Application:Main

Minimum requirements

There are minimum qualifications required to enter the application process.

• 60 ECTS in core computer science subjects
• English Proficiency Test with sufficient minimum scores

Please do not apply if you do not meet the minimum requirements - Please refrain from asking if you can still apply if you do not meet the minimum requirements by 31 March. The answer is always no.

Required documents

See required documents for details on the 12 documents you have to include in your application.

Selection criteria

Here you will find the explanation of the selection criteria and the selection process of IAS selection committee.

Important Dates

31 March You have sent your application to the IAS Team at the Department of Informatics before the 31 of March. In the next step, the IAS Team evaluates your application.

Mid-May Admission notification: The Campus Center will publish the results (acceptance, waiting list, rejection) of the current application period in your STiNE account.

Mid-October You commence your semester.

How to send your application

Include all application documents in one single PDF-document and send the document via e-mail. Follow precisely the following steps to successfully send your final application PDF-document:

1. Use this email address only for your application document: ias-application@informatik.uni-hamburg.de
2. Send one single pdf document that includes all your required documents 1-12.
3. Only use the following filename and fill in the placeholders without blanks for your application PDF-document: YourBW-number_YourFullname_Final_IAS_Application.pdf
   1. Example: 1234567_Dennis_Becker_Final_IAS_Application.pdf
4. Use only this Email – subject [Final IAS Application] [Your Full name, Your BW-number] (The emails will be automatically checked. Fill in the placeholders)
5. Use this Email-text and fill in your information accordingly:

„Dear IAS-Team, this is my final application to the Master’s program IAS. I have registered in STiNE. This is my BW-Number: … Please consider the attached application document as my final and only application to the IAS study program. Kind regards, your name.“

1. Use the order of documents in your pdf as presented here 1.-12 when compiling the document
2. Not more than 9 MB
3. Deadline for sending is 31 March (11:59 pm UCT + 2, Central European Summer Time)

• You may include extra pages on suitable positions within your application-pdf for explanations and structure. We love neat and structured applications.
• Do not write any extra information in the Email text
  • Only exception: If you have to send the application pdf twice before the deadline, please add an extra sentence in your email application text stating which application should be evaluated.

The IAS Team will only process applications that follow precisely the above steps.  The selection committee evaluates only the pages in the final application pdf. Emails to the IAS Team or links to more information or official documents will not be followed nor read.  Check the Filename, Subject, Text, pages in the pdf, the completeness of the application before sending the email.

Order for the pdf application

Please add your documents in the following order and produce a single pdf

1. Cover Sheet
2. Signed Online Form STiNE
3. CV
4. Motivation Letter
5. Language Test Score
6. Transcript
7. Self-made table
8. Bachelor Certificate
9. Diploma Supplement
10. Grade
11. Grading scale
12. Anabin information
13. everything else

Please highlight important information in your documents, e.g. grading scale, grade, "H+" in the anabin information, finishing date ...

Please carefully check that you have sent all the required documents in due time. The deadline is on the 31st of March. Faxes are not accepted. We do not inform you of missing documents or late applications. Your application is considered incomplete if one or more of the required documents are not received before the deadline via email or if your STiNE form is not submitted online. As a result, your application will not take part in the selection process. There will be no reconsideration of your application. Also, note that we do not inform you about received emails.

One final note from the selection committee: We like a neat, well-structured, precise, and complete application. Think for yourself. Show that you can be a responsible, well-organized student and that you can follow basic instructions. The selection committee and the IAS team consist of professors, lecturers, advisors, and Post-docs who will teach you once you are accepted.

Statistics over the last years

Each year, there are around 500 applicants and 20 free places, which we offer only to the top applicants. Make your application worthwhile!

• Of those 500 applicants 100 do not send the application via email or send the application too late. They are rejected.
• Of those 400 applicants 80 do not meet the minimum requirements or miss to provide proof properly. They are rejected.
• Of those 320 applicants 20 do not send a complete application. They are rejected.

As a result, around 300 applicants enter the selection process. You have the chance to be one of the top 20 students who we offer a place on the program; that means there are around 300 applicants with who you compete. Follow the instructions under the required documents to send a complete application. Analyze the selection criteria to provide all the information we need in order to rank you accordingly. The top 20 have usually a ranking between 85-100% (see selection criteria). Create a perfect application, and you will have a chance of being one of the Top 20. Save the selection committee time and send a structured application. The selection team will not search for information - Rule of thumb: if you do not provide the information asked for - you will be rejected.

It's an international Master:

• We receive applications from 35-40 nations around the world.
• Usually* 10%-15% of applicants who receive a letter of acceptance are from Germany.
• Usually* we have a mix 15-20 nations of applicants who receive a letter of acceptance.
• Usually* female and male are close to even.
• Over the past years the Top 1 application was always female :)
• We do not make a difference between German or international applicants - all are rated by the same selection criteria.

*usually means - depending merely on the quality of the application (see requirements, selection criteria).

What happens with my application after I've sent it?

See the description of Admission Process, Dates, Explanations