Choosing Your Courses
We expect you to have an area of interest, specific enough for you to opt for a masters course in data science but broad just enough to explore and finish the required credits here at OvGU. Any text that follows next, assumes that you have an area of interest.
But it is perfectly all right if you do not have any yet, we would encourage you to explore more and figure out at the earliest, things that interest you.
In theory, the masters course is two years long. Thus, the university recommends you to take 30 credits every semester, provided you have the prerequisite knowledge and skill set for each individual course.
You need to complete 90 credits to be eligible for the 30-credit worth master thesis.
We encourage you to explore the fundamental courses prior to taking the advanced courses, application based courses, and projects.
There are specific requirements when it comes to projects. Your faculty is the best choice for your guidance. If you are a DKE student, you need to do at least one 6-credit team project, in the 90-credits, to be eligible for the master thesis. DE students have 2 projects, one ITP 6 CP and one DE-P for 12 CP, which can be split into 2 6CP projects
You need to take courses and pass the exams successfully to fill the 90 credits (minimum). The courses would be organized under different modules, the specifics of which you would get in the study and examination regulations ( link ).
The exhaustive list of courses offered in the FIN is there in the Module Hand Book ( link ). It is in German and is legally binding. You can find the link to the latest Module Hand Book in the faculty incoming home page ( link ) and the faculty page. The mapping to topic areas is found in the module lists, which should be consistent with the module handbook.
While checking the courses on the Module Hand Book, check for the language (German: "Sprache:") the course is offered in, the prerequisites, and whether it is offered to M.Sc. DKE / DE students.
The courses offered each semester are available in the LSF (student portal). The list of courses offered for the summer and winter semesters are mostly different from each other.
The details of the course structure is explained during the events “Introduction to DE / DKE” at the start of the semester. You can access the presentations on the home page . In case of confusion, please consult a mentor ( link ); the preferred mode of communication is email ( email guidelines ).
(There is one very basic crash course on soft skills and scientific writing offered by Dr. Krull and Madhura Thosar. It is called “Principles and Practices of Scientific Work” ( link ). It is a 3-credit course and we recommend you to take it if you have no prior exposure to scientific work and scientific writing.)
So now you are introduced to the Module Hand Book and the list of courses offered during a particular semester. You can see the details of the courses offered by going to their individual web pages. If that interests you, attend the classes. Keep a note of the number of credits you are taking per semester and the expected workload associated with it.
In case you need some more information about the courses, do check out the set of course preparatory videos made by SI @ FIN ( link ). If the existing literature does not help, please feel free to consult a mentor, or the faculty member ( link ) directly. In case you have taken a course and are facing issues, contact the faculty. Here too, the preferred mode of communication is a written email.
Plan ahead: Do not just plan for the current semester. Short list courses that you would want to take in the next couple of semesters. This would help you organize better. But be aware that there might be slight changes - new courses that fit your area of interest might be added and a couple of courses might also be withdrawn. Be mentally prepared to accommodate changes in your plan.
Have some idea what you want to do after your masters course. While the professors would help you if you want to do a PhD, stay connected to the career center if you want to pursue a job. Get introduced to TUGZ ( link ) and the International Startup School, in case you have an interest in startups or want to have one for yourself.
Additionally you will find all the study docs compiled here.
We hope this article helped. Email a mentor ( link ) if you need any help.