industry and in academia or as an entrepreneur.

Applied research
The study program consists of work in research projects of the research groups at the Institute of Information Systems (iisys), special lectures in research methodology as well as lectures in computer science subjects, organization science and business law. There will be a good mixture of practical work like programming, training of social skills in meetings and by giving presentations as well as conceptual work like creating architecture models, doing criteria-based comparisons or literature reviews to find suitable algorithms and research approaches.
 

Playing with the latest technologies
We are working with the latest technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, cyber-physical systems, smart data and data analytics, virtual and augmented reality, autonomous cars and digital mobility as well as digital healthcare and the internet of things. We bring them together into applications that really help people, are easy to use and respect users’ privacy requirements. We are both taking up recent trends like usability, speech recognition and natural language processing as well as listening to challenges the industry is facing.
 

What do we offer?
Being part of our multi-disciplinary team of experts with backgrounds in computer science, electrical engineering, business information systems, information science and business law will enrich your career. You can combine the best of multiple worlds by gaining a Master’s degree, having fun with the latest technologies, learning about scientific research methods as well as experiencing the working situation in our partner corporations.

Semester 1 and 2:

Mandatory modules

• New Technologies in Computer Science
• Design Science Approaches in Computer Science Research
• Behavioral Approaches in Computer Science Research
• Designing and Developing Business Models
• Project Seminar
• Research Project

Electives (choose two) 

• Security of Information Systems
• Data Engineering and Analysis Methods
• Mixed Media (AR, VR, MR)
• IoT Architectures
• Security Research Seminar
• Information Structuring and Visualization

Semester 3: Master‘s thesis

Based on the work package within a research project, the student elaborates a large scientific paper with substantial scientific pretension according to international standards.

As a graduate, you...

• are qualified for many different jobs in a scientific career but also in a private company, depending on the research group that you choose
• get direct support from our digital startup center Einstein1 in building your own company right away
• will get an opportunity to proceed with PhD studies if you have excellent grades.

You are ready to work as

• Scientific assistant
• IT project manager
• Software architect
• Requirements engineer
• Business analyst
• Backend application developer
• Data scientist
• Data engineer
• Specialist for industrial internet of things
• Consultant for digital transformation

Academic requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or similar in computer science, media informatics, mobile computing or business information systems or a comparable study program from an accredited university, at least 210 ECTS or equivalent (depending on home country); minimum grade 2,5 according to the German grading system (75%).

• Above-average grades in object-oriented programming, software engineering, computer networks and databases
• Applicants with less than 210 credits (ECTS) can be accepted but have to gain the missing credits by either
  • doing an internship (at least 23 weeks) as long as no internship was done during the Bachelor’s degree.
  • Attending appropriate modules at Hof University (for applicants who already did an internship).
  • For both alternatives, please calculate an additional (fourth) semester.
• See also the information about the application process for further requirements.

Language requirements

You need to prove your proficiency in English. This can be done with either of the following:

• TOEFL minimum 90
• IELTS 6.5 or above

In addition: Basic language skills in German, proven by official test score documents - minimum level A1

The application process for this research Master consists of a written and an oral part.

For the written part, you hand in a certification about an internship or practical work in the computer industry that lasted at least 18 weeks as well as a scientific work that you produced on your own (e.g. your Bachelor‘s thesis or a seminar paper).

You further have to choose a topic from our research groups and do a two-page literature review covering important scientific publications in the chosen topic.

If the written part is passed with a grade of at least 2.3, you are admitted to the oral part, which can be done in a video chat. To prepare for the oral part, you get a case study concerning a challenge in the chosen topic from the written part. You present your solutions for the case study and answer additional questions in a 30 minutes oral exam in English language. If you pass the oral exam with a grade of at least 2.3, you will be admitted to the Master‘s program.

All applications must be done via our online application portal Primuss.

• The application period for winter intake is between April 15 and May 31.
• The application period for summer intake is between November 05 and November 30.
• An admission committee intensively scrutinizes all applications and decides about final admission. Admission letters will be issued in June for winter intake and December for summer semester intake.

If you have any questions concerning the application process, please contact admission(at)hof-university.de.