If you forget to register during the registration period, there are two options.

1. It is still "early enough" in the semester (before the end of the coursework deregistration period) so that you can submit an application for late registration to Examinations Management. Please note that this is only possible twice during the entire degree programme for all types of late registrations. This means that if you apply once for late registration for an academic achievement, you can only register late for an examination once, for example.
2. You can also register for coursework in the second registration period for examinations (for the second dates). Please note: This is not possible via PAUL! You must write an email directly to the person responsible for you in Examinations Management and ask for registration. Please also let your lecturer know so that they can enter the coursework accordingly as soon as it has been registered. 
   Please also note: You cannot take an exam if you have not registered for the coursework. If you take this route, you can only take part in the second exam and not the first!

You are probably seeing one of the following error messages:

• You cannot register because not all conditions are met. You are allowed to choose a maximum of X modules on offer in this examination regulations area. This election exceeds this number or the permitted number of a higher-level area.
• You cannot register because not all conditions are met. This election exceeds the permitted number of modules on offer for one of the higher-level examination regulations areas.

You cannot register an unlimited number of modules. Your examination regulations state how many modules you can register in each area. In the Bachelor's Computer Science v5, for example, you can choose a maximum of four elective modules in the specialisation area, of which a maximum of three may come from a focus area. In the Master's Computer Science v1, a maximum of 9 compulsory elective modules can be selected.

If you would like to register for an additional module even though you have already registered for enough modules, one of the modules you have already registered for must be cancelled. You can also find out how this works here in the FAQs.

To deregister from an entire module, you must deregister from all coursework. This means that you must no longer be registered for any examinations and must also be deregistered from the coursework. If PAUL does not offer you the option to deregister from the coursework, please contact Examinations Management and ask them to deregister you from the coursework.

Please note: This is generally only possible if there are no failed attempts! If there are failed attempts, you must compensate or deregister from the module, if your examination regulations allow it, despite failed attempts. You can also find out how this works here in the FAQs.
Incidentally, this also applies as soon as a course achievement has been explicitly recorded as “failed.”

If there is no credit (or exam attempt/failed course achievement) in the module, the module can be deregistered in PAUL within the deregistration period. If PAUL does not offer you this option, even though there are no more achievements and no failed examinations in the module, you can contact PAUL support(paul@upb.de) and ask to deregister. Such a "normal" deregistration can be carried out for any number of modules and is not subject to any limit.

Firstly, you need to check your examination regulations to see whether they offer compensation(Bachelor Computer Science v5 and Master Computer Science v1: yes). If your examination regulations do not offer compensation, you must deregister the module (see FAQ).

If compensation is permitted, you can register another module that you can in principle exchange with the previous module as an additional module. You can also find out how registration for an additional module works here in the FAQ. Please note that you cannot take an unlimited number of additional modules. The number of credit points that can be earned as an additional module is specified in your examination regulations.

For example, all compulsory elective modules can be exchanged. Pay attention to possible limitations in the examination regulations (e.g. Bachelor's Computer Science v5: no more than three compulsory elective modules from a focus area may be taken). As soon as the additional module has been passed, you can contact Examinations Management and ask them to exchange the new module for the old one.

You can deregister modules using a form in PAUL. You can find it under Studies > Applications > PM: Computer Science Bachelor & Master - Module selection.

Please note: You cannot deregister modules as often as you like! You can find out how often you are allowed to do this in your examination regulations. In Bachelor's Computer Science v5 and Master's Computer Science v1, for example, it is possible to deselect a compulsory elective module a total of four times.

Please note: Before you use one of the limited deregistrations, try whether you can also deregister from the module in this way (see FAQ: Module deregistration). Only if this does not work, because you have definitely failed, should you deregister via the application.

In Paul, you will find your current study programme under Studies > Semester administration > Registration for modules and courses. Once you have selected your study programme there, you can register for an additional module under Additional services or Additional modules.

Are you on a semester abroad during the examination phase and therefore unable to take the exam? In this and similar cases, you can apply for an alternative form of examination. To do so, send an informal application by email to the Academic Advisory Office with a request for an alternative form of examination. Important: We need proof that it is not possible for you to take the examination normally. The Academic Advisory Office will then contact Examinations Management and the examiner and request an alternative form of examination.

You can apply for compensation for disadvantages via the responsible Examinations Management. Get in touch with the Central Student Advisory Service before submitting your application. They will tell you which documents are required and which deadlines apply. It is important that you submit the application early, ideally before registering for examinations or at the beginning of the semester.

The second study phase usually begins in the 5th semester. You choose modules from the elective modules provided. These are assigned to at least one of the following four areas: Software Engineering, Algorithms and Complexity, Computer Systems and Data and Knowledge. You must choose a total of four compulsory elective modules from at least two different areas.

You will also complete a proseminar and write a bachelor's thesis.

For planning purposes, you should use the recommended study plan, get an overview of the modules offered at PAUL and take advantage of the information on offer at the institute (e.g. on the proseminar programme).

In the Bachelor of Computer Science (examination regulations v5; from winter semester 24/25), you must complete 12 ECTS credits in extracurricular studies. You can choose courses from the university-wide offer that are not part of the Computer Science core curriculum and are not too "computer science-related".

You can find an overview of the courses on offer in the PAUL course catalogue under "Extracurricular studies and auditors of all faculties".

Your overall grade is calculated as a weighted average of the module grades. The individual module grades are included in the final grade with the weightings specified in the examination regulations. You can find the exact regulations in the examination regulations that apply to you.

To calculate the grade, multiply your grade in the module by "weight for grade" and then divide by the sum of the grade weights. Courses not listed here are not included in the grade.

Under certain conditions, you can take individual Master's courses during your Bachelor's degree. Whether this is possible depends on how far you have progressed in your studies and must be checked individually. Normally, if you have already earned at least 151 credit points relevant to your degree, you can be admitted to all modules of the Master's degree programme in Computer Science - with the exception of the Project Group and Key Skills modules - for one(!) semester with a total of 30 credit points.

Please note: This is only valid for one semester. In particular, this can lead to problems if you complete your Bachelor's degree later than you expected. Therefore, always contact the AStudy Service Computer Science  in good time to discuss your individual case.

If you are sure that you would like to apply for Master's credits, contact Examinations Management. If they confirm that you are allowed to register for Master's credits, you can send this confirmation to PAUL Support and ask them to register you for the modules you have selected. Once you have registered for the modules, you can usually register for the associated classes yourself.

A failed examination may be repeated up to three times. This means you have four examination attempts.

If you have already failed for the third time, you have the option of choosing a substitute oral examination as your fourth attempt. However, this is not graded over the full range of marks, but is limited to "sufficient" (4.0) and "unsatisfactory" (5.0).

If the examination is not finally failed in the compulsory area, but in the elective area, there is the possibility of compensation. You can read more about this in the FAQ under Problems with modules and examinations.

In the Bachelor Computer Science v5 there is the possibility of grade improvement (Note: In the old examination regulations and also in the Master Computer Science this is not possible!)

The prerequisite is that the module comes from the basic study programme and has been passed.

You can then apply to Examinations Management to repeat the examination. The better of the two grades is always counted, so there is no risk of a grade being downgraded.

Please note: The examination can only be repeated once and only on the exact next date on which the examination is offered. The next date is based on the date on which the examination was passed.

Yes, even if you have completed your Bachelor's degree at Paderborn University, you must apply separately for the Master's degree programme in Computer Science. The application is made via the university's official application portal.

According to the Master's examination regulations, the externally acquired Bachelor's degree must be equivalent to the Paderborn Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. In the case of a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from a German university, it can generally be assumed that equivalence is given. However, in the case of minor deviations, access to the Master's degree programme may only be granted subject to conditions (catching up on Bachelor's courses).

In the case of Bachelor's degrees in computer science-related subjects (such as Bioinformatics, Business Informatics, Information Technology) and/or from universities of applied sciences, vocational academies or similar, equivalence cannot be assumed from the outset. In these cases, an individual review of the prior achievements must therefore be carried out. These are typically recognised as Bachelor's achievements and placed in a corresponding (higher) course) semester in the Bachelor's degree programme, so that after one or two semesters in the Bachelor's degree programme, the Paderborn Bachelor's degree in Computer Science can be obtained and then the transfer to the Master's degree programme can take place.

If you have any questions, please contact the Academic Advisory Office.

For international applicants, the equivalence of the previous degree programme with the Paderborn Bachelor's in Computer Science must also be checked. This includes individual achievements, the overall degree programme structure and the university's classification. In these cases, it is usually not an option to catch up on achievements as part of a Bachelor's enrolment, as the Bachelor's programme is only taught in German throughout. Further information can be found on the page Information for foreign students.

The examinations in the Master's degree programme in Computer Science are completed in modules. These include nine compulsory elective modules, a project group, key skills, general studies and the master's thesis.

The compulsory elective modules can be chosen from the following five focus areas:

• Classical and Quantum Algorithm Design
• Computer and Communication Systems
• Data Science and Intelligent Systems
• Security
• Software Engineering

It is possible to specialise in the Master's degree. To do this, one of the Focus Areas becomes the Specialisation Area. At least three compulsory elective modules must be chosen from the selected Specialisation Area and at least one must not be from the Specialisation Area. The remaining modules can be chosen freely. The master's thesis must also be written in the Specialisation Area.

The Project Group is a project group that runs for 2 semesters and works on a given topic in a group of usually 8 - 16 students. You can find more details on our website.

The KeySkills programme begins with a class on academic writing and is followed by a seminar. Here, students work independently on a topic, then present it in a lecture and conclude with a written paper.

The current module handbook will help you plan the modules in the Master's degree programme.

If you have any questions about planning, please contact the Academic Advisory Office.

The new Computer Science project groups are introduced each semester in the last week of lectures of the previous semester. The contact person is Dr Matthias Fischer. You can find information about the project groups on the project group page. It also tells you exactly how to join a project group.

You can only start a project group if you are officially enrolled on the Master's degree programme (i.e. not as a prerequisite for the Bachelor's degree!).

If an examination is not passed, it can be repeated twice. You therefore have three examination attempts.

The following applies: A module examination that has been attempted once must either be passed or compensated for. Compensation is possible for a maximum of four modules. Compensation means that a module that has been passed and is booked under additional work can be exchanged for another examination that has not yet been passed or has been definitively failed. More information under FAQ - Problems with modules and examinations.

We recommend that you wait until shortly before your master's thesis to compensate so that you do not have to swap modules back and forth several times. If you have any questions, please contact the Academic Advisory Office.

Think about which subject area you are particularly interested in and which you enjoy the most. Bachelor's and master's theses are currently offered on the websites of the respective professors and their subject areas as well as on the information boards at the usual locations.

An overview of open theses can also be found on the following website: https: //cs.uni-paderborn.de/studium/studienbausteine/offene-abschlussarbeiten. If you are interested in a thesis on offer or in the subject area of a department in general, speak to a member of staff or go to the professor's spokesperson.

Yes, you can work in a company and develop or be suggested an idea for a thesis there. However, you then have to go to a professor with the idea (and preferably also a contact person from the company) and convince him/her that the topic is suitable for a thesis and that he/she will supervise it. Formally, only a junior professor and professors can supervise the thesis, but they can be supported by a company representative. However, this does not formally play a role in the procedure.

The bachelor's thesis can be registered if at least 110 credit points have been earned at the time of application for admission. It is recommended to complete the proseminar before starting the bachelor's thesis.

The master's thesis can be registered if modules totalling 48 credit points have been successfully completed. If a specialisation is to be chosen, the topic of the master's thesis must be selected in the Specialisation Area. The topic is assigned to a focus area by the first assessor. Any conditions imposed during enrolment for the Master's thesis must be passed by the time of registration at the latest.

In both cases, you must also have agreed a work plan (target agreement) with your supervisor. This plan describes the work and is therefore a kind of specification. It contains a description of the problem, motivation, objectives, structure of the work and time planning. Once the work plan has been finalised, admission to the thesis is applied for via PAUL. The supervisor must sign the application and then also enter the final start date.

More information on this can be found on the websites on the subject.

An individually justified application for an extension of the processing time must be submitted to Examinations Management.

The justification should make it clear that the delay in processing is not due to personal reasons but to factual reasons for which you are not responsible. For bachelor's theses, you can apply for a one-off extension of the submission deadline by two weeks, for master's theses by six weeks. This request must be submitted at least one week before the regular deadline and countersigned by the supervisor.

If you have problems with your studies (e.g. subject-related, organisational or personal), you can contact the Academic Advisory Office. There you will receive support with questions about study planning, examinations or individual difficulties. There are also other support services such as our mentoring programme or the Computer Science Learning Centre.

Information on scholarships and funding programmes can be found on the corresponding pages of Paderborn University. There you will also find information on application deadlines and requirements.

Information on semesters abroad, partner universities/institutions and application procedures can be found on the study abroad pages of the Institute and the University. Contact persons and deadlines are also listed there. Early planning is strongly recommended.

Speak to the members of the specialist groups or ask the professor directly. Students who are already working as SHKs often also know where SHKs are still needed. Job advertisements can be found on the websites of the specialist groups and on their information boards, especially at the beginning of the semester.

Jobs are also regularly advertised on the student mailing list.

There is a special jobs mailing list for the EIM faculty where you can register to receive all job offers. You can register at lists.upb.de.

The name of the job mailing list is Jobs-eim@upb.de. How to register on this mailing list and other sources of information for jobs are described on the website of the Computer Science student council.

You can find information on career entry and careers via the university's job and career portal, at job fairs (e.g. "LookIn") and via university job portals. Lectures, company contacts and alumni networks also offer orientation for the transition to a career.