The Master’s Degree program in Information Engineering

Information society and data influx

The Master’s degree program in Information Engineering at the University of Konstanz is aligned towards the processing of large quantities of data with regard to information. Students, who are interested in user-oriented information- and analysis systems, acquire here the necessary know-how to develop complex applications. It is not until data analysis methods can be linked to interactive visualisations that data can be turned into knowledge and provide the crucial impulse to initiate many applications in science and business.

There are two possible final degrees within the context of the Master’s degree program:

• Master of Computer Science
• Master of Information Science

At the beginning of the study program, the final degree you want to take has to be discussed with your mentor.

Program of study

The Master’s program of study is composed of a three-term in-depth coursework program and an additional term during which the Master thesis is prepared and presented in an oral exam in the context of a colloquium.

The Master’s program of study concentrates on four subject areas:

• information systems
• data analysis
• visualisation
• interaction

These four areas are found throughout the study profiles.
Profile scheme: Study profile (PDF file is only available in German). 

Study profile

The study profiles are models and should be used to help provide focus (based on the four mentioned subject areas). You shape your Master’s degree in Information Engineering, giving it a certain specialisation from the broad field of applied and practical computer science.
The study profiles provide you with interesting specialisations on your way to becoming an Information Engineer:

• Visual computing
• Human computer interaction
• Digital libraries
• Data mining
• Information systems engineering

Master’s degree program

The program of study for a Master’s degree is distinguished by the diverse opportunities it offers to specialise in any of the core topics of Information Engineering.

For each of the four subject areas, Basics of computer science, Applied computer science, System computer science and Information science, we have listed a sample selection of seminars.
This is merely to provide you with an idea of what is possible and can be varied as desired (taking the examination regulations into consideration).

Basics of informatics
First degree	Degree in computer science
Different department Modules	Basic module: media studies Advanced module: media studies
In-depth coursework program	Design & analysis of algorithms Drawing of graphs
Seminar	Drawing of graph
Master project	Network-text analysis
Compulsory elective	Visual search systems Information ethics Basics of data compression Task processing in databases Geo-Information systems (GIS)
Master thesis	on algorithms for the visual exploration of message texts
Applied informatics
First degree	Bachelor in Information Engineering
Different department Modules	Advanced module: psychology Advanced module: mathematics
In-depth coursework program	Photo-realistic image formation Geometry processing (seminar) Visual search systems
Seminar	Interaction design in computer- and video games
Master project	Interactive computer graphics
Compulsory elective	Usability engineering 1+2 Drawing of graphs Methods of soft computing Software engineering
Master thesis	on software visualisation
System informatics
First degree	Degree in Business Informatics (University of Applied Sciences)
Different department Modules	Advanced module: business administration Basic module: political science
In-depth coursework program	Design & analysis of algorithms Task processing in databases Heterogenic data mining (seminar)
Seminar	Algorithms for similarity searches in molecular structures
Master project	Machine learning
Compulsory elective	Application development for powerwall (seminar) Information visualisation Business intelligence (seminar) Task processing in database systems Distributed systems (project)
Master thesis	on data mining in E-commerce
Information science
First degree	Graduate degree (Magister) in Graphics & Design (admission examination)
Different department Modules	None (compulsory electives B)
In-depth coursework program	Information visualisation Usability engineering 1 Digital information curation (seminar) Seminar online marketing for internet services
Master project	Visual search systems
Compulsory elective	Visual search systems Visual requirements engineering for interaction design Electronic publishing: Professional communication and entertainment industry Media technology, pedagogy and didactics Tendencies in e-learning (seminar) Knowledge discovery in heterogonous data (seminar) UNIX and shell scripts Software engineering Architecture and implementation of database systems Transaction-oriented information systems
Master thesis	on visual searching and Web design

Further information on the structure and content of the Master’s degree program can be found in the module catalogue for the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs (PDF file is only available in German).

Career perspectives

Information engineers are required where large quantities of data need to be processed and visualised. Visualisation experts and data managers are desperately needed in the business world, for example:

• as system engineers for banks and insurance companies
• as software consultants,
• as interaction designers and usability engineers in the filed of telematics, at internet agencies and software companies,
• as developers for companies in the film-, simulation-, and computer game industry,
• as specialists for market research, organisation consulting, logistic- or network management,
• in research and development at universities and institutes.