FAQ: Questions & Answers

Question 1: Will I qualify for your program with my 20 math and 25 cs ECTS?

Please do NOT send me a bunch of PDF certificates / transcripts!! I will not look at them because I receive tons of certificate PDFs = too much!

Instead, make a list like this:

And I will comment. But you will see by yourself probably ;-)

Also: attach this to your post to your uni-assist application!

Please note: at least 75% of all ECTS for each CS and Math must be proven by University courses! Do them as a guest student at your local university now!

The rest of the courses 25% can be done via online courses as coursera, udemy, etc. if certificates are issued. Your Bachelor Thesis can also be taken into account if it has a math/statistics or computer science part. But it is not possible to do the required ECTS later!

Again: Any work or personal experience in Data Science, Math or Computer Science can NOT be taken into account by law! AND: It is not allowed bye law to get admission and then do the missing ECTS!

Question 2: Is there a GPA limit? How do you select?

First we check if the ECTS are ok. Then we do have no fixed GPA limit. But then we must take the GPA equivalent of the Bachelor (not Master!) into account if we have too many applicants (and we have) by selecting the best. Last years it was better then 1.5! But it highly depends on the number of applicants! Typically we have >500 applicants on 22 seats!

Question 3: What about the tuition fee for this Master?

This master has no tuition fee. According to the German law most public University courses are free. However there is a small fee on stake for uni-assist if you apply and our University has a small fee for registration and the public transportation for each semester (around 330€).

Question 4: How many places are available each year?

We only have 22 seats each year starting in October. So make sure to apply for one if you have a very good grade (see FAQ #2). But of course we do plan to increase the capacity subsequently in the next years.

Question 5: Is there a list of centers for language certification?

• https://www.ets.org/bin/getprogram.cgi?test=toefl
• more to follow here...

Question 6: Is this a full time and class room Master?

Yes. You have roughly 6 courses (each 4 hours) a week. See the curriculum. The courses are class room courses.

Question 7: I can not find your Data Science Master in UNI-Assist?!

Use the menü item "search study offer" and choose: [qualification->Master],[University interested in, Berlin, Berliner Hochschule für Technik] and in the free field below enter 'Data-Science'! Klick 'Start Search' and we apprear.

Question 8: I have a question concerning UNI-ASSIST?

Please read the respective FAQ.

Question 9: Is this Master open for all international Students?

Yes, it is.

Question 10: I had some English in School and some English courses at the university. Is this a sufficient B2 English equivalent?

It is unfortunately not. Only a complete English School or a complete English Bachelor (instruction language English) could be taken into account. Or B2 on the school certificate (as stated in the OZI).

Or a normal B2 certificate as written in the admission & application section.

Question 11: My application status has been changed to 'valid' in the system. What does this mean? Am I accepted?
No. This means that all your documents had been checked and they are valid. The selection process starts after this milestone.

Question 12: How can I check my application status? (I need this information quickly for my visa process.)

1. The head of the Data Science Master's program (Prof. Edlich) is not responsible for admissions decisions and may not yet have this information.
2. The Beuth Admission Administration (Studienverwaltung) makes all admissions decisions.
3. Acceptance letters are typically sent in July by the Studienverwaltung.
4. Some notifications may be sent via email, so please check your spam folder regularly.
5. Unfortunately, early notifications are generally not provided for rejections.
6. Please do not contact Prof. Edlich about your application status. He can not help until he receives a list of accepted students that he will publish here on the program's homepage (linking to here).

Question 13: I have a Bachelor that is not Computer Science or Math / Statistics. Is this a problem?
No! We only require the respective ECTS. Hence looking at the knowledge and not at the way you went. Please read the admission and application section again.

Question 14: Will this Master qualify me for a Ph.D. program? When will the accreditation be?
The Master is accredited from Oktober 2019 till 2027! And it will qualify to apply for a Ph.D. Program.
But to find a Ph.D. job position is hard. There are only a few available at the universities...

Question 15: Do I need a motivation or recommendation letter or statement of purpose or a CV?
No, please do not insert this. We are not allowed to take this into account! We believe you have the best intentions! And we do have no time to read this. The law only allows to take your Bachelor, your ECTS and your English into account! Some students upload CVs that are 300-400 pages long. This is crazy... no one can read this and it is flooding our accounts with Gigabytes... Add the ECTS list to the minimal required documents and everything is fine.

Question 16: What are the typical obstacles when applying for a visa?
A) The VISA can take quite long and you should be in Berlin till September to start the first semester!
B) Normally you need to prove financial stability which normally is a little below 1000€ per month on a blocked bank account. Please search the internet for the correct amount.

Question 17: Are there any internships or fundings where I can apply in connection to this Master?
No.

Question 18: Can you send my application documents back?!
No we can't. We requested copies and we receive several thousand applications a year.
Normally they could be PDF anyway.

Question 21: What is the course language?
English. See our homepage, first sentence.

Question 22: Uni-Assist writes that the Master is also starting in the summer?!
This is wrong. We only offer in the Wintersemester!

Question 23: My final Bachelor Certificate will be available after the admission deadline. What can I do?
Unfortunately nothing. According to the University laws, all certificates must be ready on admission time. (only Beuth Students and possibly Berlin / German students can apply and bring certificatges later). This is regulated in: "§Section 11 (4) and (5) of the current regulations on admission regulations and enrollment at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (OZI)"

Question 24: OK, on the homepage I read that the master is told in English. But uni assist writes that I need German or a German certificate?!
No German or German certificate is needed! (but we would be happy if you learn out of your own interest). We contacted the Beuth Web Team to insert an exception mentioned on this page.

Question 26: Is German language proficiency required upon enrolment?
No. We will be happy if you learn German and take some courses when you are in Berlin. But as written on the front page: This is an international master and all courses will be held in English.

Question 27: Is there any scholarship for this Master?
No. Nothing at BHT that we are aware of. There might be other official scholarships as DAAD, but you must be accepted first (see FAQ #8 and FAQ #9)!

Question 28: Is this a full time master or can it be done part time?
This master is full time and full time is highly recommended as we need students finish fast.
Nevertheless we have seen exceptions where hard working students may work part time (only the amount which is allowed by German law) and finished the master in time.

Question 29: Is there any special help for students from India, China and Vietnam?
Yes. There is now also an additional academic testing center in New Delhi (to those already existing in Vietnam and China). Have a look here: www.aps-india.de And apply early!!

Question 30: Can I take a preliminary course at BHT or elswhere to fulfill the requirements? Can I take courses after being accepted to fulfill the requirements?
No. This is not possible. All our ECTS and certificate requirements must be given at the time of the application.

Question 31: What if I get accepted?
You should write an Email fast to sedlich@bht-berlin.de to get additional helpful information! Or contact me on LinkedIn with a message! I will help and send the welcome Email with lots of useful information!
The procedure is then as follows:

1. In our system your status changes and indicates that you have been accepted.
2. You then fill out the forms in there to accept. Enter "exempted" for the health certificate. But you must show the certificate later, latest when you enter or you can not re-register for the second semester term!
3. If you have successfully filled out the form, you can say print "request for enrollment" pdf! This is a two pager. The first page must be signed and sent to our Studienverwaltung (admission office) together with all the other documents mentioned in the letter of acceptance (which you should have received by now via Email hopefully!)
4. The second page contains the payment information. Two things are super important here: Do really send the requested amount and not the amount minus the bank fee! Secondly and more important: The second page shows a "Reference" (number). It looks like 20241234567. This number is super important and must go in the subject / purpose field of the bank transfer!!! (please read again!). Only then can the financial department connect your payment to you!