Master Of Computer Science

To select students for the Master of Computer Science, we conduct an eligibility process. This is a multi-stage process in which we assess your suitability for the special qualitative requirements of the Master’s program on the basis of the submitted documents and, if necessary, an examination interview.

Deadlines

Students can start their studies in the winter semester, or in the summer semester if they have submitted a justified application.

The main deadline is December 15 of the year before the intended start of studies.

This is also the final application deadline for all international applicants with degrees that do not meet the Lisbon Convention.

The second application deadline is April 30 of the year of the intended start of studies. This deadline is the final application deadline for all applicants with degrees that meet the Lisbon Convention.

  • Upon request, a start of studies in the summer semester may be approved. In this case, the application deadline is December 15 of the year before the intended start of studies. In this case, a corresponding request must be enclosed with the application documents. There is no legal claim.

Admission requirements/required documents

  • at least 6 semesters with a total of 180 CP with at least  50 CP from the following areas of the fundamentals of computer science, whereby the contents must be equivalent to the respective modules of the B.Sc. Computer Science at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum:
    • Computer Science 1, 12 ECTS
    • Computer Science 2, 8 ECTS
    • Computer Science 3, 8 ECTS
    • Software Engineering, 5 ECTS
    • Computer Engineering 1, 5 ECTS
    • Computer Networks, 5 ECTS
    • Operating Systems, 5 ECTS
    • Database Systems, 7 ECTS
    • Computer Engineering 2, 5 ECTS
  • the completed Bachelor’s degree must have at least 18 CP from the field of fundamentals of mathematics

Proof of English language skills at the level of at least C1 CEFR, Language proficiency can be demonstrated by the following certificates:

  • IELTS Academic (7.0 total score or better),
  • TOEFL iBT (100 score or higher),
  • CAE C1 Advanced B (193 points or more),
  • CAE C2 Proficiency C (200 points or more),
  • Upon request, the Examination Committee may allow other proof of English language proficiency in individual cases

Presentation of a certificate may be unnecessary if appropriate proof is provided,

  • for applicants with a German Abitur, five or more years of English language instruction.
  • for applicants who have completed a Bachelor’s degree with a standard period of study of at least three years, which was taught entirely in English and was „in-residence“ in Australia, Ireland, Canada (English-speaking regions), New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America. That is, the entire period of study must have been spent in these countries. This does not apply to degrees earned at universities in these countries but at locations outside these countries, to distance learning programs, or to joint dual degrees with universities in other countries, or if a significant portion of the time was not spent in the former countries.
  • for applicants whose native language is English. This means that the language has been acquired and learned since early childhood without formal instruction or teaching and that the areas of speaking, writing, reading, and listening are used at the highest level and with the highest level of competence.
  • for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field from universities separately determined by the examination board, if the language of instruction was English or your studies were bilingual and one of the languages of instruction was English.

Certificate and official transcript of records with stated average grade of the completed bachelor’s degree program as well as corresponding module descriptions (syllabus) in English or German. If a degree has not yet been obtained at the time of application, an application can be made if at least 120 credit points have been earned in the bachelor’s program according to the study plan for the application in a six-semester bachelor’s program and at least 150 credit points in a seven-semester bachelor’s program. In that case, instead of the transcript, a certificate issued by the university showing all examination achievements up to that point and showing an average grade must be submitted.

A short letter of motivation (max. 2 pages) outlining the reasons for the application. The areas of computer science that are of particular interest should be emphasized, as well as any existing knowledge in these areas.

An optional sample of the student’s own academic work can be submitted with the application such as a published or not yet submitted research paper, the bachelor’s thesis or a draft thereof, a written seminar paper, or a project report. Non-submission may, under certain circumstances, have a negative impact on the examination of special eligibility.

The institutional e-mail addresses of two university teachers who can be contacted for a letter of recommendation.

Application procedure

You apply for a place on this master’s program by the deadline via our „CS Graduate Applications“ portal (https://apply.cs.rub.de/). After you have created your account there, you enter personal data and information about your education and upload the required documents. The application takes place electronically.

Enter your personal data, information on your education and upload all required documents.

Determination of special eligibility by the appropriate committee.

If we are able to admit you to the degree program, you must attend the obligatory consultation with the Student Advisory Service for Computer Science before enrolling. Here you will learn everything you need to know about the course of study and any unanswered questions will be clarified. The consultation takes place in the form of an information event via Zoom. After admission, we will inform you of the date by e-mail.

Enrollment

Enrolment or change of enrolment is possible within the RUB deadline for admission-free degree programs (after attending the obligatory consultation). You start the online enrollment via https://online.uv.ruhr-uni-bochum.de. You must then upload the required documents to the enrollment information portal.

Enrolled? Welcome to our faculty!

We look forward to welcoming you.

Contact

Any questions?

If you have specific questions about the application process, please send an e-mail to apply-cs@rub.de . If you have specific questions about our degree programs, the Student Advisory Service will be happy to help!

To select students for the Master of Computer Science, we conduct an eligibility process. This is a multi-stage process in which we assess your suitability for the special qualitative requirements of the Master’s program on the basis of the submitted documents and, if necessary, an examination interview.

Deadlines

For applicants from outside the EU or with a Bachelor’s degree from outside the EU the deadline is always 15 December! The application portal will open about beginning of November. When applying, you can indicate whether you wish to start your studies in the summer semester 2025 (only on request) or the following winter semester (2025/26).

For applicants from the EU or with a Bachelor’s degree from within the EU, there are two deadlines:

  1. 15 December for the start of studies in the following summer semester (only on request) or winter semester. The application portal will open about beginning of November. When applying, you can indicate whether you wish to start your studies in the following summer  or  winter semester.
  2. 30 April only for the start of studies in the winter semester. The application portal will open about mid of March.

Students can start their studies in the winter semester. Upon request, a start of studies in the summer semester may be approved. In this case, the application deadline for all applicants is December 15 of the year before the intended start of studies.  A corresponding request must be enclosed with the application documents. There is no legal claim.

Admission Requirements / Required Documents

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

at least 6 semesters with a total of 180 CP with at least 50 CP from the following areas of the fundamentals of computer science, whereby the contents must be equivalent to the respective modules of the B.Sc. Computer Science at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum:

  • Computer Science 1, 12 ECTS
  • Computer Science 2, 8 ECTS
  • Computer Science 3, 8 ECTS
  • Software Engineering, 5 ECTS
  • The completed Bachelor’s degree must have at least 18 CP from the field of fundamentals of mathematics
  • Computer Engineering 1, 5 ECTS
  • Computer Networks, 5 ECTS
  • Operating Systems, 5 ECTS
  • Database Systems, 7 ECTS
  • Computer Engineering 2, 5 ECTS


English language skills

Proof of English language skills at the level of at least C1 CEFR

  • IELTS Academic (7.0 total score or higher)
  • TOEFL iBT (100 score or higher)
  • Upon request, the Examination Committee may allow other proof of English language proficiency in individual cases.
  • CAE C1 Advanced B (193 points or higher),
  • CAE C2 Proficiency C (200 points or higher),

Presentation of a certificate may be unnecessary if appropriate proof is provided:

  • for applicants with a German Abitur, five or more years of English language instruction.
  • for applicants who have completed a Bachelor’s degree with a standard period of study of at least three years, which was taught entirely in English and was „in-residence“ in Australia, Ireland, Canada (English-speaking regions), New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America. That is, the entire period of study must have been spent in these countries. This does not apply to degrees earned at universities in these countries but at locations outside these countries, to distance learning programs, or to joint dual degrees with universities in other countries, or if a significant portion of the time was not spent in the former countries
  • or applicants whose native language is English. This means that the language has been acquired and learned since early childhood without formal instruction or teaching and that the areas of speaking, writing, reading, and listening are used at the highest level and with the highest level of competence.
  • for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field from universities separately determined by the examination board, if the language of instruction was English or your studies were bilingual and one of the languages of instruction was English.

Academic transcripts

Certificate and official transcript of records with stated average grade of the completed bachelor’s degree program as well as corresponding module descriptions (syllabus) in English or German.
If a degree has not yet been obtained at the time of application, an application can be made if at least 120 credit points have been earned in the bachelor’s program according to the study plan for the application in a six-semester bachelor’s program and at least 150 credit points in a seven-semester bachelor’s program.
In that case, instead of the transcript, a certificate issued by the university showing all examination achievements up to that point and showing an average grade must be submitted.

Letter of motivation

A short letter of motivation (max. 2 pages) outlining the reasons for the application.
The areas of computer science that are of particular interest should be emphasized,
as well as any existing knowledge in these areas.

Academic work sample


An optional sample of the student’s own academic work can be submitted with the application such as a published or not yet submitted research paper, the bachelor’s thesis or a draft thereof, a written seminar paper, or a project report. Non-submission may, under certain circumstances, have a negative impact on the examination of special eligibility.

Letter of recommendation

The institutional e-mail addresses of two university teachers who can be contacted for a letter of recommendation.

Application procedure

Application
You apply for a place on this master’s program by the deadline via our „CS Graduate Applications“ portal (https://apply.cs.rub.de/). After you have created your account there, you enter personal data and information about your education and upload the required documents. The application takes place electronically.

Upload of documents
Enter your personal data, information on your education and upload all required documents.

Determination of special eligibility
The committee responsible will determine whether the student has a special eligibility for the degree program in accordance with the procedure described here.

Obligatory consultation
If we are able to admit you to the degree program, you must attend the obligatory consultation with the Student Advisory Service for Computer Science before enroling. Here you will learn everything you need to know about the course of study and any unanswered questions will be clarified. The consultation takes place in the form of an information event via Zoom. After admission, we will inform you of the date by e-mail.

Enrolment

Enrolment or change of enrolment is possible within the RUB deadline for non-restricted study programs (after attending the obligatory consultation).
You start the online enrolment via https://online.uv.ruhr-uni-bochum.de.
You must then upload the required documents to the enrolment information portal.

Contact

If you have specific questions about the application process, please send an e-mail to apply-cs@rub.de . If you have specific questions about our degree programs, the Student Advisory Service will be happy to help!

FAQ

There are no standard deadlines for international study programmes at RUB. Therefore, only the deadlines published on our programme page are binding!

For applicants from outside the EU or with a Bachelor’s degree obtained outside the EU, the deadline is always 15 December!

For applicants from the EU or with a Bachelor’s degree from within the EU, there are two deadlines: 15 December for the start of studies in the summer semester or winter semester and 30 April for the start of studies in the winter semester.

Applications that are not submitted within the correct deadlines cannot be considered.

The letters of recommendation are only requested if necessary, if the documents submitted are not sufficient to directly determine the specific eligibility for the degree programme.
We will therefore request letters of recommendation in the course of January and May at the earliest.