At the Institute for Natural Language Processing (IMS), students can acquire a Bachelor of Science degree as well as a Master of Science degree. Furthermore, the IMS offers successful candidates the opportunity to receive a doctoral degree or post-doctoral qualifications (habilitation). University of Stuttgart's various exchange programmes support students who wish to spend a semester abroad. At the IMS there are also active student representatives.
- Twitter Account
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Study opportunities at the IMS
The IMS supervises the German-language course of studies Bachelor of Science Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung and the English-language course of studies Master of Science Computational Linguistics.
Study courses at the IMS
Studying at the IMS
If you are already studying or about to begin a course of study supervised by the IMS, you will find detailed information on the following pages.
Information for students
- Drone tour over and inside the University of Stuttgart
- Students B.Sc. Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung [de]
- Students M.Sc. Computational Linguistics
- Student Represenatives Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung and Computational Linguistics
- Central pages for students
- Students with chronic illnesses or disabilities
- Information on maternity protection, maternity leave and flexible studying
- Slides of IMS student meeting November 2023
- Slides of the event for admitted students of the MSc CL August 2023
1. FAQ - General
Before studies: Application
UPDATE: APS requirement for Indian applicants as from November, 2022 !
Indian applicants, who pursue to start their studies at a German university in summer semester 2023, need to apply for an APS certificate.
More infos can be found here.
You can submit or change documents on C@MPUS until the application deadlines (not afterwards!). Below are instructions for uploading missing or improved documents:
You can also find further helpful information in the FAQ list on Application.
No, there are no advantages. We strongly advise against being represented by an agency, as there are often high costs, but there is no service from the agency.
During studies: Schedule, exams, period of studies
- Among other things, C@MPUS is used whenever you register for courses or exams, view your exam results and access important documents like the ECUS stamp, your transcript of records or confirmation of enrollment. C@MPUS is also where you can create and view your timetable. The How to C@MPUS for students page can help you with its FAQ section, tutorials and documentations.
- In ILIAS you can access your courses and course materials. The lecturers will mainly use ILIAS to spread information regarding the courses.
Yes, it is okay to complete fewer or more credit points, but please remember that 30 ECTS correspond to a full-time job. Students of the B.Sc. Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung should make sure to pass the two modules for the “Orientierungsprüfung” („Einführung MSV“ und „Logik & Diskrete Strukturen“) until the beginning of their 4th semester.
No, the registration for the course is not binding; or more specifically, with the registration for the course you do not automatically register for the corresponding exam (always inform yourself in time about the registration deadlines!). This means that you do not have to take the exam if you’re only registered for the course.
In order to be flexible, for some courses you can choose for which module you want to use your course. In these cases, you see several modules listed under "Status in Curriculum" in the course description. Note that you can use/fill each module only once. So, in case you have already filled the "Project Seminar CL" by extending a course from 3 to 6 ECTS credit points, you cannot do this anymore.
You can get a rough overview by looking at older semester schedules: In C@MPUS "All Study Programs" → "Master of Science" → "Computational Linguistics". Then you can click on the calendar icons and switch to "schedule" and other semesters to see what was offered then.
Key competencies (“Fachübergreifende Schlüsselqualifikationen”, short: “FüSQ” or just “SQ”) are courses worth 3 ECTS credit points in which you learn non-subject-specific skills. These include e.g. language or writing courses of the Language Center or Writing Center of the University of Stuttgart. The SQ courses are listed in C@MPUS.
Language courses starting from A2 can be credited as key competency qualification.
No, an exam registration for the FüSQ is not necessary. After the successful participation, the 3 ECTS credit points are booked online and can be viewed in C@MPUS.
Please also note that there are separate deadlines for registering for SQ courses.
You can find more information on the website about Examination Organization of the University of Stuttgart, including a step by step instruction on Exam registration and deregistration for students.
Yes. An exam registration is also valid for subsequent semesters if it is still in C@MPUS.
Up to seven days before the exam, you can withdraw from the exam without giving a reason.
Within the seven days, you can still withdraw if you are able to provide a valid reason (e.g. medical certificate).
Please regularly check the corona website of the University of Stuttgart, especially the section Examinations, for up-to-date information in this regard.
For exams with a module examination (marked with “PL”, see respective module description), if you fail the third written attempt, you will have one last oral exam, which will be graded either with a 4.0 (= passed) or 5.0 (= not passed). If you fail this oral exam, you will not be able to complete your degree. For other forms of examinations, there is no limited number of attempts.
If some of the grades and credit points are not shown in C@MPUS, you might have registered for the wrong modules in C@MPUS or did not fill in the course-module mapping table in ILIAS (correctly). Please check both and contact the lecturers afterwards.
If you can see the grade but not the credits in the transcript of records, usually there is a registration missing for the second part of the module. You can register for that in the following exam registration period and ask the lecturers for entering the results.
If passed modules are not visible under "My degree program", you might have to click "show inactive nodes".
No application is required and nothing happens. The standard period of study is just the minimum time in which you can accomplish your studies. Only after the maximum period of study has expired, you need to apply for an extension. Maximum period of study of
- B.Sc. Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung: 10 semesters according to Study and Examination Regulation (2017)
- M.Sc. Computational Linguistics: 9 semesters according to Study and Examination Regulation (2017)
Finances: Fees, scholarships, jobs/internships
On the website of the Admissions Office, you will find an overview of all fees and charges that (international) students of the University of Stuttgart have to pay.
The University of Stuttgart (incl. B.Sc. Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung / M.Sc. Computational Linguistics) does not offer specific scholarships for its degree students. On the websites of the International Office on Financing your studies and University of Stuttgart on Financial aid and scholarships you can find more information on these topics.
Please start looking for a scholarship early since some deadlines for scholarships might be earlier than the deadlines for applications at the University of Stuttgart.
You do not need to be enrolled to submit your thesis (if it is your last module), you only need to be enrolled for registering it. In case you decide not to enroll in your thesis semester, you can ignore the automatic reminders by the Admissions Office. If necessary, the study program management can send a letter to confirm when you expect to complete your degree.
Please note: For visa extensions, a letter can be requested from Stefanie Anstein.
Suggestions on which companies you can apply to for a voluntary internship or permanent position can be found on the IMS website.
Enrolled students can also find further information on job opportunities in an ILIAS group of the University of Stuttgart.
The IMS itself does not offer internship positions, but in some cases, project-related long-term internships can be organized. Please take a look at the IMS research website and contact the respective colleagues (including your CV and possibly an internship proposal), if you find and interesting project or topic you would like to "apply" for.
Via the modules "Praxisprojekt Forschung/Entwicklung (“Wahlbereich MSV" [B.Sc. MSV] and "R&D Practical Project for CL" [M.Sc. CL]; descriptions s. C@MPUS), you can receive 6 ECTS credit points for your internship or research project.
Both the B.Sc. Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung and M.Sc. Computational Linguistics are full-time study programs, but you have the possibility to complete your studies in a maximum study period of 10 semesters (B.Sc. MSV) or 9 semesters (M.Sc. CL). Therefore, depending on your job it might be possible to work part time. We would recommend you to work not more than 40-60 hours per month.
In addition, legal regulations must also be taken into account. More information in this regard can be found on websites of the University of Stuttgart about Studying part-time and the Studierendenwerk Stuttgart about Jobbing.
At the end of studies: Graduation (certificate)
Once all your grades or "preliminary pass grades" required for a preliminary degree certificate, have been entered in C@MPUS, the Examination Office can issue this document for you.
If you would like to unenroll immediately or at the end of the semester, you can do so by filling out the application for exmatriculation and sending it to the examination office. If you do not submit an application for exmatriculation, you will automatically be exmatriculated ex officio (in German: "von Amts wegen") at the end of the current semester.
As soon as you have received your final grade (usually the thesis), the Examinations Office will prepare your degree certificate as well as further documents and then forwards them for signature. This may take a few weeks. However, if you need a preliminary certificate quickly, you can ask your thesis examiner to enter a preliminary pass in C@MPUS and ask the Examination Office for the preliminary certificate by e-mail.
2. FAQ - B.Sc. Natural language processing
During studies
No, you have to complete 12 ECTS credit points each in Linguistics and MSV, and 18 ECTS credit points in Computer Science.
No, this is not an option for students of B.Sc. Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung (MSV), as the exam contains more course content than is scheduled for the MSV module.
Please read the Guideline from the student representatives for students of B.Sc. Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung (German only)
3. FAQ – M.Sc. Computational Linguistics
Before studies
If you haven't completed your bachelor's degree before the end of the application deadline, you can apply for a conditional admission. In this case, you are required to provide evidence that you have gained at least 110 ECTS credit points by submitting your current transcript of records in C@MPUS. This transcript also has to include your current grade average. However, in order to enroll in the M.Sc. Computational Linguistics, you must submit your Bachelor's degree certificate and the certificate of unenrollment of your current university.
Yes, according to your academic background you are generally eligible for the Master's program. It is also a good idea to gain any kind of additional certificate for programming / Computational Linguistics courses (e.g. Python) that you can find online. However, this is not a prerequisite for the admission/study.
Please note that no precise evaluations regarding the chances of receiving an admission will be made (e.g. via e-mail). After the application deadlines, all applications will be equally assessed by our Admissions Committee, and only then a decision will be made.
Non-CL graduates usually need more time, effort and initiative to catch up with the knowledge and skills. They get additional requirement exams ("Auflagen"), so please count in some more semesters to finish your studies.
No, a GRE score will not be taken into account by the Admissions Committee.
Refer to the Medium of Instruction document for proof that the Computational Linguistics course is in English.
No. Since M.Sc. Computational Linguistics is an English taught master's program you do not need any German language skills.
Yet, in order to be able to find your way around quickly and well after arriving in Germany basic language skills will certainly be helpful.
According to the admission regulations of the international master’s program “Computational Linguistics” of the University of Stuttgart sufficient English language skills must be proven. Advanced English language at level C1, as a minimum, must be proven with recognized certificates (e.g. TOEFL ibt 95 Points or IELTS Band 7).
For more information, see the English Language Proficiency Requirement document.
As a native speaker you can prove your English proficiency by uploading a certificate of any educational stage – e.g. of your high school, bachelor's degree etc. – that shows your English speaking background.
The purpose of this section is to provide the admissions committee with a detailed insight into the knowledge you have gained during your Bachelor's studies via module description. You have several options. You can
a) upload the complete official module manual of your course of studies if available,
b) compile or have compiled a document with all the modules you took (e.g. by asking your lecturers for a description of their courses),
c) submit a document with links to online versions (if some texts are only available on websites and not as pdfs).
Please make sure that the document is clearly structured.
These additional documents – such as the letter of motivation/reference etc. – help the Admission Committee to get a better picture of you and your (scientific) skills. Therefore, we recommend you to upload the documents if possible, but it is not mandatory. Please attach them to the supplementary form by merging them into one PDF and then upload it in C@MPUS in the respective field for the sheet.
There is also no specific required number of letters, pages or words. However, we recommend around 1-3 of around 1 page each.
A decision on the question of admission can only be made by our Admissions Committee on the basis of the Admissions Regulations and the documents you submitted online via C@MPUS until the application deadline. Please understand that due legal reasons no prior assessment of the (chances of an) application can be made.
If your Bachelor's degree certificate and transcript of records are not issued in English by your university, please have them translated for the application and certified for the enrollment.
Further information on which documents need to be notarized for the enrollment can be found on the website on Enrolling at the University of Stuttgart. Please especially read the section “Enrollment documentation”.
Please contact the International Service Point (ISP) or fill out the contact form for questions regarding the application or studying in general to receive a confirmation letter.
There are also online and on-site consultations on that subject, you can find infos on the page of the Student Service and Examination Office.
For matters concerning your visa or further legal/formal issues, please fill out the contact form for questions regarding the application or studying in general.
There are also online and on-site consultations on that subject, you can find infos on the page of the Student Service and Examination Office.
Oftentimes, providing authorities with a link to or a screenshot of the Master’s program website is sufficient. In case you are asked to provide further documents, please contact our International Service Point (ISP) or fill out the contact form for questions regarding the application or studying in general.
There are also online and on-site consultations on that subject, you can find infos on the page of the Student Service and Examination Office.
No, there is no contingent of dormitory rooms for students of M.Sc. Computational Linguistics. Please start looking and applying for a (dormitory) room or apartment as early as possible – preferably right after admission, since the housing situation in Stuttgart is tense.
Furthermore, you can be placed on the waiting list for dormitory rooms at the Studierendenwerk even before your enrollment.
The International Office provides further information on housing options.
You can submit the originals if you no longer need them. Otherwise, you can obtain certified copies from administrative/public authorities (e.g. Citizens Advice Bureau / “Bürgerbüro”). Please carefully read the information on the university’s website about enrollment, especially the section What does an official certification look like?.
The International Office (IZ) of the University of Stuttgart provides a detailed overview of the first steps you should take after accepting your study offer.
During studies
No, the assignment is only important regarding the binding registration for each module or exam.
No, the project seminar is not obligatory. It is just an elective module.
No, the only requirement is that you complete at least 30 ECTS credit points of the Computational Linguistics catalog and at least 18 ECTS credit points in one of the subcatalogs of your choice (CoreCL, AppliedNLP or SpeechProc). Of the two remaining subcatalogs, you must complete courses worth 6 ECTS credit points.
You must register in C@MPUS for the required modules according to your admission letter. After the exam registration period it will be checked how many oral exams we need to organize and when these exams can be offered (usually around the end of June / mid-January). You will then be informed via e-mail.
Especially for students with no CL background we recommend taking lectures first and seminars rather later. Please also check the course descriptions in C@MPUS for their specific prerequisites.
Students who lack knowledge in the field of Computational Linguistics due to their Bachelor’s studies have to attend the course "Methods in Computational Linguistics" (8 SWS, 4 slots a week) – therefore, no other choices are possible.
Students with a Bachelor’s degree in CL (or a related field) may choose to combine 2 of the advanced 6 ECTS credit points courses to complete the module "Methods in Computational Linguistics". In order for us to enter your grade, you must indicate your choice in the ILIAS course-module mapping table.
Here you find the courses that you can replace the Methods of CL course with.
The path for the link is:
Repository >> Engineering >> Maschinelle Sprachverarbeitung / Computational Linguistics >> Arbeitsgruppen >> Studying @ IMS >> [For NLP graduates only] List of advanced courses to replace MethodsCL with
- For the module: Register for the module "Methods in Computational Linguistics" in Campus
- For the single exams (e.g. Deep Learning): Enter the 2 advanced courses you are choosing instead of "Methods of CL" in the ILIAS-course-module-assignment-table.
You can find the list of courses in the Welcome slides on the general info page about CL under "Getting Started with your studies".
In case of combination modules the entry in the ILIAS-course-moduld-assignment-table is also valid as exam registration for the single courses. As an example: The combination-module "Topics in NLP" can be absolved by attending the courses "Model Projection" and "Evidence-Based Automatic Fact-Checking". The courses have to be mapped in the ILIAS-table.
If you find the "Project Seminar CL" module in the list of possible modules for a course, you can inform the lecturer that you are willing to take an additional project/task in order to get double the credit points. You can do that only with one course in total. You need to register for the "Project Seminar CL" and enter your mapping into the ILIAS course-module mapping table.
After passing the module, you can easily do this by sending an e-mail to the Examination Office.
Yes, in the M.Sc. Computational Linguistics you can drop two elective modules in total. Please write an e-mail to the Examination Office and kindly ask them to remove them.
A failed examination can be repeated once without consequences. A second repetition of a module exam is only allowed for 3 modules in total during your studies. If you fail the second written repetition of a module exam there is a last oral exam (only pass/fail). This is also called "Drittversuch"
Yes, you can take up to six additional elective ECTS credit points, which will be counted towards your average grade. Moreover, you can take up to four additional modules (independent of the ECTS credit points), which will not be counted but will be listed in your transcript of records (either with our without grades). For the latter, please register in C@MPUS and inform the Examination Office by e-mail before the exam which modules you would like to take as additional modules. Please note, that the grades of the additional 6 ECTS will be included chronologically.
The research module is signed in by the Examination Office automatically (please check!) in C@MPUS when you register your Master's thesis. After your presentation and the oral examination, the grade will be entered and the ECTS credit points (9 ECTS according to PO2017) will be displayed as well. Please read the module description in C@MPUS fur further information.
You will be able to see your ECTS credit points for the research module in C@MPUS after your presentation and your oral examination, as soon as the grade is entered.
Yes, we have the "R&D Practical Project for CL" module worth 6 ECTS credit points. You can find more details in the module description.
As soon as all your grades (or at least a "pass confirmation" by your thesis examiner) are entered in C@MPUS you can ask the Examination Office via e-mail for a preliminary degree certificate. Otherwise, please send your transcript of records and your list of currently open exam registrations to your program manager for a manually issued confirmation letter.
Please read the Guideline from the student representatives for students of the M.Sc. Computational Linguistics.
Student Counselling
Student Counselling
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Stefanie Anstein
Dr.study program manager BSc MSV & MSc CL; student advisor & contact person examination committee BSc MSV, MSc CL & MSc CS
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- +49 711 685 81387
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