Offering a broad range of courses from a number of disciplines, coupled with a practice oriented approach, the newly designed Joint Master of Science in Computer Science is particularly suited to preparing students for the labour market, where interdisciplinary experience and practical skills are traits that are highly valued in qualified graduates.
Students enrolled in the Joint Master’s program can create a personalized curriculum from a list of over 60 courses and seminars offered by the universities of Bern, Neuchâtel and Fribourg (travel costs between universities are reimbursed). They also have the opportunity to specialize in a particular area of interest, or to complement their degree with Master’s level courses of a minor subject they have already studied.
Components
The Master’s program consists of 2 parts:
- Teaching units (60 ECTS credits)
Each student must complete 12 teaching units (worth 5 ECTS credits) from the wide range of possibilities available. Teaching units are grouped into 7 tracks reflecting different profiles in computer science. In order to ensure sufficient diversification, a student must complete teaching units from at least 3 different tracks. If a student wants to specialize in a particular track, they must complete at least 5 teaching units from that track and write their master’s thesis on a topic related to the track. - Master’s thesis (30 ECTS credits)
Each student must submit a master’s thesis related to one of the topics they have studied. The thesis is usually supervised by a member of one of the research groups involved in the Joint Master’s program.
Duration
The Joint Master’s program normally takes 3 semesters of full-time studies to complete. In case of part-time studies, the duration of the program is, upon request, extended accordingly.
Special option: the Master’s (120 ECTS)
Students holding a minor (at bachelor’s level) in a discipline other than Computer Science can also benefit from the Master’s program (120 ECTS), which allows them to complement their studies in the minor subject with courses in that subject at the master’s level. Most of the minors available at the universities of Bern, Neuchâtel and Fribourg can be selected as a (extracurricular) minor for the MSc (120 ECTS), but the most typical examples are mathematics, geology, biology, law, and economics, or the new program in digital society. The requirement for a Master (120 ECTS) is an additional 30 ECTS credits in the selected minor subject. The Master’s program (120 ECTS) normally takes longer to complete than the 3 semesters of the standard Joint Master’s program (90 ECTS).
Teaching languages
English is the official teaching language of the Joint Master’s program. Usually, courses are taught in English and sometimes in French or German (depending on the professor), but linguistic preferences of the students are taken into account whenever possible.
We do not require any language tests, but we highly recommend at least a B2 English level (CEFR) in order to be able to follow the courses.
Teaching units
A teaching unit can be a lecture with exercises, a seminar, practical training or any other teaching format permitted by the branch committee, and is evaluated with an exam and/or continuously over the course of the semester. Continuous evaluation might involve practical exercises, weekly readings, projects and report writing. Students who fail the continuous evaluation of a teaching unit must repeat the entire unit and will not be permitted to take the exam for that unit (if the unit has an exam component).
ECTS credit points
All course achievements are expressed in ECTS credit points (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), and every credit point must be validated through an evaluation, as specified by the program regulations. One ECTS credit point is equivalent to between 25 and 30 hours of study.
