Electives and Individual Study Programme | Courses

Individual study programme (ISP) MSc EMSYS

Your Individual Study Programme (ISP) defines which courses you will take during the master’s in Embedded Systems (120 EC). It must be discussed with and approved by the programme mentor within 6 months after you start the programme.

Below you will find the instructions on Choosing Electives using a pre-approved list and Thematic Guidance

Programme structure (120 EC)

Component	EC	Description
Core compulsory courses	30	Fixed set of courses forming the foundation of Embedded Systems
Electives	30	Your own selection of advanced or specialized courses
Optional internship	20	Optional; can be replaced by 20 EC extra electives
Final Thesis Project	40	Research project at one of the participating research chairs

Most of your electives should come from the pre-approved elective list published on this page.
You may include up to 10 EC of courses not on the list, if they fit your study goals and are approved by your programme mentor. It is important that your overall ISP is coherent.
We strongly recommend that these additional courses come from the Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Robotics master’s programmes.
Courses from other UT master programmes can sometimes also be approved. Always contact your programme mentor before enrolling in such a course.
A limited number of courses from partner universities (TU Delft or TU Eindhoven) may still be followed, if they contribute clearly to your study focus.
If you plan to take one, first discuss it with the mentor and check the latest course information:
- TU Delft: Study guide Embedded Systems → Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science → Master Embedded Systems
- TU Eindhoven: TU/e Embedded Systems curriculum
Your final elective package must align with the exit qualifications of the Embedded Systems programme and be approved by your mentor on behalf of the Examination Board.

Course code	Course name	EC	Quartile
202500276	Machine Learning I	5	1A
192135310	Modelling & Analysis of Concurrent Systems	5	1A
191211590	System-on-Chip Design for Embedded Systems¹	5	1A
201700075	Internet of Things (for EEMCS)²	5	1A
202200100	Systems Engineering (elective for old curriculum)	5	1A
201500040	Introduction to Biometrics	5	1A
192140122	System Validation	5	1A
202200103	Image Processing and Computer Vision	5	1A
202400588	Wireless Communication Systems	5	1A
191210750	System-on-Chip Design¹	10	1A+1B
201600071	Machine Learning II	5	1B
202200104	Control System Design for Robotics	5	1B
202500373	Building Blocks for Sustainable Computing Systems	5	1B
201400177	Cloud Networking	5	1B
192130250	Embedded Computer Architectures 2	5	1B
201800126	Distributed Energy Management for Smart Grids³	5	1B
191612680	Computer Ethics⁴	5	1B
201900007	Perspectives on Engineering Design⁴	2.5	1B
201100137	Philosophy of Engineering: Ethics⁴	2.5	1B
202200159	Embedded AI (elective for old curriculum)	5	1B
202200105	Robot Perception, Cognition and Navigation	5	1B
201000231	Computer Arithmetic (TU Delft)	5	1B
202200109	Advanced Software Development for Robotics	5	2A
192130022	Design of Digital Systems (will continue in 2026/2027)	5
191210950	Implementation of Digital Signal Processing	5	2A
192620010	Mobile and Wireless Networking	5	2A
202001472	Software Testing and Risk Assessment (STAR)	5	2A
202100244	Pervasive Computing	5	2A
202200110	Tele-presence Robotics	5	2A
202300109	Quantative Evaluation of Systems	5	2A
202300066	5G/6G Communication and Sensing Channels	5	2B
192130210	Real-Time Systems 2	5	2B
192130112	Distributed Systems	5	2B
201700073	Ad-Hoc Networks	5	2B
202200112	AI for Autonomous Robots	5	2B
201100254	Advanced Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition	5	2B
191210840	A/D Converters	5	2B
201700083	Security Services for the Internet of Things	5	2B
202200135	Dependable Computing Systems	5	2B

^{Has 16 contact hours/week. 2 or 3 hours overlap with system validation. With self-study this should be possible.}
^{"for EEMCS" is not shown on your diploma transcript. This course replaces course Wireless Sensor Networks.}
^{Not in a combination with the course "Energy Efficient Embedded Systems"}
^{"Perspectives on Engineering Design" and "Philosophy of Engineering: Ethics" cannot be followed in combination with the course "Computer Ethics"}

To help you build a coherent set of electives, five thematic areas are offered:

Theme	Focus area
Computer Architectures	Hardware–software co-design, processors, architectures
Embedded AI	Machine learning and artificial intelligence for embedded platforms
Internet of Things (IoT)	Connected embedded systems and networking
Dependable Computing	Safety, reliability and fault-tolerant systems
Cyber-Physical Systems	Integration of computation and control in physical environments

You can follow one of these themes, combine several, or design your own track, provided it is approved by your programme mentor.

Here are the elective courses (recommended) for these 5 themes:

Themes\Quarter	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Computer Architecture	System-on-chip for Embedded Systems	Embedded Computer Architectures 2	Implementation of Digital Signal Processing	Dependable Computing Systems or Real Time Systems 2 or Distributed Systems
Embedded AI	Machine Learning 1 (Design of Digital Systems (not in 2025/2026))	Machine Learning 2	Implementation of Digital Signal Processing	AI for Autonomous Robots
Internet of Things	Wireless Communication Systems	Cloud Networking	Mobile and Wireless Networking Pervasive Computing	Ad-Hoc Networks or Distributed Systems
Dependable Computing	System Validation	Embedded Computer Architectures 2	Qantitative Evaluation of Systems Software Testing and Risk Assessment	Dependable Computing Systems or Distributed Systems or Real Time Systems 2
Cyber-Physical Systems	Image Processing & Computer Vision or (Design of Digital Systems (not in 2025/2026))	Robot Perception, Cognition, and Navigation or Embedded Computer Architectures 2	Advanced Software Development for Robotics Tele-presence in Robotics	AI for Autonomous Robots

1. Find the ISP form here: Individual Study Programme Form
2. After filling in the ISP and signing it, send it to master-emsys@utwente.nl for approval.
3. After receiving approval, send it to boz-emsys@utwente.nl for registration into Osiris.
Before submitting your final ISP:
- Make sure your total study load is 120 EC (including any internship or extra electives)
- Check that your electives support your intended thesis area