Application:Required documents

List of all required documents for application

To apply for the 2-year Master of Science program Intelligent Adaptive Systems, you need to email your application documents as a single PDF-document to the IAS Team at the Department of Informatics, Universität Hamburg. The IAS Team runs the IAS Master and also contains the admission board. Your application will be assessed by a group of professors, post-doctoral researchers, lecturers, and academic advisors. There are more than 450 applicants and only 20 spaces on the program. Make sure that your application is well-structured and precise.

To apply successfully, please make sure that:

1. You meet the minimum requirements

2. Your application contains all required documents and is in the correct order

3. You send your application before the deadline (31 March 11:59 pm UCT+2 every year)

4. Your application pdf needs to be self-contained, emails with information will not be forwarded to the selection committee, links as the only source of important documents will not be accepted.

We do not inform you about received emails. We do not inform you of missing documents, or late applications, or blank pages, or corrupted pdfs. You can not submit missing documents after the expiration of the application deadline. There will be no reconsideration.

The documents have to be pdf copies of certified/attested documents when applying. Do not send original certificates via post since the IAS selection committee will not send any documents back to you. The application process is digital. However, please note that in case your application is successful, you will need to send attested/certified copies to the University via postal mail within 2 weeks, so be prepared. You will receive a notification around mid-May about whether you are accepted or not. Official English and German translations of documents are accepted.

Please read the explanations of what documents you have to send and follow the links for more information.

1. Cover-letter-form

The first page of your application is this pdf-form asking for your personal information. Only use the cover-letter-form provided by us. If you cannot fill in your information with a technical device, please do so by hand (and scan for the final application pdf). Make sure the information is saved and displayable. This document goes on top of your application; it is the first page of your final application pdf.

• Explanation and link to the cover-letter-form: cover-letter-form

2. The University's general online form (STiNE)

The Universität Hamburg Campus Center (= central administration) requires you to fill out a general and university-wide online form on their platform called STiNE. The STiNE online form should be the second document in your application. Although it is called „online application form“, it is just the way to formally register with the central administration of the Universität Hamburg to inform them that you are planning to apply. Please fill in this form before sending your required documents to the IAS Team. Only after you have submitted this form by clicking on the button „Submit“ in STiNE, you are formally allowed to take part in the application process. Please note that you can only fill in the form during the application period.

Attention: In your application account on the STiNE platform: Select this IAS course: Master, Semester 1 (= start with the first semester), Intelligent Adaptive Systems, Admission restricted Do not click "Freemover". Do not click "Preparatory Course".

• During your registration you will receive a BW - Number (Application Number). Please state this number in your cover letter.
• Submit and sign the STiNE online form; enclose the form with your application.
• You can find the form in Universität Hamburg's STiNE platform: https://www.stine.uni-hamburg.de. Sorry, some parts of the STiNE online form are in German.
• For further clarification, the IAS-Team has prepared a wiki entry regarding the STiNE form: Online form STiNE.
• For further questions about the STiNE platform please ask the technical support of STiNE. STiNE is a part of the central administration - not the IAS Team's platform, see STiNE support.

After filling in the STiNE form, you can send your complete application via email to the IAS Team, enclosing the STiNE form as the second document of your application. You can find the email address here

3. Curriculum Vitae

Your Curriculum Vitae (table version) needs to include your relevant experience (academic, work, international, private). Please list specific information on your background that is relevant for IAS such as projects on AI or Robotics. Please, provide evidence of such projects through acquired certificates. Project descriptions, outlining their computer science content are especially important if you want their credits to count for the 60 ECTS in computer science. Please add your average/overall grade (can be preliminary) and your grading scale to your CV, next to the information of your degree, and provide official evidence for that information.

4. Letter of Motivation

This is the most important document since it accounts for 40% of your ranking score. It has to be written by yourself and in English. The maximum length is 1.5 pages (not more: the selection committee may reject your application on the grounds of the quality of your motivational letter). In your letter of motivation, you should explain your reasons to study this particular program. Your letter of motivation should answer the following questions:

• Why are you interested in the field of "Intelligent Adaptive Systems" and what parts of it are most interesting and why?
• Why is this program especially suited to complement the knowledge you already have?
• Why did you choose to study this program at Universität Hamburg?
• How does this program fit your academic and professional future goals?
• How would you avoid a cultural shock?
• Analyze the selection criteria and the IAS curriculum so that you know what else might be important to write.

The selection committee will give high ratings to letters that show you have made a deliberate choice to study IAS. You need to justify your decision well and explain how studying the IAS Master will bring you closer to your desired goals. The board is looking for students that show high motivation and have a good chance of finishing the program with a high impact on the student's life. Your ability to present a well-connected chain of arguments is a significant ability the board is looking for.

Things that affect the rating adversely are, among others, generic letters that are written for multiple applications and letters that are written in bad English or do not follow a good structure. The selection committee wants to read something relevant and precise about you.

5. Proof(s) of English language proficiency

Language proficiency test score with the minimum score:

CEFR/TELC Level >= at least "upper" B2/C1 "upper intermediate" in all categories or better C1 "Advanced English"

IELTS >= Overall band 6.5 + B2 (*with a minimum subscore of 6.0 for Listening, Comprehension, Speaking, Writing)

TOEFL: IBT >= 90 (*with a minimum subscore of 20 for Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing),

PBT >= 575, CBT >= 230

Cambridge >= CAE or CPE

• The overall minimum level has to be reached too!

The medium of instruction in a degree is not sufficient proof of English Language Proficiency! Please see minimum requirements for details on the required language certificates and further information.

6. Transcript of Records

Your degree’s transcript of records, listing all your finished courses with credit hours and grades and your final and or average grade. Please only apply if you can provide at least a transcript that is only missing the final semester.

Highlight the core computer science courses in your transcript that you have also listed on your table.

Please see minimum requirements for detailed information on the requirements for your transcript of records.

7. Self-made structured table of all core computer science courses

To meet the formal requirement, you have to provide evidence of 60 ECTS or more in core computer science courses. Any kind of maths, economics, management, electrical engineering, soft skills courses does not count. Please use this table template and fill in only your finished core Computer Science subjects. Please provide all the information asked for in the table. Please also read the explanation in the wiki. Note, that you have to explain courses with meaningless names like „Project“ or „Thesis“; you have to provide extra proof that the course has a significant computer science content (e.g., via an official module description/ letter of recommendation). Do not send full handbooks. The table has to be precise and well-structured.

Please refer to the listed information under minimum requirements regarding questions about the ECTS credit system, the calculation of the required 60 ECTS, modules/courses counted as computer science by IAS selection committee. Please use this example to provide evidence of your 60 ECTS credits or more.

8. BSc certificates

• If you have finished your degree, please submit a copy of your degree certificate.

• You can apply if you have finished 5 out of 6 semesters and can evidence 150 ECTS credits (or comparable) of your first degree. At the point of your application, at least 60 ECTS in computer science must be evident. To prove that you are going to complete your degree soon, you must provide the official transcript of records showing the amount of already acquired credits or credit hours and the number of minimum credits or credit hours required for completion. The final transcript and graduation certificate have to be handed in for enrolment if you are admitted.

9. Diploma Supplement

• Please provide a description of your degree - it is an official document issued by most universities.
  • The degree's grading system and final grade computation rules if the grade is not stated in the transcript.
  • The standard amount of semesters required for completion of your degree
  • Total amount of credit hours or credit points to be able to finish the degree
  • The description of how many weeks of in-class (=contact hours) time with a lecturer present you have per semester
  • The description of how your credit systems works, e.g. 1 credit point (or credit hour) equals 15 hours of in-class time with lecturer present meaning 1 hour per week for 15 weeks.

What happens if my university does not provide a degree description and I do not provide the information?

In the worst case, the selection committee can not verify and compare your transcript and ECTS estimation table. That means you may either be rejected because the selection committee can not estimate your ECTS OR you will receive less % in the overall rating of your application and therefore a less favourable ranking.

How can I provide the information if my university does not provide degree description?

The IAS Team advice, gather all the information yourself, write a neat degree description yourself on an extra page (always a good idea!) and state on which page in your application pieces of the official information is proven. Here are some ideas:

• get for example lecturers to state information in a letter of recommendation
• screenshot your website, highlight the information (additionally provide a link)
• sometimes some parts are stated in the transcript, some can be stated by your academic office
• be creative - please understand that the selection committee will not start looking for information for you

10. Your grade

In regards to your overall average grade (preliminary) or final grade, please provide a document with your (preliminary) final grade calculated by your university, even if only 5 of 6 or 7 of 8 semesters of the studies have been completed so far. Your grade should be in the grading system your university provides and with which you can provide the grading system. The grade needs to be in numbers, not letters. Make sure you send an official document attested by your university as the IAS selection committee does not accept self-calculated final grades. Nor does the IAS selection committee calculate final grades for you. If this information is listed in your transcript of records or degree certificate, then you do not need to provide an additional document.

Preliminary grade: Some transcripts or universities do not provide a preliminary average grade: compute it on your own on a separate document and explain how you did it. If it is not the simple grade average of all grades in the transcript, please provide official proof of what your university or degree rules of computing final marks are (see Diploma Supplement).

Please note: If you fail to provide proof of your grade or preliminary grade and grading scale, the grade you are assigned will be the worst possible grade - a grade of 0% in selection procedures. This means that applications without a grade will rank behind the last applicant who had provided a grade. This is also true if you state a different grade/grading scale in the table and cover-letter than in your transcript or when the selection committee controls your computed grade.

11. Grading scale

The IAS selection committee needs detailed information about your degree's grading system (alternative names: grading scale/scheme of evaluation/grade classification/range of marks ...). We need this information for our selection process. As the IAS selection committee will evaluate and rank all applications, we need the grading scale of your university to make your average or final grade comparable to others. In a lot of cases, official transcripts of records display the university's grading system. Usually, this is a table with all the degree's grades and corresponding information like minimum passing grade and maximum, outstanding or excellent grade, etc. However, if this is not the case for your transcript of records, then please provide this information attested by your university.

Highlight the grading scale, minimum passing grade, and maximum grade in your official documents and state exactly on which page the relevant information can be found, e.g., "the grading scale can be found on the degree description page 4 Section 2.1.1 see highlighted information". The selection committee will not look through your documents if you do not provide help on where to find the information it needs. Please only submit relevant parts of lengthy documents. You may provide a link to the full document so we can control the information. However, the selection committee will not follow links or translate websites to search for information. You need to provide all the relevant information in your application.

Please note: If you fail to provide proof of your grade or preliminary grade and grading scale, you will be assigned the worst possible grade - a grade of 9.9 in selection procedures. This means that applications without a grade or grading scale will rank behind the last applicant who has provided a grade. This is also true if you state a different grade/grading scale in the table and cover-letter than in your transcript/official documents or when the selection committee controls your grade computation.

12. Evidence that your university and degree is recognized in Germany

Admission to a Master's degree program at a German university requires an undergraduate degree. You must have obtained your degree from a recognized higher education institution. Your degree has to be equivalent to at least a three year Bachelor in Germany.

How to provide proof that your university is recognized in Germany:

The selection committee's advice: use the anabin database entry for proof. It is cost-free and fast:

• Use the database anabin and screenshot the information about your university
• Your university needs to be recognized with H+
• More information here: Anabin

If you have difficulties handling anabin, you may use the fee-based service, called Uni-Assist:

• The official recommendation of the Universität Hamburg is that you use the fee-based service Uni-Assist (but The IAS Team does not recommend it.)
• Request this service around 1 of December - otherwise Uni-Assist might not answer you in time
• More information about Uni-Assist
• Only use Uni-assist if you do not want to look up your University in the database Anabin or have difficulties

Some countries have to get a German authorities endorsement anyway for a visa or application- you may hand this in as additional proof:

An endorsement of recognition from German authorities, including information about the type of higher education entrance eligibility and, if applicable, for a particular subject. The Universität Hamburg accepts the following types of endorsement of recognition:

• APS certificates from the academic review offices of Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, and Hanoi

Please note: For the application to the Master program IAS it is sufficient to send in your information from Anabin.

If you cannot find information on whether your university is recognized in Germany, the selection committee has to decide case by case whether your degree is eligible or not. In most cases, that means your degree does not qualify.

Additional Documents

Generally, all possible documents that support your application (especially as evidence for the arguments used in your motivation letter) can be included and will be taken into account in the selection process. However, only include documents that are relevant to your application. Your selection of documents already shows your ability to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant content and an unnecessarily large amount of randomly added certificates or documents may have a negative effect on your ranking.

Desired additional documents

• Additional self-made overview documents if your official degree description/diploma is incomplete or really unstructured
• Table of contents for faster pdf reading (could be also as 2. document (cover letter needs to be first = automatically read))
• Documents that add to the evidence needed for the requirements, e.g. additional proof of language proficiency or higher education courses with computer science content, letter of recommendation
• Evidence of research or professional and/or international experience relevant to IAS studies.
• International experience, e.g. a study exchange shows your ability to adapt to different learning and living environments and should be listed and described as part of our CV.
• The same holds true for professional experience that may show your ability to work in a computer science context.
• Training courses or extensive experience showing a deep understanding of computer science concepts. This will be taken into account for general suitability for the very specific Master program IAS.

Suitable additional documents

• GRE test or other academic tests showing your ability to study in higher education. Such tests are not required but may be taken into account if provided and if they add to the general story of the application.
• Certificates of contests and competitions can be added if relevant. Please carefully decide whether the certificate can add any additional value to your application.

Undesired documents

• Please do not send full module handbooks as the IAS admission team will not have the time to search for core computer science courses in those handbooks for you. However, please submit your self-made and structured table of modules to be counted towards 60 ECTS in computer science.
• Certificates that don't add additional value to your application are not relevant at all. More is not always better since it may show that you are not able to decide what is relevant for the subject and what is not. Select the certificates that best show your abilities suitable for this particular degree program.
• Links to more information as sole evidence for required information.

Do documents have to be sent as certified/attested copies?

No, not for the application at the Department of Informatics - IAS. You can send the required application documents as simple copies/scans. But please be aware that once you have been sent a letter of acceptance by the CampusCenter (central administration), you have to send certified/attested copies of your language certificate, your university entrance qualification (e.g. high school certificate), and your bachelor's degree certificate to prove the authenticity of those documents together with the matriculation form within 14 days to the "Team for Application and Admission" (Ger: Team Bewerbung und Zulassung) at the CampusCenter of the Universität Hamburg. Therefore, we highly recommend preparing certified/attested copies of all the relevant documents upfront. In any case please follow the instructions on your letter of acceptance. The central administration team (CampusCenter Team for your enrolment, located at the city center) and the IAS Team (for your application and later your studies, located at the Department of Informatics, Hamburg Stellingen) are two very distinct teams. They have nothing to do with the task of the other. So please do not send the IAS Team paper originals.

More FAQ

• Frequently Asked Questions about the application
• Email address for final application only

Some advice for applicants from the selection committee

Dear applicants,

we know there are a lot of documents to be prepared and rules to be followed, sorry. Our mission is to welcome applicants from all over the world and we succeed in doing so (500 applicants for 20 places). That also means we get sent a lot of different transcripts with more or less valuable information on them how to understand your education. Please help us in understanding your life and education by following our instructions. This way we can compare your application to others from all over the world. This also saves us time to really read and appreciate your application. Please note, that we do not make a difference between national and international applications. Make your application worthwhile. Thank you and good luck,

The IAS selection committee