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Admission Regulations for the International Master Program in Cognitive Science

The following translation is not authoritative, but is included here only to give an overview over the contents for prospective students that are not familiar with juridical German.

§1 Scope

(1) These regulations govern special entry requirements for the international "Cognitive Science" Master Program at the University of Osnabrück according to § 18 para. 7 NHG and § 7 NHZG.

(2) The Admission requirements are based on §2.

(3) If fewer applicants fulfill the admission requirements than there are places available, then a selection process will not take place. If there are more applicants who fulfill the admission requirements than there are places available, then a selection process will take place. The selection process is carried out according to a university procedure (§4).

§2 Admission Requirements

(1) A requirement for the admission to the Master Program "Cognitive Science" is that the applicant

• has acquired a Bachelor degree or equivalent in "Cognitive Science" at a German University, a university belonging to the Bologna signatory states or another foreign university. If applicants hold a degree from a university not belonging to a Bologna signatory state, the equivalence will be ascertained according to the suggestions for assessment from the Central Office for Foreign Education at the secretariat of the Permanent Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (www.anabin.de).
  In addition, applicants holding one of the above degrees in a closely related subject are also eligible for admitted. Closely related subjects are for example:
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Biology
  • (Computer-) Linguistics
  • Mathematics
  • Neuroscience
  • Medicine
  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
  • or a course of study with a major emphasis on Computer Science

• Furthermore, the special suitability has to be proven according to paragraphs 2-5 and 8. Whether a course of study is closely related is determined by the Board of Admissions (§5). Admissions can be given under the condition that missing course achievements be made up within two semesters.

(2) The special suitability is ascertained on the basis of the results of the final exam according to paragraph 1 and requires that the previous studies were completed with a grade of 2.0 (according to the German grading scheme).

(3) If the final grade is not available at the time of application, it will be necessary that at least 150 ECTS have been achieved and that the average grade of the assessed assignments is at least 2.0 (according to the German grading scheme). The average grade ascertained in this way will be considered for the selection process according to §4, irrespective of the final result of the bachelor exam or bachelor thesis.

(4) Applicants must also verify skills of the English language at level B2, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

(5) Unless English is the applicant's mother tongue, sufficient English language skills are considered verified through

• proof of having successfully learned English at school for eight years with the average German grade of the final two years, before reaching higher education entrance qualification, being 7 points at A-level major field of study or 9 points at A-level basic field of study.
• an IELTS test with a score of at least 5.0 points or an equivalent test

(6) In unclear cases, the final decision as to whether or not an applicant fulfills the requirements, is made by a university staff member who is especially appointed by the Study Commission in charge.

(7) Applicants must prove their qualification and motivation for independent scientific work in the area of Cognitive Science. This can be done through:

• the close research proximity, topicality and quality of the Bachelor thesis; or,
• research practice; or
• study visits aboard; or
• other achievements (publications, prizes, awards); or
• a written application in which qualification and motivation for the Master Program is argued.

§3 Commencement of Studies and Deadline for Applications

(1) The Master Program in Cognitive Science commences at the beginning of each summer and winter term. The written application including the essential documents described in paragraph 2 must be received by the University by January 15th for applications to the summer term and by July 15th for applications to the winter term. International applicants with international diplomas must apply for the summer term by January 15th and for the winter term by July 15th, using the service "Uni-Assist". The application is only valid for the university places for the respective application date.

(2) The application must contain - diplomas and documents of proof have to be certified - the following

• the final diplomas of the bachelor study course - if this is not available yet - the attestation of fulfilled achievements, ECTS and the average grade,
• Curriculum Vitae
• Supporting documents according to §2 paragraph 2 - 5 and 8.

(3) Applications received later than the closing date, even if all required documents according to §2 and §3 have been included, may not be considered for matriculation. The submitted documents remain at the university.

(4) If not all essential documents can be provided in due time, an extension can be granted.

§4 Admission Procedure 

(1) If there are more applicants who fulfill the admission requirements than there are slots available, then the available slots are distributed in accordance with the university selection procedure.

(2) The selection committee decides in the case mentioned in §4 paragraph 1 about the admission of applicants under consideration of the final grade in the previous course of study (alternatively, the average grade according to §2 paragraph 3) and the criteria according to §2 paragraph 8. For each fulfilled criterion according to §2 paragraph 8, the final grade (or alternative average grade) improves by 0.1. From these in this way determined overall grades the ranking of applicants is yielded.

(3) For the rest, the general valid rules for matriculation according to the university's regulation for matriculation remain untouched. The matriculation of applicants who according to §2 paragraph 3 are considered as especially qualified, is considered as provisional. The matriculation lapses if the Bachelor's certificate is not submitted until the end of the lecture period of the respective term due to the applicant's shortcoming.

§5 Selection Committee for the Master Program "Cognitive Science"

(1) In preparation for the selection procedure, the Faculty of Humanities establishes a selection committee.

(2) Apart from the chairman of the examination board, who is also the chair of the selection committee, the selection committee is made up of one more lecturer entitled to vote and one student. The student member has an advisory vote. The members are appointed by the faculty council of the Faculty of Humanities. The term in office is two years, the student member's term is one year, re-appointment is possible.

(3) The meetings of the selection committee are recorded. The main topics of discussion and the decisions of the committee are recorded in the minutes. The minutes are signed by the chairman and the keeper of the minutes. For the rest and where applicable, the general rules and regulations of the University of Osnabrück are applied.

(4) The tasks of the selection committee are:

• a) assessment of the applications received regarding formal correctness,
• b) assessment of the admission requirements,
• c) decision about admission or rejection of the applicants

(5) The selection committee reports to the faculty council of the Faculty of Humanities after completion of the selection process about the results and, if necessary, makes suggestions regarding further procedures in the selection process.

§6 Decision Notice, Clearing, Completion of Selection Process

(1) Applicants who are admitted receive a written notice from the university. The notice contains a deadline by which the applicant must declare in writing whether the study slot will be accepted. If this declaration is not received in due time or form, the admission notice becomes invalid. This legal consequence must be pointed out in the admission notice.

(2) Applicants who cannot be admitted receive a notice of rejection. If applicable, the notice may contain a ranking. The notice of rejection has to contain instruction on the right to appeal. It also contains the demand to declare in writing, by a given deadline, whether the application for the clearing procedure will be upheld. If this declaration is not received in due time or form, the applicant will be excluded from the clearing process. This legal consequence has to be pointed out in the rejection notice.

(3) The clearing process is carried out using the ranking obtained according to §4 paragraph 2.

(4) The admission process is completed not later than two weeks after lectures have commenced. If there are still study slots available at this time, they will be assigned by drawing lots. The application period for this commences two weeks prior the start of lectures and ends with the completion of the admission process.

§7 Coming into effect of these regulations 

These regulations come into effect on the day following their publication in the official news bulletin of the University of Osnabrück.