Master's programme Computer and Information Science

In the master's programme in Computer Science, you can retake a Computer Science course once, if you failed it. There is no possibility of retaking the exam a second time if you failed it twice. Instead, however, you can compensate the failed exam with another exam from the same area. You can also compensate an exam that you only failed once.

You should retake the exam at the next possible date. Because most of our master's programme courses are only offered once a year (or actually even less often), we recommend that you take the exam in the first exam period because this allows you to retake the exam in the second exam period.

If you take an exam in the second exam period for the first time and fail it, please get in contact with the lecturers and ask whether they plan to offer the course in the following year. It may make sense to take a different course in the following semester independently of the answer of the lecturer to compensate for the failed exam.

There is no maximum number of exams that you are allowed to fail in our master's programme, but  there are two rules that may be relevant in this context:

1.  You must complete 24 ECTS credits in Computer Science courses until the end of the second semester (PO 2020).
2. The maximum number of semesters (seven for the two-year programme, five for the one-year-programme).

If you fail too many courses, then it is likely that you will not be able to complete 24 ECTS credits within the first two semesters or finish within the maximum number of semesters. For this reason, we recommend that you talk to your mentor or the master's programme advisor if you fail a couple of courses.

"Scientific Practices for Students" is the course that is offered as the mandatory subject-related transferable skills course in academic writing for the exam regulations 2020. As it is mandatory and it is the only course that we accept as a subject-related transferable skills course in academic writing, you cannot compensate it in case you fail it. You can, however, retake "Scientific Practices for Students" as often as you like (within the maximum number of semesters).

In the supplementary area of studies, a range of offers from other departments or central institutions such as the Language Institute (SLI), the International Office (IO) or the Centre for Transferable Skills (SQ) can be credited. The rules for retaking exams in these areas are determined by the departments or central institutes that offer these courses.

Independently of the exact rules to retake such exams, a failed exam can be compensated freely by a different exam from the same area.