FAQs IT-Studium allgemein

As an admission requirement for the study course you need either:

• a general qualification for university entrance,
• a technical university entrance qualification,
• an advanced technical college entrance qualification,
• or a recognised equivalent degree.

There ist a addmission limitation for the three study programms

• Communications Engineering
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics
• Computer Engineering

The addmission limitation (Numerus Clausus) depends on the number of the applicants and varies therefore every semester. Due to the higher applicant number in the winter semester the Numerus Clausus is normally higher than in the summer semester. You obtain supplementary information on that with admission office.

Hochschule Esslingen - University of Applied Sciences
Zulassungsamt - Admission Office
Kanalstraße 33
73728 Esslingen

Telephon: +49(0)711.397-3060
E-Mail: zulassungsamt@hs-esslingen.de
E-Mail: zulassungsamt(at)hs-esslingen.de

As a matter of course you can listen for test purposes at every lecture wanted by you.
Contact for this purpose the secretary's office of the Faculty Information Technology.

E-Mail: it(at)hs-esslingen.de

To study Communications Engineering, Software Engineering and Media Informatics, or Computer Engineering at the Faculty of Information Technology you should be interested in technology and have fun working with computers. You should be curious about new developments and technology. You should not find mathematics and physics all that difficult.

Yes, mathematics is indeed important. Most concepts in Information Technology can be best described in mathematical terms. And you need mathematics in not only Information Technology, but also in all technical study programmes, such as Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Chemistry, Physics, and in many of the other study programmes.

However, if you used to have huge difficulties with mathematics, it might be advisable for you not to do a study course of this kind. On the other hand, if you have only gaps in your knowledge or have just forgotten a few things over the years, we will help you along. Before the actual start of the study course we regularly offer an intensive course for first-year students where they can brush up their mathematical knowledge. This will get you started and maybe you will have to work a bit more at the beginning of your study course. But then it is just up to you to be motivated and successful in the lectures and tutorials.

Yes, definitely! Unfortunately there aren’t many female students of Information Technology so far.

It is interesting, however, that women, once they have decided to study Information Technology, are very often amongst the best students and frequently get prizes for excellent theses or the best degree.

A pre-study internship is not required for admission to the study programmes in

• Communications Engineering
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics
• Computer Engineering.

However, the University recommends a voluntary pre-study internship for all students without sufficient practical experience.

A voluntary pre-study internship of at least twelve weeks duration before beginning the study course awards the applicant a bonus of 0.1 for their grade in the selection procedure. The voluntary pre-study internship has to be finished and accredited by the Internship Office before the respective deadline for admission (15th July for the winter semester, 15th August for the summer semester). If the internship was part of school training or an apprenticeship, no bonus can be granted.

If you want to do a voluntary pre-study internship, all companies can be considered that offer Information Technology, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics or Automation Systems as fields of employment.

Activity during the voluntary pre-study internship should cover one of the following course objectives:

• Learning about the materials of Electrical Engineering
• Machining and manufacturing processes of electronic products
• Processes in the installation, configuration and testing of computers and computer networks
• Processes in the installation, configuration and testing of user software
• Insight into the structures, processes and social relations in a company

If you should have any questions or if you should need help with a voluntary pre-study internship, we will be very glad to help you.

On the following list you can find examples of possible companies to be considered:
Esslingen University > Faculties > Information Technology > Information for students > Practical semester > List of companies .

The study programmes

• Communications Engineering
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics
• Computer Engineering

start either in the winter semester (beginning of October) or in the summer semester (middle of March).

The deadline for applications is 15th July for the winter semester, and 15th January for the summer semester.

The study course takes seven semesters and finishes with the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.). The study course comprises six taught semesters and one practical semester. In the first four semesters the basics are taught. The fifth semester is a practical semester which you complete in industry. In the sixth semester you specialise in the field you have chosen and in the seventh semester you write your Bachelor’s thesis. You will usually write your thesis in industry.

Details on the structure of the study course can be found on the following web pages:

• Course structure for the Communications Engineering study programme
  
• Course structure for the Software Engineering and Media Informatics study programme
  
• Course structure for the Computer Engineering study programme

A study course is structured into semesters. The winter semester starts at the beginning of October and ends in the middle of February. The summer semester starts in the middle of March and ends at the end of July.

In the period between the semesters, you do project work which is part of the study course or you do work on your studies. You will in all probability need the break between semesters to revise various chapters of the lectures which you personally found difficult or which you did not quite understand. It is your own responsibility to fill gaps in your knowledge. You will definitely need all the knowledge in the following semester and will need to have it at your fingertips, otherwise you will fall more and more behind, which will lead to you failing your course.

You will probably have to replenish your finances. The semester break is of course a convenient opportunity to work in a company as a student trainee. The companies in the greater Stuttgart area offer many interesting activities. It is highly recommended to choose an activity which suits your course profile and which complements your course objective.

Do keep in mind that at university it is taken for granted that you bear personal responsibility for your studies. You will then be a student at university and not a pupil any more. How you use the semester break is thus your own personal responsibility.

The three study programmes

• Communications Engineering
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics
• Computer Engineering

are of course closely related and from the beginning consist of the same lectures for a long period of time. The first four semesters are identical for all three study programmes. Actual specialisation in one’s study programme starts in the fifth semester, which is the practical semester. The fact that the study programmes of Communications Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Software Engineering and Media Informatics are identical up to the fourth semester offers you the particular advantage that a smooth change between the study programmes is possible until the completion of the fifth semester.

In the Communications Engineering study programme the main fields of application are the transmission and processing of information, telecommunication, and mobile and computer networks.

The Software Engineering and Media Informatics study programme allows students the possibility to decide between a specialisation in Software Engineering or in Media Technology. In the Software Engineering specialisation, the main focus is on the methodical development of software, while the key emphasis in the Media Technology study programme is the development of multimedia-based communication systems and the application of virtual reality in technical simulations.

In the Computer Engineering study programme the main fields of application are control engineering and microcontroller programming.

This study programme of the Faculty of Information Technology thus offers you the possibility to qualify as a Bachelor of Engineering in the fields of

• Communications Engineering
• Media Technology
• Software Engineering
• Computer Engineering

You can decide according to your personal interests.

If you need further information in order to make your decision, you can find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the study programmes on the following web pages:

FAQs on the Communications Engineering study programme

FAQs on the Software Engineering and Media Technology study programme

FAQs on the Computer Engineering study programme

Further details on the study course can be found on the webpages below:

Structure of the Communications Engineering study programme
Structure of the Software Engineering and Media Technology study programme
Structure of the Computer Engineering study programme

Esslingen University adapted all Diploma degrees into Bachelor degrees from winter semester 2005/06 onwards. The change took place as a result of political guidelines and aims to facilitate a comparison between university degrees at an international level.

Further details on the background of the conversion process can be found at
Esslingen University > Applicants and students > Bachelor .

The Diploma study programmes had previously been organised as eight-semester study courses with six taught semesters and two practical semesters. The first practical semester was carried out in the third semester, the second one in the sixth semester. A great number of students were exempt from the first practical semester as they had undergone an apprenticeship or equivalent practical experience. As a result, many students were able to finish their studies after only seven semesters, while the rest had to undergo the additional first practical semester.

All Bachelor study programmes at Esslingen University are designed as a seven-semester study course, with six theoretical semesters as was previously the case, and one practical semester. The practical semester is carried out in the fifth semester. To put it simply, the Bachelor study programmes have been formed out of the former Diploma study programmes by omitting a practical semester.

Well, we did not make it that easy for ourselves. Instead, we have rather used the conversion of the degrees to modernise and update course contents and to coordinate them even more effectively. In this phase of restructuring, industry was always included in the consultation process to a great extent. Of course, we have also made sure that our graduates leave university with the same expertise and the same quality of training as before.

Our Bachelor degrees are thus completely equivalent to the former Diploma degree.

Courses at universities are much more theory-based than courses at universities of applied sciences. In contrast, at universities of applied sciences courses are very much orientated towards industrial practice. Because of that, representatives of industry are permanently involved in the development and design of the study course.

This practical orientation is an important characteristic of universities of applied sciences, as is the tightly organised course from start to finish. The small number of students in each semester group is another essential feature of universities of applied sciences. Lectures take place with groups of around 30 to 35 students. In the practical laboratory work, students work together in groups of only two or three people. These are ideal conditions for effective learning.

Several components provide the course with a practical emphasis.

1. In the course of your studies you spend a whole semester in industry and will be involved in a project where you work in a team and get insights into your future activity as an engineer.


2. In almost all subjects you have complementary laboratory work in addition to the lectures. There you can test and consolidate what you learned in the lectures in practical experiments. Some laboratory work takes place in the form of long-term projects.


3. Of course, you also learn how to plan and carry out projects systematically. In the Project Management course you acquire the necessary skills to do so.


4. Usually you conduct your thesis project in industry. Again you work in a company for one semester. There you work on a topical project which is of interest for the company.


5. All professors of the university have worked in a leading position in industry for many years and have good connections to industry. Many years of industrial work experience are an essential requirement for a professorship at a university of applied sciences.

Career prospects after graduating in Information Technology are excellent.

More than half the graduates normally have an employment contract even before they hold their graduation certificate in hands on the day of the graduation ceremony. This is certainly due to the highly practical orientation of the study course and the close links between students and industry during their studies.

In the last couple of years the number of first-year students in Information Technology and Informatics have unfortunately fallen slightly; on the other hand, however, employment opportunities in the field of Information Technology have been on the increase. The industrial associations for Information Technology and Informatics have thus repeatedly pointed out the fact for many years now that there will be a huge lack of engineers in the field of Information Technology and Informatics in the near future.

Without Information Technology the whole industrial sector and also our everyday life would break down completely. Today nothing is possible without Information Technology, and no other field has brought forth so many innovative ideas and products as Information Technology.

These excellent prospects and opportunities for an interesting, diversified and secure job will not change in the foreseeable future.

By choosing a course at the Faculty of Information Technology from among the study programmes

• Communications Engineering
  
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics
• Computer Engineering

you are set for an exciting future.

Nor should you forget the excellent reputation that Esslingen University and in particular the Faculty of Information Technology has in industry. In the rankings of recent years the Faculty of Information Technology was repeatedly shown to have an excellent reputation.

An overview over the university rankings involving the Faculty of Information Technology can be found at: Esslingen University > Faculties > Information Technology > Ranking (german).

Initially it is not the end of the world if you fail an examination - your study course continues for the time being. You have to retake the examination you failed at the end of the following semester. That gives you time to attend the lecture once again and to understand the course material. During the whole of your study course it is even possible to retake a failed examination up to three times. However, you should not rely on this fact but keep working at your studies continuously.

There are, of course, standardised study periods which determine the final deadline for passing specific examinations. These guidelines are intended to encourage students to complete their studies swiftly.

Further details can be found in the examination regulations for the study programmes:

Examination regulations for Communications Engineering

Examination regulations for Software Engineering and Media Informatics with a specialisation in Media Technology

Examination regulations for Software Engineering and Media Informatics with a specialisation in Software Engineering

Examination regulations for Computer Engineering

The three study programmes

• Communications Engineering
  
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics
• Computer Engineering

are closely related and thus structured identically in the first four semesters.

If you find out that you more interested in a study programme other than the one you have chosen, you can still change within the study programmes and specialisations without any problems and without wasting any time until the end of the fifth semester, the practical semester.

It is not until the sixth semester that the study programmes divide into the individual specialisations

• Communications Engineering
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics with a specialisation in Media Technology
• Software Engineering and Media Informatics with a specialisation in Software Engineering
• Computer Engineering

First-year students usually only have a vague idea of their later career. Due to this particular structure of the study programme, they can change from their initial course until relatively late if they want to change their mind.

This possibility of a smooth change is a particular advantage for first-year students who are still undecided. Only the study programmes of the Faculty of Information Technology offer this advantage to such an extent.

Information on the application procedure can be found on our webpage at:
Esslingen University > Applicants and students > Applicants > Application Forms

Deadline for applications is 15th July for the winter semester, and 15th January for the summer semester.

For more questions on applications and admissions please contact:

Hochschule Esslingen
Zulassungsamt
Kanalstraße 33

73728 Esslingen


Telephone: (0711) 397-3060
E-mail:  zulassungsamt(at)hs-esslingen.de

Further answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the study programmes can be found at:

FAQs on the Communications Engineering study programme

FAQs on the Software Engineering and Media Informatics study programme with a specialisation in Media Technology

FAQs on the Software Engineering and Media Informatics study programme with a specialisation in Software Engineering

FAQs on the Computer Engineering study programme

Information on the structure and the contents of the study programmes of the Faculty of Information Technology can be found on the following webpages:

Study programme Communcations Engineering

Study programme Software Engineering and Media Informatics

Study programme Computer Engineering

Specific questions on the study programmes can be sent to the Academic Directors via e-mail:

Academic Director of Communications Engineering: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Melcher

E-mail:  Harald.Melcher(at)hs-esslingen.de

Academic Director of Software Engineering and Media Informatics: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Rößler

E-mail:  Andreas.Roessler(at)hs-esslingen.de

Academic Director of Computer Engineering: Prof. Dr. Jörg Friedrich

E-mail:  Joerg.Friedrich(at)hs-esslingen.de