Master's Programme in Computer Science

120 credits

Programme syllabus, TDV2M

A revised version of the programme syllabus is available.
Code
TDV2M
Finalised by
The Faculty Board of Science and Technology, 10 March 2016
Registration number
TEKNAT 2015/47
Responsible faculty
Faculty of Science and Technology
Responsible department
Department of Information Technology

Decisions and guidelines

1. Decision to offer two-year Master programmes

According to a decision taken by the Vice Chancellor 2006-09-16, Uppsala University will offer two-year Master programmes in biology, computer science, physics, earth science, sustainable development, chemistry, mathematics, computational science and applied biotechnology, all from 2007-07-01. Furthermore according to a decision taken by the Vice Chancellor 2008-06-07 a Master programme in bioinformatics from 2009-07-01.

2. Objectives for a Degree

2.1 Objectives for a Degree of Master (One Year) (Magisterexamen)

Objectives for a Degree of Master (One Year) according to the Higher Education Ordinance, System of Qualifications.

Knowledge and understanding

For a Degree of Master (One Year) students must

- demonstrate knowledge and understanding in their main field of study, including both a broad command of the field and deeper knowledge of certain parts of the field, together with insight into current research and development work; and

- demonstrate deeper methodological knowledge in their main field of study.

Skills and abilities

For a Degree of Master (One Year) students must

- demonstrate an ability to integrate knowledge and to analyse, assess and deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations, even when limited information is available;

- demonstrate an ability to independently identify and formulate issues and to plan and, using appropriate methods, carry out advanced tasks within specified time limits;

- demonstrate an ability to clearly present and discuss their conclusions and the knowledge and arguments behind them, in dialogue with different groups, orally and in writing; and

- demonstrate the skill required to participate in research and development work or to work in other advanced contexts.

Judgement and approach

For a Degree of Master (One Year) students must

- demonstrate an ability to make assessments in their main field of study, taking into account relevant scientific, social and ethical aspects, and demonstrate an awareness of ethical aspects of research and development work;

- demonstrate insight into the potential and limitations of science, its role in society and people's responsibility for how it is used; and

- demonstrate an ability to identify their need of further knowledge and to take responsibility for developing their knowledge.

2.2 Objectives for a Degree of Master (Two Years) (Masterexamen)

Objectives for a Degree of Master (Two Years) according to the Higher Education Ordinance, System of Qualifications.

Knowledge and understanding

For a Degree of Master (Two Years) students must

- demonstrate knowledge and understanding in their main field of study, including both broad knowledge in the field and substantially deeper knowledge of certain parts of the field, together with deeper insight into current research and development work; and

- demonstrate deeper methodological knowledge in their main field of study.

Skills and abilities

For a Degree of Master (Two Years) students must

- demonstrate an ability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge and to analyse, assess and deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations, even when limited information is available;

- demonstrate an ability to critically, independently and creatively identify and formulate issues and to plan and, using appropriate methods, carry out advanced tasks within specified time limits, so as to contribute to the development of knowledge and to evaluate this work;

- demonstrate an ability to clearly present and discuss their conclusions and the knowledge and arguments behind them, in dialogue with different groups, orally and in writing, in national and international contexts; and - demonstrate the skill required to participate in research and development work or to work independently in other advanced contexts.

Judgement and approach

For a Degree of Master (Two Years) students must

- demonstrate an ability to make assessments in their main field of study, taking into account relevant scientific, social and ethical aspects, and demonstrate an awareness of ethical aspects of research and development work;

- demonstrate insight into the potential and limitations of science, its role in society and people's responsibility for how it is used; and

- demonstrate an ability to identify their need of further knowledge and to take responsibility for developing their knowledge.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university.

Also required is:

  • 90 credits in computer science, including programming, algorithms and data structures, computer architecture and operating Systems; and
  • 30 credits in mathematics.

Language requirements

All applicants need to verify English language proficiency that corresponds to English studies at upper secondary (high school) level in Sweden ("English 6"). This can be done in a number of ways, including through an internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or IELTS, or through previous upper secondary (high school) or university studies.

The minimum test scores are:

  • IELTS: an overall mark of 6.5 and no section below 5.5
  • TOEFL: Paper-based: Score of 4.5 (scale 1–6) in written test and a total score of 575. Internet-based: Score of 20 (scale 0–30) in written test and a total score of 90
  • Cambridge: CAE, CPE

Layout of the programme

4.2.1 Description of the programme

The programme offers a structured range of courses leading to the Masters degree in computer science. Courses can also be pursued at institutes of higher education in Sweden or abroad. The programme offers great freedom of choice, and the opportunity to create individual combined studies is one of the programme's strengths. Teaching is linked to current research.

4.2.2 Comprehensive aims of the education

The education will give students detailed knowledge in the main field of computer science. The emphasis is on analytical ability and knowledge that will be of long-term benefit in an area in the process of rapid development. The programme thus does not focus on any particular programming languages, hardware platforms or operating systems. Those who have completed the programme are able to perform critical analysis, apply their knowledge in the field of computer science and independently acquire the new knowledge required. A typical example is the fact that computer scientists can very quickly learn new programming languages.

4.2.3 Aims as expected results of the study

In line with the aims stipulated in the Swedish University Ordinance, within the field of the programme students shall:

  • be able to define, formulate and resolve computer-science problems independently
  • have the wide-ranging and detailed knowledge of computer science necessary for further research studies or for activities in the field of industry and commerce or public office
  • be able to use, compare and criticise various computer-science models in order to explain scientific problems, and shall give reasons for when the different models are applicable
  • have developed computer-science skills applicable in other areas, e.g. be able to use computer-science methods when resolving problems in the fields of technology or natural sciences
  • have detailed knowledge of methods and principles regarding computers as a versatile aid – above all in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and technology, but also in other subject areas
  • be able to use computer-science terminology in order to present, explain and discuss various computer-science problems
  • be able to use knowledge of mathematics or allied fields of natural science in order to intensify understanding of computer science
  • be well acquainted with the structure of computer-science theory and be able to apply this theory to fields outside pure computer science
  • be able to write computer programs in several different development environments and programming paradigms, and quickly be able to learn new languages and development environments
  • be able to formulate models, problems and their solutions with the aid of algorithms, computers and programs
  • be able to follow developments in knowledge and evaluate new findings by critically using computer-science literature and databases
  • be able to critically summarise the state of knowledge in the specialist area and allied fields, including the results of new research
  • beyond what is required for the first degree, possess detailed knowledge, realise its limitations and thereby be able to broaden their area of knowledge quickly and at their own initiative.

The programme shall form the basis for active participation in a research project, either as a doctoral student on a PhD programme, as an employee in a research group in the field of industry and commerce, or for advanced professional activities in a wide-ranging field of work.

4.2.4 Programme outline

The programme has three specialisations:

  • A. Computer science (general specialisation)
  • B. Sino-Swedish specialisation in computer science and software engineering (this is jointly taught with the School of Software Engineering, Tonji University, Shanghai, China).
  • C. Concurrency and parallell programming

The placement of the courses is subject to changes. Some courses can be taken in more than one period, together with other programmes.

4.2.5 The courses of the programme

The order of courses in the programme can be seen from the outline.

Degree

3.1 Regulations according to Higher Education Ordinance

A Degree of Master (One Year) is obtained after the student has completed course requirements of 60 higher education credits with a certain area of specialisation determined by each higher education institution itself, including at least 30 higher education credits with in-depth studies in the main field of study. In addition, the student must hold a Degree of Bachelor, a Degree of Bachelor of Arts in…, a professional degree worth at least 180 higher education credits or an equivalent foreign qualification.

Exceptions may be made to the requirement of a previous qualification for a student who has been admitted to the educational programme without having had basic eligibility in the form of a qualification. However, this does not apply if in the admissions process an exception has been made under Chapter 7, Section 28, second paragraph on the grounds that there has been insufficient time to issue a qualification certificate.

A Degree of Master (Two Years) is obtained after the student has completed course requirements of 120 higher education credits with a certain area of specialisation determined by each higher education institution itself, including at least 60 higher education credits with in-depth studies in the main field of study. In addition, the student must hold a Degree of Bachelor, a Degree of Bachelor of Arts in…, a professional degree worth at least 180 higher education credits or an equivalent foreign qualification.

Exceptions may be made to the requirement of a previous qualification for a student who has been admitted to the educational programme without having had basic eligibility in the form of a qualification. However, this does not apply if in the admissions process an exception has been made under Chapter 7, Section 28, second paragraph on the grounds that there has been insufficient time to issue a qualification certificate.

Independent project (degree project)

For a Degree of Master (One Year) students must have completed an independent project (degree project) worth at least 15 higher education credits in their main field of study, within the framework of the course requirements.

For a Degree of Master (Two Years) students must have completed an independent project (degree project) worth at least 30 higher education credits in their main field of study, within the framework of the course requirements. The independent project may comprise less than 30 higher education credits, but not less than 15 higher education credits, if the student has already completed an independent project at the second level worth at least 15 higher education credits in their main field of study, or an equivalent project in a foreign educational programme.

3.2 Local regulations

Main fields for a Degree of Master (One Year) and a Degree of Master (Two Years) at the Faculty of Science and Technology are Biology, Computer Science, Physics, Earth Science, Sustainable Development, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computational Science and Applied Biotechnology.

A Degree of Master (one year ) may, except for courses on advanced level, contain one or several courses on basic level comprising not more than 15 higher education credits. A degree of Master ( two years ) may, except for courses on advanced level, contain one or several courses on basic level comprising not more than 30 higher education credits. The course or the courses are meant to provide such additional competence as is needed for in-depth studies in the main field of study and cannot be included in the student's basic degree.

For a Degree of Master (Two Years) students must have completed an independent project (degree project) worth at least 30 higher education credits.

Other directives

In the course plans the following is stated concerning prerequisites and recommended prerequisites

Prerequisites: These requirements should be fulfilled in order to admit the student to the course. Recommended prerequisites: The prerequisites that are stated here are not required to be admitted to the course. The student has to accept that a harder workload is needed if the recommended prerequisites are not fulfilled.

Students who, outside the programme, have acquired equivalent qualifications corresponding to at least 15 credits on advanced level in addition to the degree at Bachelor's level, may apply to be accepted to a later part of the programme. The application deadline is for the autumn term May 1 and for the spring term December 1.

4.2.7 Grade and examination

The general framework for assessment and retakes are settled in the course syllabi, but the details concerning the assessment for a particular course instance can vary and are clearly announced at the latest at the beginning of a course. The purpose of this arrangement is to offer flexibility for a responsible teacher to select an appropriate assessment method for the course instance, in dialogue with the programme coordinator and the relevant director of studies.

4.2.8 Courses together in a degree

Some courses cannot be considered in a degree together. Which courses this concern will be pointed out in each course syllabus.

4.2.9 Qualification and diploma

Upon request, a student who has received a pass grade in a course is to receive a course certificate from the higher education institution. Upon request, a student who meets the requirements for a qualification is to receive a diploma from the higher education institution.

A Degree of Master is a so called general degree, which means that the student achieve the degree in its main subject according to the criteria below, regardless of the courses being part of the program or not, therefore there is a possibility also to include single subject courses in the degree.

A Degree of Master (One Year) is obtained after the student has completed course requirements of 60 higher education credits with a certain area of specialisation determined by each higher education institution itself, including at least 30 higher education credits with in-depth studies in Computer Science. For a Degree of Master (One Year) students must have completed an independent project (degree project) worth at least 15 higher education credits in Computer Science, within the framework of the course requirements.

A Degree of Master (Two Years) is obtained after the student has completed course requirements of 120 higher education credits with a certain area of specialisation determined by each higher education institution itself, including at least 60 higher education credits with in-depth studies in Computer Science. For a Degree of Master (Two Years) students must have completed an independent project (degree project) worth at least 30 higher education credits in Computer Science, within the framework of the course requirements. A degree of Master (Two Years) may, except for courses on advanced level, contain one or several courses on basic level comprising not more than 30 higher education credits.

Outline

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