For new students

Roadmap for starting your study programme

• Step 1: Starting the programme and picking coursesEC

  • Introduction period / Kick-in0

    During the introduction period (Kick-IN) before the start of the programme you have an introductory meeting and a meeting with the programme mentor(s) of your specialisation. Here is also where the courses for the first quarter must be chosen, so be sure to ask your programme mentor everything you need to pick (your first) courses!

  • Specialisations0

    Your (mandatory) courses largely depend on the specialisation of your choice. Students are therefore expected to decide on their specialisation before the start of the programme, so you can choose your courses accordingly. During the first quarter we ask you to confirm and formalize this choice with submitting a programme approval form (see step 2). You are still allowed to switch specialisations later on by filling out a new course form. However, the further into the master you swich, the more likely it is that you will encounter a delay due to the difference in course requirements.

    If you haven't decided yet:
    - study the specialisation info on the master CS website
    - take a look at the (mandatory) courses per specialisation in the CS course overview to see which ones appeal to you most.
    - plan out your courses in a way so you might postpone the actual choice without delay. The actual choice comes when filling out the programme approval form.

  • Course registration0

    To be able to participate in the education, you need to register for the courses you want to take. This is possible up to and including the Wednesday before the start of the quartile via Osiris Student for the course(s) in question. After the deadline, it is no longer possible to self-register, only via our Educational Affairs Office (BOZ) can students be added to a course.
    Once you have registered, you also gain access to the corresponding Canvasses and for the first opportunity and the resit of the corresponding tests!

    Note. For now, you can still ignore the pop-up where Osiris mentions that the course does not belong to your study programme.

    For more information on course registrations: https://www.utwente.nl/register  

    Registration periods 2025-2026

    1st quartile: 1 August 2025 up to and including 27 August 2025
    2nd quartile: 13 October 2025 up to and including 5 November 2025
    3rd quartile: 5 January 2026 up to and including 28 January 2026
    4th quartile: 23 March 2026 up to and including 15 April 2026

    Deregistration
    If you are registered for a course and no longer want to take part, you can deregister via Osiris Student up to one day before the test week of the running quartile.

  • Assemble your timetable0

    Assemble your timetable and check whether there are no conflicts. When picking courses outside of your specialisation, some lectures might ocasionally coincide. This is not a big deal as long as attandance is not mandatory and you can still join the majority of your classes. However, in case of continues conflicts, we advice to pick another courses. 

    >Data Science (the course, not the specialisation) is an exception. This course will almost always have some scheduling conflicts. However, all lectures and information are also available as recordings. Similarly large courses like Machine Learning 1 will likely have parallel tutorials, where the same tutorial is offered twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

    >If you have two tests on the exact same day and time, but there is otherwise nothing else preventing you from taking the course. Contact the study adviser asap, but no later than at least 14 days prior to the exam date, so we can try to arrange for you to take both exams back-to-back.

    The Academic Calendar shows you the main features of the academic year in Twente:
    - Division of the year into four study periods (quarters/quartiles)
    - Examination periods
    - Holidays

    This Academic Calendar is relevant for you as long as you have to take courses. You can plan your internship, research topics and your Final Project without bothering about the education periods, but you should keep in mind holiday periods.

  • Access Canvas and other educational systems0

    Once you registered for your first courses in Osiris, you automatically gain access to the online learning environment of these courses via Canvas. For most courses you should be able to access the information two weeks before the start of each course. In Canvas you find more in-depth info about the course. More information on all educational systems can be found at www.utwente.nl/en/educational-systems/new-students/.

  • Tips on choosing courses0

    Choosing from so many courses and finding a clear focus in your curriculum can be difficult. We want to give you some tips on how to get started!

    > Plan 15EC in each block, preferably the mandatory and semi-mandatory courses of your specialisation first. You can find these on the specialisation pages above and in the simplefied curriculum overview. All courses are 5EC unless stated otherwise.

    >The goal is to cover all course requirements (of the CS programme and your specialisations) and 120EC after two years. Ending with Research topics and Final project. As most courses are offered only once a year, this requires some planning.

    >For most specialisations it is possible to do an internship in your second year to deepen your knowledge of specific courses.  

    >Pick what you like and what inspires you! But also try to already think about your final semester. What area of computer science would you like to dive into for your final thesis. And, more importantly, what kind of knowledge and skills do you need. Do you need purely computer science course, or do you want to dive into the ocasional course from another programme. If the latter, you might want to discuss this with your programme mentor or professors you find inspiring.

  • In need of facilities or support because of personal circumstances?0

    If there are known circumstances that require individual adjustments or support so to not impact your studies, contact the study advisor as soon as possible. They can help you apply for facilities like additional time, exams with larger or specific fonts, etc. The sooner you contact them, the more likely it is that these facilities will be in place in time for your first test or exam. 
• Step 2: Finalise your programmeEC

  • Explore the programme0

    Take you time to grow into the programme, talk to peers, teachers and if neccesary make an appointment with your programme mentor or the programme coordinator to make up your mind.

  • Registering your course form (confirming specialisation)15

    By this time you should have an initial plan for your study programme. Fill out the course approval form for your programme mentor to approved. Once your course programme has been approved, you will also be linked to your specialisation in Osiris.

    You should do this not later than two weeks before the end of the first quartile.

  • Staying on track15

    The end of the first quartile or even semester might also be a good moment to reflect on your progress so far. Is everything goine well? Are you in the right place? Do you like to programme, the courses you picked, do you struggle or do you have too much time on your hands? And do you still like the courses you initially picked?

    If your progress is lacking behind, you are questioning the choices you made or you just want to talk to someone, this would be a good time to reach out to your study advisor and schedule a meeting.

    If you want more, this might also be the time to explore www.utwente.nl/honours, or other extracurricular activities like joining the hacking squad or or become part of our programme committee. Think about studying abroad for a semester, or doing an internship later on in the programme. In October/November there are often information meetings about the UT honours programmes, Studying aboad (Let's go), or internships.
• Step 3: Completing the first yearEC

  • During the first year: adjusting your study plan?30

    This is the time to review, whether the courses you picked during the first quartile still fit with your initial plans (and proposed course programme).

    You might have changed your mind upon encounterings some interesting courses you weren't aware of before, your interests might have changed, or you might need to adjust due to some unforseen circumstances. No matter the reason, if you you ended up taking/or you are goint to take other courses than the ones you initially proposed in your plan, this is the time to send in a new course approval form matching you new plan.

    You simple fill out the form again and indicate what changed.

  • (optional) preparing an internship45

    Point of time: Around 2 months before the planned start of the internship

    If you are planning to do an internship as part of your profiling space, this is the time to start these preparations.

    Start preparing your internship well before you plan to start the internship itself. The first step in this process is to visit the EEMCS Internship Office website and self-enroll in the EEMCS Internship Canvas. 

    Software Technology: an internship cannot be combined with Industrial Software Engineering Project (which is a sort of internship already).

    If you do an internship, your Final project needs to be completed either at the UT or another education or research institution. Students who didn't do an internship in a company, have the choice to do an research assignment at a company or with one of our research groups.

    Note: To start your internship, you must have completed at least 45EC in courses from your course programme. You can prepare for your internship before satisfying this requirement. The reference date for this requirement is the starting date of your internship.
• Step 4: Prepare your research topics & final projectEC

  • Point of time: Around a quarter before the planned start of your research topics60

    Start preparing your Final project and Research topics about a quarter before you plan to start with the Research Topics.

    >The first step in this process is to visit the information session we offer twice a year and to enroll in the Canvas by registering for Research Topics in Osiris. 

    >Also, check whether your initially approved course programme still reflects your current study progress. If this is not the case, and you completed some alternative courses, fill out a new approval form.

    >Only if you have not done an internship, the final project can be carried out at a company. Keep in mind that this preparation can take some time, since you and your supervisors should all agree on the topic.