Master Software Systems Engineering
Application for Admission – SSE
Table of Contents
Students interested in enrolling to the Software Systems Engineering (SSE) master program must apply for admission. Further, if (and only if) the applicants are accepted, they can enroll to the SSE master program. There are hard deadlines for both steps, i.e. for submitting the application for admission and for enrolling to the SSE master program.
Deadline
The SSE master program starts each winter term, which begins around October. In order to join the SSE master program, applicants have to submit their application for admission before the application for admission deadline (this is a hard / strict deadline!). The deadline depends on the applicant as there is
- a deadline for applicants who are not from the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) and
- a deadline for applicants who are from the EU or EEA.
Note that exceptions to this rule are described on the master application information for internationals page.
Non-EU & Non-EEA applicants
March 1st1
This is the deadline for the application for admission for a first semester start in the following winter term. The applications can be submitted between December and March 1st.
For a higher semester start2 applications can be submitted
- between December and March 1st for the following winter term and
- between June and September 1st for the following summer term.
Read the explanation in the footnote 2 before applying for a higher semester start.
EU & EEA applicants
July 15th1
This is the deadline for the application for admission for a first semester start in the following winter term. The applications can be submitted between June and July 15th.
For a higher semester start2 applications can be submitted
- between June and July 15th for the following winter term and
- between December and January 15th for the following summer term.
Read the explanation in the footnote 2 before applying for a higher semester start.
1: For the latest information always refer to the master application information for internationals page on RWTH Aachen University’s website. The SSE master program is a program with an open admission (not a restricted admission (NC)). In case the information on this page and the linked page differs, consider the information on the linked page as correct.
2: There are increased requirements for an admission to a higher semester start. Students do not only need to provide qualifications for the admission to SSE but also for the semesters they want to skip, e.g., if they apply for a second semester start they apply for SSE plus skipping the first semester. For this students need to provide proof of completed courses related to the master SSE curriculum amounting for the number of semesters they intend to skip (approx. 30 ECTS credit points / semester). Most students do not have the qualifications for a higher semester start and thus should apply for a first semester start. Carefully check this before applying!
Requirements
There are two types of requirements that an applicant for the SSE master program needs to meet in order to be admitted:
- formal admission requirements and
- special admission requirements.
Formal admission requirements
Questions regarding the formal admission requirements
If you have questions regarding these requirements, contact the International Office. Do not contact the academic advisory of SSE regarding formal admission requirements as this only delays the response.
An application must strictly meet the formal admission / entrance requirements. The International Office checks whether submitted applications meet these requirements. Applications that do not meet these requirements are rejected. Thus, the requirements must be read carefully before applying.
- An applicant must have a first degree in Computer Science or closely related field awarded by an internationally recognised university-level institution. This can be a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Informatics, or other closely related discipline.
- An applicant must have one Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test result that meets all of the following requirements (see exception below):
- quantitative reasoning score: above 75th percentile (among 25% best)
- verbal reasoning score: above 15th percentile (among 85% best)
- analytical writing score: at least 3.5
The GRE general test result must be provided with the application for admission before the application for admission deadline. It cannot be handed in after the application for admission deadline.
Exception: The GRE is not required for applicants with citizenship of the European Union or European Economic Area or who completed their secondary education in Germany (to be more precise, they have to be what is called “Bildungsinländerinnen oder Bildungsinländer” in German).
An applicant must have a English language certificate that proofs that he/she is able to speak and write fluently in English.
For a list of accepted English language certificates and further information refer to the English language requirements for master programs described on the International Office’s language requirements page on RWTH Aachen University’s website. Note the limited validity time of language certificates (TOEFL and IELTS tests lose their validity after two years after the tes). For an IELTS test, note that it must be the academic IELTS test, not the general IELTS test.
- We strongly recommend that an applicant should have a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 65% in his/her computer science or closely related undergraduate / bachelor degree.
Submitting the GRE test result with an application
- The GRE test results must be submitted with the application for admission, i.e. the GRE test results must be submitted before the application for admission deadline.
- You can optionally submit the GRE test results to RWTH Aachen University via ETS using the ETS code for RWTH Aachen University, which is 8504 (Aachen U Technology). However, independent of that you always need to upload the GRE test results document in RWTH Aachen University’s online application portal.
Special admission requirements
Check of special admission requirements
Applicants need to check themselves whether they meet the special admission requirements. The academic advisory of SSE cannot check the admission requirements for applicants.
An applicant should have performed above average in their undergraduate studies and must have a substantial background in computer science and mathematics. This means that an applicant must have qualifications (from a university) with contents matching the contents of the subjects listed below. The courses match qualifications that are part of RWTH Aachen University’s Bachelor in Computer Science.
If an applicant cannot provide matching qualifications for few of the required courses, there is a small margin for still being admitted. Each application is carefully examined regarding whether each of the required courses is matched by one ore more of the applicant’s provided qualifications. For this, not only the title and credit points of the courses are considered but especially the courses’ contents. If the qualifications provided by the applicant deviate from the required courses only slightly, the requirements might still be recognized as met. The decision of whether or not the provided qualifications meet the requirements is made by the exmination board.
| Area | Course | Course contents* | ECTS credit points |
| Mathematics | Calculus | see module 1114971 | 8 |
| Discrete structures (discrete mathematics) | see module 1115472 | 6 | |
| Linear algebra | see module 1115861 | 6 | |
| Introduction to applied stochastics (probability theory) | see module 1112712 | 6 | |
| Practical computer science | Programming | see module 1214957 | 8 |
| Data structures and algorithms | see module 1211971 | 7 | |
| Databases and information systems | see module 1211969 | 6 | |
| Software engineering | see module 1211965 | 6 | |
| Elements of Machine Learning | see module 1226970 | 6 | |
| Technical computer science | Introduction to computer engineering (computer architecture) | see module 1214958 | 6 |
| Operating systems and system software | see module 1214960 | 6 | |
| Data communication and security | see module 1211972 | 6 | |
| IT-Security | see module 1226971 | 4 | |
| Theoretical computer science | Automata theory and formal languages | see module 1214961 | 6 |
| Computability and complexity theory | see module 1212004 | 6 | |
| Mathematical logic | see module 1113004 | 6 |
* Click on the “English” button (near to the top of the page) to get to the English version of the module description.
How to apply
German applicants should check the Zugangsvoraussetzungen für den Master page and the Bewerbung Master page.
A quick checklist
Here is brief overview of what documents you need to have and what you need do to in order to apply for the Software Systems Engineering Master program:
- If you are required to submit a GRE general test (see above), complete the GRE General test and get the GRE general test certificate.
- Get your degree certificate document(s) of your relevant previous studies (in English or German language). If the certificate(s) do not list the courses you completed, get a separate official transcript of records document (in English or German language).
- Get a module descriptions document (in English or German language).
- This document must contain descriptions of the course contents for each course that you need to prove us that you meet the special admission requirements for SSE.
- If you have not yet completed the exams for courses that you need to prove us that you meet the special admission requirements for SSE, but you will complete these courses prior to the start of the SSE master, then add an information about these courses andt their not yet completed exams to the module descriptions document.
- Help us process your application faster by providing an easy to read document (ensure a sufficient document quality) that ideally is searchable for text contents.
- Fill out and add the cover page (!) to the module descriptions document (linked below) that helps us understand which of your courses cover the contents of the courses we require by our special admission requirements for SSE.
- Submit your application for the SSE Master program via RWTHonline (see link below).
- You need to register and create an account first.
- Then, you can input and submit your application(s). Make sure to submit your application before the application for admission deadline.
- If you are admitted to SSE, you need to provide a sufficient proof of English language proficiency when you enroll. Thus, you do not necessarily need have this proof already when you apply. Refer to the language requirements page on RWTH Aachen University’s website for the latest information and the list of accepted English certificates.
Make sure to fill out and add this document as cover page in front of your module descriptions document before you upload it in RWTHonline's application for admission process for your application for the Software Systems Engineering Master program.
Application result notification
Checking the applications takes some time. For the application for admission with the deadline of 1st March the applicants are usually not informed before May. Once the admission decisions are made, RWTH Aachen University informs all applicants about their result.
Enrollment
Accepted applicants must enroll to the SSE master program in time, i.e., before the enrollment deadline.