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HomeEducationMasterAll master's programmesComputer ScienceMaster's structure

Programme structure

You have a lot of freedom to customise your Master’s in Computer Science.

Within the Master’s in Computer Science, you build expertise in a specific field by following one of the four specialisations. In addition, you can tailor your Master’s to your interests and ambitions by choosing advanced and elective courses. The freedom to customise your programme will ensure you become the cyber security engineer, data analyst, software architect, or internet security specialist you want to be.

Aldi, Master's student CS

The choice of Aldi

“I have worked at a few software companies and my focus was mostly on web technologies: for example, creating websites and web APIs. I wanted to deepen my knowledge, so I chose this Master’s specifically because I could take courses related to software engineering. When I graduate, I want to go back to my home country, Indonesia, and develop relevant software solutions for the public sector. This is why I have chosen the following courses:”

Specialisation in Software Technology, design orientation

Electives:

  • ADSA - Model Driven Engineering
  • Software Evolution
  • Service-Oriented Architecture with Web Services
  • Software Management
  • Requirements Engineering Processes and Methods
  • Distributed Systems
Aldi, Master's student CS
Frank, Master's student CS

The choice of Frank

“Cyber Security is more than a technical deep dive. In addition to advanced technical courses, such as cryptography, we also learn how to weigh security risks and communicate with potential stakeholders who are facing cyber security issues. When I graduate, I would like to join a computer emergency response team, an expert group that handles computer security incidents. Another exciting career path for me is working in a red team that simulates a potential adversary's attack on a company. This is why I have chosen the following courses:”

Specialisation in Cyber Security

Electives:

  • Secure Cloud Computing
  • Secure Data Management
  • Security Services for the Internet of Things
  • System Security
  • E-Law
Frank, Master's student CS

How to compose your Master’s

Your curriculum depends on the choices you make when you compose your Master’s. There are two steps you need to take.

  • Step 1: Choose a specialisation

    Once you start with your Master's, you need to choose a specialisation: this way, you build expertise in a specific domain in computer science. This Master’s has four specialisations:

    • Cyber Security 
    • Data Science & Technology
    • Software Technology
    • Internet Science & Technology 
  • Step 2: Compose your study programme

    Once you have chosen a specialisation, you can decide what the rest of your study programme will look like. In addition to the compulsory course in Computer Ethics, each specialisation contains a number of mandatory core courses, advanced courses that make you an expert in a specific domain within your specialisation, and elective courses. You can choose electives from other Computer Science specialisations and from related master’s programmes such as Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems, Business Information Technology, Interaction Technology, and Applied Mathematics.

    You will spend your first year and the beginning of your second year on the specialisation courses and electives. As part of your electives, you can do an internship, study abroad, or take additional advanced courses. Your choice of courses and projects has to be within the limits of the course programme rules.

    You will compose your study programme in close consultation with your programme mentor. This will ensure you put together a coherent curriculum that makes you the computer science professional you want to be. We encourage you to remain critical of your study choices.

Master’s structure

During your Master’s in Computer Science, you will earn a total of 120 EC in two years.

European Credit Transfer System

Student workload at Dutch universities is expressed in EC, also named ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), which is widely used throughout the European Union. In the Netherlands, each credit represents 28 hours of work.

In the first year, you take the mandatory course Computer Ethics to learn about key ethical concerns in contemporary computing and to understand philosophical concepts in ethical analysis. In the profiling space, you can take electives in a topic of your interest, do an internship, or study abroad: for example, you can participate in an exchange programme at a foreign university, a study tour, or a summer school (30 EC in total). In the second year, you will start working on your master’s thesis, so you will spend most of your time doing research under the guidance of the respective research group. You can also opt for an external master’s thesis at a company.

Below, you can find the general structure of this Master’s. As you have a lot of freedom to customise your programme, the exact courses you will take depend on the choices you make at the start of and throughout your studies.

General structure of Computer Science

Year 1 and 2 

Compulsory courses for all Master’s students

Computer Ethics (5 EC)

Core specialisation courses

The mandatory courses vary depending on your specialisation (20 EC).

Advanced specialisation courses

Limited choice depending on your specialisation (15-20 EC).

Profiling space

Electives from other CS specialisations or related Master’s programmes (EE, EMSYS, BIT, ITECH, and AM), an internship, study abroad (30 EC).

Master’s thesis

Research Topics (10 EC) and Final Project (30 EC)

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