The demand for computer scientists and engineers is much higher than the number of suitably qualified graduates, and this disproportion will certainly grow in a world which is highly determined by technological progress. Graduates with skills in both fields are in even higher demand.
FH Wedel offers a consecutive programme in IT Engineering. The bachelor's programme is conducted in German and is open to all high school graduates with a dedicated mathematical and technological interest who wish to keep their future field of professional employment as open as possible. The master's programme is conducted in English and provides students with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and build upon their skills. Applicants coming from abroad need good programming skills and good understanding of mathematics and technological basics. They will have the chance to obtain a German master's degree which will enable them to apply for a wide range of jobs in an economically strong and politically stable country.
Master's programme
If you want to enhance the knowledge obtained during your bachelor's programme via a scientific and technological challenge, you may want to undertake our 3-semester-programme in IT Engineering in order to obtain your master's degree. If you prefer studying part-time, it may take up to 7 semesters.
Our master's programme enables you to carry out scientific work and provides you with profound theoretical and analytical skills. You will acquire techniques that enable you to solve complex problems. You will become acquainted with challenging fields such as medical engineering and robotics and you will be trained for leading positions in companies. If you decide to stay in science, you may pursue a PhD thesis as a follow-up step. Our professors will support you in this endeavour.
The programme's contents
In our master's programme IT Engineering, you will acquire advanced skills in computer science and engineering. During the winter semester you will receive further tuition in the fields of dynamical systems, distributed systems, embedded systems, and medical engineering. During the summer semester you will have the choice between more computer science-oriented subjects, such as algorithmics and IT security, and engineering subjects, such as technical optics and modern production methods. Other possible choices are robotics, which combines computer science and engineering, and business intelligence, which will let you gain leadership competence. You are free to choose which subjects you want to focus on - computer science, engineering, or both.
At the end of your studies you will possess an advanced skill set which can be applied to all application domains. You will also have obtained specialised knowledge in some selected areas of application.
Job market and prospects
Germany is one of the world's most export-oriented countries, especially in fields that require IT Engineering. Hosting Europe's second busiest seaport as well as several global players such as Airbus, Hapag-Lloyd, Philips, and Lufthansa, the Hamburg Metropolitan Area offers excellent work opportunities in an international setting, even at entry-level. This particularly applies to jobs that your master's degree in IT Engineering qualifies you for.
Engineers with dedicated IT skills are highly sought after in the automotive sector, the aerospace industry, medical engineering, automation, and a great variety of other sectors in technological production. Graduates will be able to choose whether they want to be involved in the production of large technological objects such as sea vessels, or small devices such as mobile phones. They can also freely choose the size of their employer - from global corporations to garage shops.
Admission criteria
Our master's programme IT Engineering requires a certain proficiency in English. A B2 level (CEFR, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment) is obligatory.
The immediate admission criterion for our master's programme IT Engineering is a bachelor's degree in a related field with a GPA of 2.5 or better. Applicants should have obtained 210 ECTS credits, which is equivalent to seven semesters of full-time studies.
The majority of our applicants graduated in a programme which, according to German authorities, corresponds to only 180 ECTS credits, or six semesters of studies, even if the programme was designed for seven semesters in their home country. To participate in our master's programme, they need to study some of our bachelor's programme's modules. We have therefore designed a four-semester-curriculum (cf. below) integrating six modules from our bachelor's programme. These modules are of course also held in English.
To prove your bachelor's degree's relevance to IT Engineering, your studies need to have included at least 80 credits’ worth of mathematics, information technology, science, and/or engineering. If your bachelor's programme did not contain modules of this kind and value, you cannot be admitted to our IT Engineering master's programme.
For bachelor's degrees with 180 ECTS credits the only other requirement is that your studies have included at least 10 credits in mathematics, and 5 credits in software development lab courses. Any further necessary adaptation to our master's programme will be accomplished by the additional bachelor modules of our four-semester-curriculum.
Bachelor's degrees with 210 ECTS credits need to meet the following requirements in mathematics and software development, which can partially be made up by bachelor modules taken at our university:
- Your studies need to have included mathematics worth at least 20 ECTS credits, encompassing at least 5 credits in engineering mathematics and at least 5 credits in discrete mathematics. You cannot make up for engineering mathematics via our bachelor modules, unless you are sufficiently proficient in German to partake in our German modules. You can make up for discrete mathematics by taking our English bachelor modules. Five additional credits can be made up by taking our Signals & Systems module.
- You also need to have passed basic software development modules worth at least 10 ECTS credits. These modules have to be made up of laboratory courses, not lectures. If your programming modules have been valued at less than 5 credits, there is no way for you to be admitted to the IT Engineering programme. By partaking in our module Fundamental Programming Structures, you may make up for 5 credits.
- You have to provide advanced knowledge in at least one of the object-oriented programming languages Java or C++. This knowledge will be examined in an entry assignment at the beginning of your first semester. You may partake in our module Advanced Programming Features to gain this knowledge.
If you, according to these rules, need additional modules, you will most likely need at least 4 semesters, as our three-semester-curriculum is very tight and requires the above-mentioned prerequisites.
If your GPA is worse than 2.5 (higher), you may still be admitted. Your GPA needs to be 2.9 or better, and you will have to provide adequate additional qualifications. With a GPA of 3.0 or worse you have no chance of being admitted into the master's programmes. Note that the GPA in Germany ranges between 1.0 (the best possible grade) and 4.0 (the worst grade that is still sufficient to obtain a bachelor's degree). If your grade needs to be converted into the German grading system by uni-assist, your own grad will then be converted according to this scale.
