Bilingual Bachelor’s Program (BiBa) in Computer Science
New from October 2024: Bilingual Bachelor’s Program (BiBa) in Computer Science at the Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg
A special degree program, only in Magdeburg:
BiBa is a bachelor’s degree program in computer science which is taught bilingually (German / English) where you have to know only one of these languages when you enroll, but will be a full-fledged computer scientist with a high proficiency in both English and German when you finish.
What is our BiBa all about?
Our goal is to prepare you for a career in Computer Science, in particular to be able to work on topics of utmost importance to humanity and society in multinational teams.
- You will be proficient in German and English, both for your professional life and your integration in German society and industry. Our aim is that you will have a command of these two languages and will even be able to switch languages in mid-sentence! COMMUNICATION IS KEY – GO FOR IT!
- You will have taken the same required courses in computer science as those in a regular computer science program. Your „minor“ subject will typically be German. You will take a couple of elective courses less than in a regular program, but this will not curtail your preparation for working in your profession as a computer scientist. You will be able to attain a good livelihood - COMPUTING PAYS!
- You will be able to work on the truly important „grand challenges“ of our time, because these are not confined to a single country, but can only be tackled through multinational teams – which generally work in English, while all-important small talk is done in the regional / national language. Examples of the topics of such „grand challenges“ include the environment (global warming), cyber security, and artificial intelligence. COMPUTING WITHOUT BORDERS!
You will be able to work within Germany, or abroad in collaboration with German partners. Alternatively, you will be able to continue your education in a Master’s degree or even a doctorate in Germany or abroad.
Oh and there’s one more thing which is special about our BiBa:
The BiBa rhythm: 4-day in-presence study week
If you work hard, you should also enjoy freedoms. This is the motto of the BiBa:
The second special feature of the BiBa is that in the first year of your studies, class attendance is limited to four days a week (Monday to Thursday). Fridays are free for you to use as you wish and, above all, to do as you please, without any classes requiring attendance: Some students just want to crawl into their dorm room and study. Others will work on projects in groups. Some will occasionally go home to family and friends for the weekend. Still others will use their Germany ticket to travel the country, network and practice their language skills. Still others will work to gain professional experience and supplement their personal budget. It’s up to you.
Monday morning recovery from the weekend
We are also trying to create a time window for our students at BiBa in which you can re-adjust to your studies after the weekend. Where possible, students should not have to attend any on-campus events before 11 a.m. on Mondays. This means if you’ve spent the weekend elsewhere, you can use the time until Monday 11 a.m. to come back to Magdeburg. Or you can simply prepare for the week by going over the lecture material of the previous or the next week. In your dorm, in the library, or even in the train. Whatever suits you best.
Still: BiBa has a 100% study workload
Nevertheless, everyone will have completed the week's workload by Sunday. This is because it is a 100% degree program, not 80% or anything else, and it has the same requirements as a degree course with a 5-day in-presence week. Attendance is compressed in the BiBa program, but it still requires time to solve sample problems, for learning, thinking and understanding - yes, and also for programming and other practical tasks. It may happen that you will have classes or events early in the morning or in the evening. But in return, Fridays are your’s, each student has their own time - according to their own way of doing things and your current needs.
Prerequisites and Eligibility
In our new program, students can start if you fulfill the following three prerequisites:
- You are proficient in either German or in English (this is the new and special aspect of our program).
Proficient means you have to have attained at least the level of B2 in the European Reference Framework for languages in your stronger language – if you are reading this English page, your stronger language is presumably English. In this case, you will take German courses for four semesters to get up to speed, i.e., B2, in German. During these four semesters, all your computer science courses will be in English. In semesters 5 and 6 you will take some of your computer science courses in German, others in English. - You need to have an academic level corresponding to a German „Abitur" or the British A-Levels. If your school leaving certificate is not equivalent, there are several ways to get up speed: e.g.
- Take part in a Preparatory Year (Prep Year), called a „Studienkolleg“ in Germany.
- In some cases, you can attend University in your home country for a year or two, taking certain courses, and then transfer to our BiBa program. You can find information on what is needed with your school leaing certificate on the following page https://www.uni-assist.de/en/tools/check-university-admission/
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Since this is a special study course, we want to find the students that fit best into our program. Therefore we have included an eligibility test, which you will have to pass in order to be admitted to the program. In the eligibility process you need to collect 10 points, by submitting proof of your special interest in the the program. This includes:
- a letter of motivation in German or English
- optional proof of specific skills: internships; working experience; certificates, participation in competitions; letter of recommendation from a teacher
- optional proof of language skills: an additional foreign language; English AND German at least C1; German as a foreign language at least A1
If you have any questions on what you need to do to get into the program, please feel free to contact us at our hotline (see our contact data on the right-hand side of this page).
Please find detailed information on the admission criteria in our study and examination regulations. More information on the application process as well as formal requirements for Bachelor admission on University website. For more detailed information on the the points and the eligibility process as a whole, please refer to the regulations document.
Application Window-of-Opportunity
You can apply for admission to the program starting in October 2024 between mid-April (we might be able to move this forward a bit, please stay tuned to our Newsletter, see the contact column on the right-hand side of this page) and mid-July 2024. For most interntional applicants, application works via uni-assist. If you wish to apply for admission in the Fall of 2025, the application window may change. Please stay tuned here or with our newsletter (which you can get by sending us a message on our hotline).
Do Come Prepared: German Course of 50 hours to attain the level A1
Once you have decided you want to come to Magdeburg to take the BiBa course, but don’t know any German at all, you will have to take a crash-course to get you up to the level of A1. Indeed, we highly recommend coming to Germany with an A1 certificate under your belt. This corresponds to roughly 50 hours of lessons in most courses and countries. Please find a way to take this locally, for example at a “Goethe Institut“.
We expect to offer such a course in September of each academic year before classes begin (they always begin in October). The challenge is to get a visa for Germany in time – you will have to take care of this yourself, and depending on your country of citizenship, this may take some months, or even many months. Please contact us on our hotline if you want to go down this route anyways.
