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Master’s · Computer Science & Software Engineering

Usability Engineering M.Sc.

Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences · Kamp-Lintfort · Official programme page

19 facts from 8 official pages · last checked 14 November 2026

Reviewed by Dennis Maaß, admission and immigration expert
Published 8 November 2026 · Last reviewed 8 November 2026

Key facts

Length, deadlines and costs

Language
English
Source
“Language of instruction English”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

Study mode
On campus
Source
“All courses are offered at the designated campus.”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

The page names one physical campus and offers no online or distance variant; HSRW publishes no online-only degree programme.

Attendance
Full-time
Source
“Study mode Full-time”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

Length
3 semesters
Source
“Standard study duration 3 semesters”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

Credits
90 ECTS
Source
“Den Modulen eines Masterstudienganges sind nach Maßgabe des § 6 Absatz 5 in der Summe 90 Kreditpunkte zugeordnet.”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/fileadmin/upload_redaktion/Dezernate/Rechtl_Akadem_Angelegenheiten/Regelungen_der_zentralen_Ebene/NGF_RPO_idF_d._4.%C3%84S_v._02.04.2024.pdf · checked 7 November 2026

Institution-wide figure from the General Examination Regulations (RPO); the programme pages give only the standard study duration of three semesters and no credit total.

Intakes
Winter, Summer
Source
“Start of studies 1 September 1 March”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

Non-EU deadline
15 Jan 2027 (summer 2027)15 Jul 2027 (winter 2027)
Source
“Winter semester: 15.07. Summer semester: 15 Jan.”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

HSRW publishes one deadline for all nationalities; there is no separate non-EU deadline. The selection and admission statutes make 15 July (winter) and 15 January (summer) binding cut-off dates, with documents submitted late still considered until 20 July and 20 January respectively.

Non-EU tuition
None
Source
“For the 2026/27 winter term, the termly fee is €365.10. The termly fee comprises several components: Social contribution: €120.00 Student Union fee: €15.30 Deutschlandticket: €226.80”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/study/all-about-university-life/costs-and-funding/tuition-fees · checked 14 November 2026

None of the components of the termly fee is a tuition fee, and HSRW's fee statute (Hochschulabgabensatzung) sets no tuition and no surcharge for non-EU students. The DAAD International Programmes entry for every Rhine-Waal programme states "No tuition fees". North Rhine-Westphalia charges no tuition for first degrees.

Application fee
€75 one-off uni-assist handling fee for the first chosen course of study, per semester€30 one-off uni-assist handling fee for each additional chosen course of study in the same semester
Source
“Cost for the first chosen course of study: EUR 75.00 For each additional chosen course of study: EUR 30.00”

www.uni-assist.de/en/how-to-apply/apply-online/pay-submit/ · checked 14 November 2026

HSRW charges no application fee of its own: its fee statute lists none, and applicants with a German qualification apply free of charge through the university portal. The fee is uni-assist's, which is the compulsory route for everyone whose university entrance qualification was obtained outside Germany; it is charged again for a new semester. Marked appliesTo "non-eu" because the uni-assist route follows from a foreign qualification, not from nationality.

Places
Unrestricted
Source
“Entry requirements Unrestricted admission (no Numerus Clausus)”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

No cap on places: applicants who meet the formal requirements are admitted (zulassungsfrei). The fact box explains the label as "Unrestricted: enrolment is possible for nearly every German Abitur; international qualifications require verification first."

Admission

What you need to apply

3-year bachelor’s
Accepted with conditions
Source
“If your Bachelor’s degree comprises fewer than 210 ECTS credits, you may be able to complete additional modules to make up the difference. Preparatory semesters do not count towards this requirement. … Important: To successfully complete the Master’s programme, you need a total of 300 ECTS credits.”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

A 180-ECTS bachelor's is admissible under RPO Section 4a (4) with a Learning Agreement for the missing credits (at most 30 ECTS, due before admission to the master's thesis). Note two programme-specific restrictions: preparatory semesters do not count towards the 210 ECTS, and 300 ECTS in total are needed to graduate. The superseded 2021 regulations spelled out the 180-210 provisional admission explicitly; the 2025 regulations rely on RPO Section 4a instead.

Subject background
A professionally qualifying first degree (B.Sc.) in a related field listed in Annex 1 of the examination regulations. The programme page describes the target group as computer scientists, psychologists and designers with software-development experience, and notes that 300 ECTS in total are needed to complete the master's.
Source
“A professionally qualifying university degree (BSc) in a relevant subject An overall grade of at least 2.0 in your first degree At least 210 ECTS credits or, ideally, a standard period of study of seven full-time semesters.”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

Minimum grade
At least 2.0 on the German grading scale, or an "A" or "B" on the ECTS grading scale, in the first degree.
Source
“A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on the German grading scale, or alternatively an A or B on the ECTS grading scale, must have been achieved in the applicant’s undergraduate degree referred to in subsection (2).”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/fileadmin/upload_redaktion/Dezernate/Rechtl_Akadem_Angelegenheiten/Pr%C3%BCfungsordnungen/PO_Fakult%C3%A4t_KU/Master/Usability_Engineering/en/2025-10-14_Exam_Regulations_UE_Corrected_Version.pdf · checked 14 November 2026

The current (14 October 2025) regulations and the programme page agree on 2.0; the superseded 2021 regulations set 2.5.

English
Level C1. IELTS 7 · TOEFL iBT 95 · PTE 76. Cambridge: First Certificate in English (FCE) grade A, or Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) grade B or C. C1 column of the institution-wide table: IELTS Academic 7.0, TOEFL iBT 95 (or 5 as of 21.01.2026), PTE Academic 76-84, TOEIC Listening and Reading 945-990 (Speaking 180-200, Writing 180-200), telc C1-Zertifikat, UNIcert III, Cambridge FCE grade A or CAE grade B/C, BEC Higher, Cambridge IGCSE 1st or 2nd Language with a C1 average. Duolingo and TOEFL Home Edition are not listed in the table.. Exemption: On request only: "Applicants can be exempted from the proof of English proficiency upon request", and a qualifying undergraduate degree completed in English is given as an example of a justified request rather than an entitlement; the examination board decides. Unlike the Biological Resources and Information Engineering and Computer Science regulations this clause sets no country condition, so an applicant from India, Nigeria or Pakistan whose degree was taught in English can ask. The programme page words it as needing the certificate only "if your first degree was not taught in English". The institution-wide table also accepts, in place of a test: a German university entrance qualification confirming C1 English (a B2/C1 confirmation is explicitly not enough); a secondary school diploma or a completed degree from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or a few Caribbean states; and, subject to approval, a completed degree in the subject "English Language".
Source
“Category: B2 C1 … (minimum score: 7.0) … TOEFL iBT (minimum score: 95 or 5 as … PTE Academic (score 76 - 84)”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/fileadmin/upload_redaktion/Dezernate/Studierendenangelegenheiten/Studierendenservice/Accepted_English_Language_Proofs__15_.pdf · checked 14 November 2026

This is the only English-taught HSRW programme that requires C1 rather than B2: "Proof of sufficient proficiency in English for the degree programme is demonstrated by a language certificate attesting to at least the C1 level of the Common European Framework (CEFR)." (examination regulations, 14 October 2025), and the Master's degrees page lists C1 for Usability Engineering and B2 for every other English-taught master's. Scores come from HSRW's institution-wide "Accepted English Language Proofs" table, which has one B2 and one C1 column. The table does not mention Duolingo or the TOEFL Home Edition, and no HSRW page says whether either is accepted, so neither is recorded as accepted or rejected.

German
Not needed when applying
Source
“Proof of German language proficiency is not required for English-taught degree programmes.”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/study/before-starting-university/application-process/guide-for-international-applicants · checked 14 November 2026

HSRW sets no German level for its English-taught programmes at application, during the degree or at graduation; German courses are optional and offered by the Centre for Internationalisation and Languages.

Selection
Open admission (no Numerus Clausus); admission requirements are assessed case by case from the application documents, and no aptitude test or interview is published.
Source
“Entry requirements Unrestricted admission (no Numerus Clausus)”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/usability-engineering-msc · checked 14 November 2026

The Master's degrees page states for all master's programmes: "Admission requirements are assessed on a case-by-case basis for all Master’s programmes."

India, Pakistan, Nigeria

Rules for applicants from India, Pakistan and Nigeria

English test waiver
Possible for applicants from India, Nigeria, Pakistan, with a previous degree taught in English
Source
“Applicants can be exempted from the proof of English proficiency upon request. Said requests are justified, for example, for applicants who completed their qualifying undergraduate degree in English.”

www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/fileadmin/upload_redaktion/Dezernate/Rechtl_Akadem_Angelegenheiten/Pr%C3%BCfungsordnungen/PO_Fakult%C3%A4t_KU/Master/Usability_Engineering/en/2025-10-14_Exam_Regulations_UE_Corrected_Version.pdf · checked 14 November 2026

This programme asks for C1. Unlike the Biological Resources and Information Engineering and Computer Science regulations, the clause does not require the degree to come from a listed English-speaking country, so an applicant from India, Nigeria or Pakistan whose undergraduate degree was taught in English can request the exemption; the examination board decides on each request.

Rules that name these countries
None named on the pages checked

The rules for your country across all universities, and the visa rules on English tests, are on the India, Pakistan and Nigeria pages.

More on this programme

Every value was read on an official page and is stored with a verbatim quote; open “Source” to see it. “Not stated by the university” means none of the pages we checked says, and lists those pages. Rules change: confirm with the university before you apply or pay.