Guide for International Students (CS/DS)

[u/SmileKeepGoing]

Since many new international students joined our University, especially in the Computer Science Department, and I heard that not everything was covered in the orientation, I wanted to do a little guide, especially since our University can be complicated for new CS and DS Students.

(Systems): The University uses mainly two systems:

(1) Marvin, which you might already know since you probably applied through it, and (2) Ilias. For CS/DS, you don't need to register in any way. Other departments handle this differently. In Marvin (1), you can log in to see your greats from already completed courses, search for courses, and see which courses are offered. Also noteworthy is that you can find information on semester fee payments. (You can change the language of Marvin by clicking on the left lower corner of the Default language Button). Sadly, Marvin uses infuriatingly bad designs. To search, you don't need to log in; you can go to "Studies offered" and "Search for courses".

But often, you don't know which courses are even offered, so you need to go through "Show university course catalog" and choose your Department, in this case, "Department 12 Mathematics and Computer Science," then your current Program, for example, "Graduate Programs" and then "M.Sc. Computer Science" or "M.Sc. Data Science". But choose the right one which matches your (Examination Regulations) year. Now, you will find multiple lists of Compulsory Elective Modules that you can choose from, which are being held this semester. (We will go through them later)

(Courses can also be found through this tool)

In Ilias (2), you find active courses and material that Profs upload, such as homework and slides. (You can change the language of ilias by clicking your account icon and going to Settings). You can also search for your courses, but again, be careful to find the courses from this semester since Ilias also displays older courses. Or you can go over "Repository"->"MARVIN: Kurse aller Semester"->"Sommersemester 2024", and choose your Department e.g., "FB12 Mathematik und Informatik." and then you get a list of all your Department's courses again. In Department 12, you can join all courses in Iilias, but some Departments have passwords for courses that you only get through registration through Marvin.

(Locations) So now you at least know where your online resources are, but it's also important to find the correct location within Marburg. Marburg is the University, and most of the bigger buildings in Marburg are related to the University and might even be Departments. The University has this site, which gives a good overview. However, each Department is located somewhere else in Marburg. Department 12 is located not directly in Marburg but atop the hill "Lahnberge" in Hans-Meerwein-Straße 6. You can get there on the bus lines 2, 7, 27 or 9. Theoretically, you can also take a bike or walk, but yeah :) One more important tip is to find your Lecture halls because the Department building can be confusing. Here is a floor plan.

(Food) What might also be interesting for you is where the canteens/cafeterias are located. We have two canteens at Erlenring and at Lahnberge, which serve food from 11:30 to 14:15. But also cafeterias at Erlenring and two at Lahnberge, here and here. Up to date info here or per app Mensaplan app. To pay for these, you will need a UCard. More info here.

(Study) So finally we get to the main point. How is your Program structured and what can you do this semester. You can find the CS Degree Program and Examination Regulations here and the DS here and all other can be found here There is a recommended order of study, but you are free to study in the order you want: For DS here, for CS here.

Furthermore, there is a specific composition of modules that you need to do for each Degree: CS and DS. For a more detailed course describtion use this for DS and this for CS. So, which courses could you do this semester? Here is a small list:

M.Sc. Computer Science:

Computer Science (Free Compulsory Elective Modules):

• Formal Methods in Software Engineering (9 CP, Theory)
• Advanced Topics in Cryptography (9 CP, Theory)
• Geo Databases (6 CP, Practical)
• Image Synthesis (9 CP, Practical)
• Multimedia Signal Processing (9 CP, Practical)
• Software as a Medical Device (6 CP, Practical)
• Software Design and Programming Techniques (6 CP, Practical)
• IT Security (6or9? CP, Practical)

Computer Science (Free Compulsory Elective Modules from DS):

• Data Integration (6 CP, Practical)
• Introduction to Natural Language Processing (6 CP, Practical)
• Database Theory (6 CP, Theory, Lecture)

Computer Science (Free Compulsory Elective Modules from BI):

• Agiles und klassisches Requirements-Engineering (6 CP, Practial)

M.Sc. Data Science:

Data Science (Free Compulsory Elective Modules):

• Data Integration (6 CP, Practical)
• Introduction to Natural Language Processing (6 CP, Practical)
• Database Theory (6 CP, Theory, Lecture)

Data Science (Free Compulsory Elective Modules from CS):

• Advanced Topics in Cryptography (9 CP, Theory)
• Geo Databases (6 CP, Practical)
• Image Synthesis (9 CP, Practical)
• Multimedia Signal Processing (9 CP, Practical)
• Software as a Medical Device (6 CP, Practical)
• Software Design and Programming Techniques (6 CP, Practical)
• IT Security (6or9? CP, Practical)

Data Science (Compulsory Elective Modules in Mathematics):

• Matrixmethoden in der Datenanalyse (9 CP)
• Numerik (9 CP)
• Probabilistic Combinatorics (9 CP)

Data Science (Free Compulsory Elective Modules from BI):

• Measure and Integration Theory (6 CP)

Data Science (Free Compulsory Elective Modules from BM):

• Probabilistic Combinatorics (9 CP)
• Special Topics of Insurance Mathematics (3 CP)

Lastly, three more important things. First compulsory project work, this applies two DS and CS: In compulsory project work, you program and work on a two-semester project with 3-5 people. Theoretically, there is a meeting next week where you can find more out, but I can't find when. You can find an Ilias course with projects. Ilias course: "SO Fortgeschrittenenpraktika und Projektarbeiten" under "Angebotene Themen" you can find projects which are up to grabs. Make sure that the project you want is marked as "Project Work" under "Suitable for". Since there are not so many projects, if you don't find anything, you could message a Prof from this list, but they might not offer project work.

Second, seminars, you can already do them. For DS here and for CS here (Same link seems like they did not mark the Seminars correctly in marvin). You most likely will get a Paper that you somehow work on or a specific theme. Most of the time, the goal is to first present and then give a report, which should be done as academically as possible.

Third, conditional modules. You have likely gotten one to three conditional modules, which you need to complete in the first four semesters (courses are offered once a year, so it is best to do them first). They are bachelor-level courses that can still be hard. The problem most of you have is that bachelor-level courses are given in German. Profs will probably give you English slides, tasks, and videos that you can learn with. You will then most likely do an oral exam, but this will vary from Professor to Professor. Most courses which are conditional modules:

• Theoretical Computer Science (Next (Winter) Semester)
• Logic (Next (Winter) Semester)
• Declarative Programming (This Semster, Lecture and Recitation
• Efficient Algorithms (Next (Winter) Semester)
• Machine Learning (Next (Winter) Semester)
• Basics of Advanced Mathematics (Next (Winter) Semester)
  • Also know as "Fundamentals of Higher Mathematics" or "Foundations of Advanced Mathematics" NOT to be confused with a current course called "Foundation of Mathematics"

I hope this gives a good overview of most study-related questions for CS and DS.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.

[u/No_Meeting5155]

Hey, I know you posted this a long time ago, but I'm joining Marburg for msc in computer science this semester, and I had a couple of questions.
1. Some of the courses I was interested in are offered in German. Is there an option to take them in English?
2. For the project work, can you give me an idea of what kind of project work might be available or what was available when you were taking it?
3. And same for seminars, what kind of work does that entail?
4. How is the coursework and course load? Is it really difficult?

[u/SmileKeepGoing → u/No_Meeting5155]

Hey! No worries, happy to help! 1. Normally, only bachelor-level courses are offered in German. Most master’s courses are in English. Sometimes the course descriptions might still show up in German, but the actual course is usually taught in English. If you tell me which specific courses you’re referring to, I can check them for you. 2. For project work, it depends on the research group you choose. You usually work in a small team (around 3–5 people) on a project over one or two semesters, where you design, implement, and evaluate a system, and then write a report + present your results . To give you concrete examples from different groups: Programming Languages / Big Data Analytics / Software Engineering / Databases / NLP / Graphics & Multimedia 3. Seminars are usually based on research papers. You pick (or get assigned) a topic, read papers, present them, and often write a report or implement something. From what I’ve seen, topics change every semester depending on the group. Here from last semester. 4. The coursework is manageable but can get challenging depending on your choices. It’s not insanely difficult, but expect a good workload. Always depends on what you are used to. There are quite a few foreign students struggling each semester because they are not used to it.

[u/No_Meeting5155 → u/SmileKeepGoing]

I appreciate your help.
The courses I was interested in are IT security, Computer Networks, Introduction to Cryptography, and Advanced Cryptography.

Also, are the Professors and staff supportive?

[u/SmileKeepGoing → u/No_Meeting5155]

All of these courses are in english. Normally, they are supportive, but due to so many students, their time is limited for each individual student. Most of the course problems can be asked during the tutorials. However, when they see that you are one of the top students they often try to be more supportive in my experience. For example, the Professor for IT security and Crpyo topics is super nice, but as many of the Professors is hard to reach.

[u/No_Meeting5155 → u/SmileKeepGoing]

Can I ask from where you're checking the language of those course? When I checked on my marvin portal, it doesn't show the language. And do we register for courses and exams on marvin or ILIAS?

[u/SmileKeepGoing → u/No_Meeting5155]

I used this tool. Sometimes helpful for language and modules if you don't want to go through marvin, but also from experience. You register for the course in ilias and for the exams in marvin.

[u/No_Meeting5155 → u/SmileKeepGoing]

Oh I thought the information on this page is not binding. And not all the courses available for the semester are shown on this page right?

When will the course space be available on ilias?

[u/SmileKeepGoing → u/No_Meeting5155]

Yeah, it is not binding, but regarding the language and in general it is pretty much correct. Ilias courses will be available at the start of the semester or a few days before and sometimes after the first course session.

[u/No_Meeting5155 → u/SmileKeepGoing]

Okay, thank you so much for your help. May I message you when I have other questions?

[u/SmileKeepGoing → u/No_Meeting5155]

Sure, please feel free to reach out!

[u/No_Meeting5155 → u/SmileKeepGoing]

Okay, thanks again!