What prospects does a university degree offer?

Computer Science can be studied at a university as well as at a Fachhochschule (university of applied science) or a Berufsakademie (university of cooperative education). The main structural difference is that the latter two place a greater emphasis on practical vocational training, whereas university courses provide a broad scientific education with a solid grounding in the theoretical and methodological principles of the subject. Studying Computer Science at a university therefore requires studying a great deal of mathematics. A university education - usually in the form of a Bachelor’s degree, followed by a Master’s degree, lays the foundation for independent scientific research. Anyone interested in keeping open the option of pursuing an academic career should consider doing a PhD at a university.

A university study program offers the freedom to choose from many different options while at the same time requiring a high degree of independence and autonomy. This independence and autonomy are precisely the kind of qualities that future employers value in university graduates. They are usually better at abstract and analytical thinking than their counterparts from the more practical courses at the Fachhochschule or Berufsakademie. Thus, although university courses may not provide such a direct preparation for specific jobs, they do enable their students to be adaptable at all times and, on the basis of their thorough knowledge, get to grips with a wide range of vocational areas.