Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding the application and enrolment for the masters degree programmes Cybersecurity and Entrepreneurial Cybersecurity

These FAQ concern the application process and the enrolment for the master degree programmes Cybersecurity and Entrepreneurial Cybersecurity. Please find general information about other prgrammes on their respective sites.

 

General information about applying in the Online Application System (OAS)

How do I apply for a masters’ degree programme?

Applications for our postgraduate programmes have to be submitted online in the Online Application System (OAS) of the Computer Science Department! You’ll find the link to the OAS at the very end of this site.

Incomplete applications cannot be considered. You are responsible for making sure that all required documents, including references, are submitted on time and meet the university’s requirements. Complete applications that are received after the deadline will be considered automatically in the decision making round for the next semester. Do not register more than once in the OAS!

Check the documents you submit carefully, as you will not be able to upload revised versions.

As soon as your application is complete (that includes required submissions by you and your referees), you will receive a confirmation email!

 

What is the minimal requirement for your CGPA?

Minimal prerequisite is a cumulative undergraduate grade point average (CGPA) of 75% or 3.00 GPA on a 4 point scale.

 

What Necessary language skills do you need?

The teaching language of the master’s degree programme is English. All applicants from all countries must provide a proof of advanced proficiency in English (level C1 of the Common European Framework).

The following certificates will be accepted:
_ IELTS (academic test): min. 7.0 out of 9
_ TOEFL (internet based): min. 95 out of 120
_ TOEFL (paper based): min. 600 out of 677
_ Cambridge English Certificate: C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE)
_ PTE Academic: min. 76

The English certificate is a mandatory part of the application. A confirmation of your university or a MOI (Medium of Instruction) is not a sufficient equivalent.

Only native speakers from Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA, or applicants who have studied in one of the above mentioned six countries are excluded from this rule. In these cases, please enter native speaker from [country] or studied in [country] into the form and upload a high school and/or bachelor’s degree certificate from that country as proof.

For German applicants, a basic English course up to the general qualification for university entrance (Abitur) is sufficient. In that case, please enter Abitur in the form.

Knowledge of proficiency in German is not required.

 

What is meant by “Evidence of particular interest in the subject”?

Submission of a personal statement written by the applicant and two letters of recommendation written by referees who know the applicant academically (ideally one from the supervisor of your Bachelor thesis, letters should be from faculty members or members of research labs).

 

What are the required Application Documents?

In the second step of the application process, you need to submit four types of documents with your application in order to be considered for admission. Please note that we only accept files in the PDF file format.

Transcripts (Academic Records):

_ a copy of your university entrance diploma
_ copies of all previous degrees (with certified translation, if the original language is not English or French)
_ a certified list of all attended courses with the respective grades, including an explanation of the grading system

Minimal prerequisite is a cumulative undergraduate grade point average (CGPA) of 75% or 3.00 GPA on a 4 point scale. Do not apply if you do not satisfy this requirement!

 

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

including information on your areas of interest in research, as well as any projects or publications

 

Statement of Purpose (SOP)

containing your reasons for applying to the proposed program at Saarland University

 

Letters of Recommendation

A complete application must have two letters of recommendation. These will be uploaded by the referees. It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees have the information they need to provide a reference and submit it by the deadline.

You enter the following information for each of your recommenders: name, address, phone number, institution or employer, title, email address (referee’s institutional or professional email address). It is extremely important to enter valid email addresses of your referee! An email will be sent to your recommenders with information on how to proceed.

Alternatively, your referees may send us the references in sealed envelopes; under no circumstances may these confidential reports be sent to us by the applicant. If a referee has not received their notification email, please ask them to check their junk/spam folders. References should be written on institutional or professional letter-headed paper.

 

Other Qualifications (OTH):

Please upload all other documents as a single PDF file. Other documents could include among other things:

_ APS certificate: Applicants who have obtained their university degree in China, India or Vietnam, are required to submit the original APS Certificate issued by the Academic Evaluation Center (Akademische Prüfstelle) in the corresponding country. The APS Certificate has to be submitted together with application documents by the application deadline. The deadline for the submission of the APS Certificate cannot be extended.

_ GRE test: To better assess your skills, we advise a GRE Test (general and/or computer science). However, proof of participation in this test is not mandatory.

 

When is my application complete?

Once you and your referees have uploaded all required documents the application will be submitted automatically. At that time, you will receive an email confirmation. Furthermore, if you try to login into OAS, you will receive a message that your application is complete and cannot be edited anymore.

Incomplete applications cannot be considered. You are responsible for making sure that all required documents, including references, are submitted on time and meet the university’s requirements. Complete applications that are received after the deadline will be considered automatically in the decision making round for the next semester. Do not register more than once in the OAS!

Check the documents you submit carefully, as you will not be able to upload revised versions.

FAQ Application

There is a system maintenance ongoing in the application system. How to proceed?

Due to system maintenance some of the services offered by the application system of the computer science department are currently unavailable. During this maintenance the start of new applications is not possible for the following programmes: Computer Science (M.Sc.), Cybersecurity (M.Sc.), Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (M.Sc.), Embedded Systems (M.Sc.), Visual Computing (M.Sc.), Actuarial and Financial Mathematics (M.Sc.), Mathematics (M.Sc.), Mathematics and Computer Science (M.Sc.). The system maintenance is currently scheduled to be finished by mid-January 2024.

If you have already started an application for one of these programmes, you can continue and submit your application until January 15th 2024. If you do not submit your application by this date, you have to start a new one after the maintenance is completed.

If you have not started an application yet, you cannot start a new one right now. You can start your application after system maintenance is completed. In the meantime you can gather the required information and documents needed for your application. The required documents for each study programme can be found in the application guide of the respective study programme.

 

For how many programmes can I apply?

You can apply for two programmes at the same time. However, you can either apply for a MSc or a PhD.

 

I made an error during pre-registration in OAS. What now?

Please pay attention when entering your basic details in our application system. The name you have entered in OAS should match the name printed in your passport or national id.

After you have pre-registered in OAS, you cannot edit your personal or referees’ data anymore. If some data needs to be changed, please do not register twice, but instead contact us via email at master@cs.uni-saarland.de

 

I don’t have a final diploma yet; can I still apply?

You can apply without your final diploma if you are in your final semester. Please upload a transcript showing your current study progress. If your application is successful, you will be asked to provide the official diploma during your first term at UdS.

 

Do I need an APS certificate?

Applicants who have obtained their university degree in China, India and Vietnam are required to submit the original APS Certificate issued by the Academic Evaluation Center (Akademische Prüfstelle) in the corresponding country with the application. Please check with your local German Embassy if a certificate is needed if you are unsure.

Concerning applications during the December/January system maintenance: If you forgot to upload your APS certificate while submitting the application, please send it via mail to master@cs.uni-saarland.de from the same mail used in the application system immediately.

Current exemption concerning applications for the summer semester 2024: It has been decided on short notice that for the summer semester 2024 no APS certificate is needed during the application process, but only for enrollment at university later on.

 

Do my documents need to be notarized?

The documents for the application do not need to be certified by an embassy or a notary. We do not need or accept hard copies for the application. When you apply online with us, you can just upload your scanned, legible documents in PDF format.

 

How can I check if my application in OAS is complete?

Once you and your referees have uploaded all required documents the application will be submitted automatically. At that time, you will receive an email confirmation. Furthermore, if you try to login into OAS, you will receive a message that your application is complete and cannot be edited anymore.

 

What happens if I do not submit my application before the deadline? Do I need to reapply for the next iteration?

Applications which are completed after the deadline will automatically be considered for the next application period.

 

What is the status of my application?

In OAS you cannot see the status of your application other than that it has been submitted. The evaluation process by the admissions board process normally starts after the official deadline. As soon as a decision has been made about your application, you will receive an email with either a rejection or admission with further information. Please refrain from mailing us about the status of your application as no other information can be given.

 

When can I expect a decision from the application board?

The evaluation process normally starts after the official deadline. Results can usually be expected between the middle of December until the beginning of January for application for the summer semester and between mid-June and beginning of July for application for the winter semester.

 

I applied for a master’s program and have been rejected. Why?

On our website the minimal application requirements are given. However, satisfying these minimal standards does not guarantee admission. Our master commission consisting of several professors reviews each application of all its strengths and weaknesses and accepts only the very best students out of hundreds of applicants for our highly challenging master's programs.

Please understand that due to the high number of applicants we cannot give individual reasoning to why an application has been rejected.

 

When can I expect an answer to my email requests?

Please expect response times of several days before the application deadline because of the high volume of requests during that time. We expect you to read the information given in the application guide and in this FAQ carefully before contacting us.

Please be aware of German national holidays. Furthermore, the university is closed over the winter holidays.