M.Sc. Computational Mathematics

Unless English was the language of instruction for your prior university education, you should provide a language certificate at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), such as:

• TOEFL (567 paper-based, 87 internet-based, ITP 543 'silver' or better)
• IELTS (score 5.5)
• Cambridge English Language Assessment at level 'Advanced' (CAE) or 'Proficiency' (CPE)
• or an equivalent English language certificate. A first degree or secondary education completed exclusively in English also counts as proof of English-language proficiency.

To facilitate living in Germany, you should ideally also have German language skills at level A1 CEFR (beginner's level). If cannot provide a certificate but meet all other requirements, you will still be admitted to the programme; however, you will complete a compulsory beginner's German course during the first year of study on top of your regular modules.

Mathematicians continue to have outstanding career prospects, as they are highly sought after wherever high-level analytical thinking skills are a requirement. Their potential occupational fields are therefore less limited than is the case with medical doctors or engineers, who specialise in a specific sub-field of their discipline.

Outside of academic and research organisations, mathematicians find employment in nearly all private- and public-sector organisations. Nowadays, mathematicians' work typically makes heavy use of computing technology.

Traditionally, mathematicians are employed in the pharmaceutical industry, in the financial industry, insurance companies, consulting and business intelligence, market research, logistics, information technology and in the research and development departments of high-tech companies.

The core modules consist of two mathematics seminars and the presentation of your master's thesis.

The compulsory elective modules are divided into eight module groups:

1. Algebra, Geometry and Cryptography
   This module group imparts advanced results in the areas of algebra and geometry, which constitute the fundament for algorithmic calculations, particularly in cryptography but also in many other mathematical areas.


2. Mathematical Logic and Discrete Mathematics
   The theoretical possibilities and limitations of algorithm-based solutions are treated in this module group.


3. Analysis, Numerics and Approximation Theory
   Methods from the fields of mathematical analysis, applied harmonic analysis and approximation theory for modelling and approximating continuous and discrete data and systems as well as efficient numerical implementation and evaluation of these methods are the scope of this module group.


4. Dynamical Systems and Optimisation
   Dynamical systems theory deals with the description of change over time. This module group is concerned with methods used for the modelling, analysis, optimisation and design of dynamical systems, as well as the numerical implementation of such techniques.


5. Stochastics, Statistics
   This module group deals with methods for modelling and analysing complex random phenomena as well as the construction, analysis and optimisation of stochastic algorithms and techniques used in statistical data analysis.


6. Data Analysis and Data Management and Programming
   This module group examines the core methods used in computer science for the analysis of data of heterogeneous modalities (e.g. multimedia data, social networks and sensor data) and for the realisation of data analysis systems.


7. Applications
   In this module group, you will practise applying the mathematical methods learned in module groups 1 to 6 to real-world applications such as Marketing, Predictive Analytics and Computational Finance.


8. Key Competencies and Language Training
   In this module group, you will choose seminars that develop your non-subject-specific skills, such as public speaking and academic writing and other soft skills; you may also undertake internships. This serves to complement your technical expertise gained during your degree studies and helps to prepare you for your professional life after university.

You are eligible for this degree programme if the following applies to you:

• You have an undergraduate university degree in mathematics or a related discipline with a mathematics component of at least 110 ECTS credits.
  • If you completed a four-year non-ECTS degree, the 110 ECTS credit requirement is deemed to be met if approximately two-thirds of your credit points were earned in mathematics-related modules/courses.

This is further qualified as follows:

• Your degree must have been earned over a course of study of a standard length of three years or more.
   
• The final grade for your first degree must be 2.7 or better under the German marking system, or the relevant equivalent final grade in a foreign marking system.
  • If your final grade is not 2.7 (or the equivalent foreign grade) or better, you may still apply if you can prove that you ranked among the best 70% of graduates within your particular degree programme in the academic year in which your final certificate was issued (i.e. your cohort).
    • In that case you should provide an official certificate from your university registrar specifying the total number of graduates of your cohort as well as, importantly, the rank number/percentile you attained on the basis of your final grade.
       
• As part of the application you must submit an English or German-language abstract/summary of your undergraduate dissertation/bachelor's thesis/final year project.
  • If you did not write a dissertation/thesis as a formal part of your prior degree programme, you may instead submit an academic research paper or publication that demonstrates your ability to solve a scientific research problem independently.
     
• If you do not have your degree certificate and final transcript at the time of application:
  • If you cannot provide your final bachelor's (or equivalent) certificate and transcript but are in the final semester of your degree programme at the time of application, you may include the transcripts thus far available reflecting the courses previously taken as well as all results and current marks/grades.
    • You will then be considered for a conditional offer, in which case you would have to present your degree certificate and final transcript at enrolment or within 10 weeks after the first day of lectures.
    • This will be approved only if you have already completed all coursework and assessments for your first degree at the beginning of the degree programme at the University of Passau and have submitted a (preliminary) transcript showing an average (preliminary) grade of 2.7 or the equivalent foreign grade.

Please note that we only recognise degrees awarded by universities with 'H+' status in the Anabin database of the German Central Office for Foreign Education. You can check the Anabin database online or contact the International Coordinator of the faculty by e-mail if you do not understand German.