Unofficial version

By-laws of Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg for the university’s internal selection

procedure for the Master’s degree programme in Data and Computer Science

of 20/03/2024

based on § 63 (2) of the Act on Higher Education of the Land of Baden Württemberg
(Landeshochschulgesetz – LHG) of 1 January 2005 (GBl. 2005 p. 1), § 60 (2) no. 2 sub-section
2 LHG, amended by Article 1 of the Act of 1 April 2014 (GBl. 2014, 99), § 6 (2) sentence 12 of
the Act on Admission to Higher Education in Baden-Württemberg (Higher Education Admission
Act – HZG) in the version dated 15 September 2005 (GBl. 2005 p. 629) and §§ 20 (3)
sentences 3 to 5, 33 (1) sentence 2 of the Ordinance of the Ministry of Science and Research
on University Admission and the Application Procedure at State Universities in Baden-
Württemberg (University Admission Ordinance – HZVO) of 2 December 2019 (GBl. 2019 p.
489), the Senate of Heidelberg University (hereinafter referred to as “Heidelberg University”)
has adopted the following by-laws on 19 March 2024.

§ 1 Scope of application

(1) These by-laws stipulate the university’s internal selection procedure for allocation of
available university places in the Master’s degree programme in Data and Computer
Science at Heidelberg University; the provisions of the admission and enrolment
regulations (Zulassungs- und Immatrikulationsordnung; ZImmO) of Heidelberg University
applicable to the admission procedure remain unaffected, unless otherwise stipulated in
these by-laws.

(2) It applies if an admission number for the Master’s degree programme in Data and
Computer Science at Heidelberg University is specified in the respective ordinance of the
Ministry of Science and Research on the determination of admission numbers for degree
programmes in the allocation procedure of universities.

§ 2 Form and deadline of the application for admission

(1) The application for admission to the course of studies in the Master’s degree programme
in Data and Computer Science must be submitted in the form stipulated by the ZImmO of
Heidelberg University.

(2) The following documents must be enclosed with the application for admission to the course
of studies:

1. evidence of a Bachelor of Science degree with above-average grades in a degree in

one of the departments of computer science, computational linguistics, mathematics,
or physics, or in a degree programme with essentially the same content, or a degree
recognised as equivalent. At least 50% of the degree programme must be in computer
science and the Bachelor’s thesis must be 100% from the degree programme in
computer science. Evidence of an above-average Bachelor’s degree is provided with
a minimum grade of 2.3,

2. Officially certified translations in German or English must be enclosed for certificates

from foreign educational institutions. If the university entrance qualification and
academic achievements were acquired in a country, in particular in the People’s
Republic of China, India, or Vietnam, in which a certificate or an attestation from the
Academic Evaluation Centre (APS) is offered, this must also be submitted,

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3. if the degree in accordance with paragraph 2 number 1 is not yet available by the end
of the application deadline, a provisional certificate from the university on the work
completed up to that point,

4. evidence of subject-specific knowledge in accordance with § 4 /(2) no. 2 in the form of

the transcript of records,

5. evidence of sufficient English language proficiency at a minimum level B2 in accordance

with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) if the
applicant is not a native speaker of English. The evidence must not be any older than
five years at the end of the application phase and can be provided by:

a) the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), paper based, with at least 532
out of 677, or with at least 72 out of 120 points, internet based, or

b) the International English Language Test System (IELTS Academic) with a score of
5.5 or better, or

c) Cambridge English Scale with at least 160 points, or

d) other evidence of at least level B2 in accordance with the Common European

Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), e.g., by providing evidence of at
least level B2 in the school leaving certificate or

e) successful completion of a degree programmes taught in English.

6. a personal statement (self-reflection) in the form of answers to predefined questions.

The modalities and questions will be determined by the selection committee and
communicated during the application phase,

7. a declaration stating whether the applicant for the course of studies has definitively
failed an examination required by the examination rules and regulations in the Master’s
degree programme in data and computer science or a related Master’s degree
programme before, or their entitlement to take the final exams has lapsed for any other
reasons, or is currently undergoing an examination procedure in such degree
programmes.

(3) Heidelberg University may require that the documents to be enclosed to the application for
admission to the course of studies be submitted in the original upon enrolment.

(4) Degrees obtained in degree programmes at foreign state or state-recognised universities

shall be recognised if there is no significant difference in the skills acquired compared to
the degrees that are being replaced. The selection committee shall decide on recognition.
The recommendations of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and
Cultural Affairs of the Länder and the agreement within the framework of university
partnerships must be observed when recognising foreign educational certificates.

(5) The application for admission to the course of studies, including the documents required
under paragraph 2, must be submitted to Heidelberg University by 15 March of each year
for the winter semester and by 15 September of the previous year for the summer semester
(cut-off period). The application for admission to the course of studies, including the
documents required under paragraph 2, must be submitted to Ruprecht-Karls-Universität
Heidelberg by 15/05/2024 for the winter semester 2024/25.

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§ 3 Selection committee

(1) A selection committee is appointed for the Master’s degree programme in data and
computer science to prepare the selection decision. It comprises ten members elected by
the faculty who belong to the full-time scientific personnel. At least two members must
come from the group of professors.

(2) The members of the selection committee shall be appointed by the faculty council of the
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. The faculty shall appoint a chairperson
and a deputy chairperson from among the members, who must come from the group of
professors. The term of office of the members shall be two years. Re-appointment shall be
possible.

§ 4 Selection procedure

(1) The selection decision shall be made based on a ranking list in accordance with the degree
of aptitude of the applicant for the course of studies in the Master’s degree programme in
Data and Computer Science and typically subsequent professional activities. The ranking
list shall be drawn up by the selection committee from all persons who participate in the
selection procedure in accordance with an overall score calculated in accordance with the
selection criteria for the selection decision and determines the ranking of applicants for the
course of studies. The ranking list is drawn up in a two-stage procedure in accordance with
§ 4 (3) nos. 1 to 3.

(2) The selection criteria for the selection decision are as follows:

1. a Bachelor of Science degree with above-average grades in one of the departments of

computer science, computational linguistics, mathematics, or physics or in a degree
programme with essentially the same content for which a standard period of study of at
least three years is specified or a degree recognised as equivalent. At least 50% of the
degree programme must be in computer science and the Bachelor’s thesis must be
100% from the degree programme in computer science. Evidence of an above-average
Bachelor’s degree is provided with a minimum grade of 2.3,

2. subject-specific knowledge of at least 56 CP in computer science and 16 CP in

mathematics; the knowledge in computer science must be documented with content
from practical computer science, technical computer science, algorithms and data
structures, operating systems and networks, software engineering, theoretical computer
science, databases, and other in-depth areas of computer science; this knowledge must
be accompanied to an appropriate extent by programming knowledge; in addition,
mathematics knowledge from the contents of linear algebra, analysis and other in-depth
areas of mathematics must be proven,

3. a personal statement (self-reflection) in the form of answers to predefined questions,

4. the result of a selection interview, which provides information about suitability for the
chosen course of studies and the desired profession.

(3) The selection criteria in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be taken into account when
determining the overall score with the following assessment:

1. A pre-selection shall be made based on the selection criteria of the grade of the university
degree (§ 4 (2) no. 1), the specialist knowledge (§ 4 (2) no. 2) and the personal
statement (§ 4 (2) no. 3).
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a) The overall grade of the academic degree examination relevant to the degree
programme (§ 4 (2) no. 1) is converted into a number of points in accordance with
the following key:

1.0 to 1.2 corresponds to 10 points,

1.3 to 1.4 corresponds to 9 points,
1.5 to 1.6 corresponds to 8 points,
1.7 to 1.8 corresponds to 7 points,
1.9 to 2.0 corresponds to 5 points,
2.1 to 2.3 corresponds to 3 points.

The provisional grade resulting from the work completed up to that point will be
converted into a number of points in accordance with the above-mentioned key for
applicants in accordance with § 2 (2) no. 3 who have not yet completed their
Bachelor’s degree programme. If they have achieved a grade lower than 2.3 based
on their performance up to that point, they will receive 2 points for participation in
the selection procedure.

b) The technical knowledge in accordance with § 4 (2) no. 2 is assessed on a scale of

0 to 15 points.

c) The personal statement in accordance with § 4 (2) no. 3 is assessed on a scale of 0

to 10 points.

d) The total score of the preselection is calculated as the sum of the points in
accordance with letters a) to c). A ranking list is drawn up on the basis of this score.

2. The assessment of the selection interview in accordance with § 4 (2) no. 4 will be
performed in accordance with § 5.

3. The scores from the pre-selection in accordance with § 4 (3) no. 1 (maximum 35 points)
and the selection interview in accordance with § 5 (maximum 15 points) will be added
up and the final ranking list will be drawn up based on this score (maximum 50 points
in total).

§5 Selection interview

(1) The selection interview is intended to provide information on the extent to which the
applicant for the course of studies is qualified and open-minded for the Master’s degree
programme in data and computer science. The interview behaviour of the applicant for the
course of studies will also be assessed in terms of the approach taken when discussing
technical problems and the coherence of the argumentation.

(2) At least three times the number of applicants as there are university places available will
be invited to the selection interview. Invitation to the selection interviews will depend on the
result of the pre-selection in accordance with § 4 (3) no. 1d). If there is a tie in the pre-
selection, all eligible applicants will be invited to the selection interviews.

(3) The selection interview will take place after the application deadline, either in person or via
the university’s own video conferencing system. The precise dates and location of the
selection interview will be announced in advance by Heidelberg University. Applicants for
the course of studies will be invited to a selection interview by Heidelberg University in time.

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(4) The selection interview will be conducted by members of the selection committee or by
authorised examiners of the data and computer science degree programme appointed by
the selection committee. They are the members conducting the selection interview. Other
full-time scientific personnel may also participate in the selection interviews.

(5) The members conducting the selection interview shall conduct an interview of approx. 8
minutes with each applicant for the course of studies (typically two members per interview).
Group interviews with up to three applicants for the course of studies at the same time are
permitted (i.e., with a total duration of up to approx. 24 minutes). The answers of the
individual persons must remain recognisable and shall be assessed separately.

(6) Minutes of the main questions and answers of the selection interview shall be kept. They
shall be signed by the persons conducting the selection interview. Furthermore, the
minutes must include the date and location of the selection interview, the names of the
persons conducting the selection interview, the names of the persons applying for the
course of studies and the assessments made by the persons conducting the selection
interview.

(7) The members of the selection committee shall assess the applicant for the course of studies
on a scale of 0 to 15 points in accordance with their aptitude and open-mindedness for the
Master’s degree programme in data and computer science immediately after the selection
interview. The selection committee shall evaluate the criteria in accordance with paragraph
1 in accordance with the following assessment criteria:

1. Specialised interests and aptitude:

a) a technical task is accurately analysed and ways to solve it are presented in a

convincing manner. Further professional interests are presented in a convincing
manner = 10 points;

b) a technical task is logically analysed and ways to solve it are presented in a

plausible manner. Further professional interests are evident = 7 points;

c) a technical task is analysed and ways to solve it are identified. Further professional
interests are suggested = 4 points;

d) analysis of a technical task with a solution and the formulation of further technical
interests is not successful = 0 points.

2. Career prospects:

a) The professional perspective is clearly evident. It offers a conclusive and good

reason to study the Master’s degree programme in data and computer science at
Heidelberg University = 2 points;

b) A professional perspective is evident to a degree = 1 point;

c) A professional perspective is not evident = 0 points.

3. Interview behaviour:

a) The participant is confident in the interview and fully convincing in terms of their
approach to discussing problems and their argumentation is logical = 3 points;

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b) The participant’s interview conduct shows deficits in the approach to discussing

tasks or logic of the argumentation = 1 point;

c) The interview conduct is inadequate in terms of the approach to discussing

problems and the logic of argumentation = 0 points.

(8) The selection interview will be assessed with 0 points if the applicant for the course of
studies does not appear for an interview without important reasons.

§6 Allocation of university places

(1) The Rector shall decide on the allocation of university places upon recommendation by the
selection committee. The Rector has delegated the selection decision to the responsible
organisational unit in the university administration.

(2) Allocation of a university place must be refused if

1. the documents in accordance with § 2 (2) were not submitted on time or in full, or

2. the applicant for the course of studies has lost their entitlement to take the final exams
in the Master’s degree programme in data and computer science or in related degree
programmes with essentially the same content with a subject component in computer
science of at least 50% or is in an ongoing examination procedure for such a degree
programme.

(3) In the case of an application in accordance with § 2 (2) no. 3, admission shall be granted
subject to the proviso that evidence of the degree and related requirements is provided
within a deadline set by Heidelberg University. The authorisation shall expire if evidence is
not provided in due time.

(4) If there is a tie, selection shall be based on the overall result of the selection interviews; if
there continues to be a tie, lots shall be cast.

§ 7 Entering into effect/expiry

(1) These by-laws shall enter into effect on the day following their publication in the Rector’s
Gazette. They shall apply for the first time for the winter semester 2024/2025.

(2) The by-laws of Heidelberg University for the university’s own selection procedure in the
Master’s degree programme in Data and Computer Science of 9 December 2021 (Rector’s
Gazette No. 26/2021 p. 1645) shall cease to be in effect at the same time.

Heidelberg, 20 March 2024

Prof. Dr. Melchior

Rector

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Published in the Rector’s Gazette of 05/04/2024, p. 199 et seq.