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Master’s · Computer Science & Software Engineering

Human-Centred Intelligent Systems (HCIS) M.Sc.

RWTH Aachen University · Bonn · Official programme page

18 facts from 7 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
“Courses are taught in English . The programme offers a wide range of elective courses in English. In addition, some elective courses may be offered in German as optional choices”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

Study mode
On campus
Source
“Course location Bonn In cooperation with Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it), Fraunhofer Institutes FIT and IAIS as well as the University of Bonn”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

Taught in Bonn, not Aachen: HCIS is run at the Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it) together with the University of Bonn and the Fraunhofer institutes FIT and IAIS. The degree is still awarded by RWTH Aachen, and the application goes to RWTH, but the student lives and studies in Bonn, roughly 90 km away.

Length
4 semesters
Source
“Programme duration 4 semesters”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

Credits
120 ECTS
Source
“ECTS Credits 120”

www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/studium/Vor-dem-Studium/Studiengaenge/Liste-Aktuelle-Studiengaenge/Studiengangbeschreibung/Human-Centered-Intelligent-Systems-M-Sc/~bltdzo/Human-Centered-Intelligent-Systems-M-Sc/lidx/1/ · checked 7 November 2026

Confirmed by RWTH's own key-info block, which replaces the earlier derivation.

Intakes
Winter
Source
“Beginning Winter semester”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

Non-EU deadline
1 Mar 2027 (winter 2027)Applications can be submitted between January and 1 March. EU/EEA applicants have until 15 July.
Source
“The following is valid for applicants from: non-EU countries For the winter semester: until 1 March”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 14 November 2026

Non-EU tuition
None
Source
“Tuition fees per semester None”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

Application fee
Not stated by the university
2 pages checked, 14 Nov 2026

RWTH publishes no application fee for its faculty (non-fee-paying) master's programmes and does not use uni-assist; RWTH International Academy states 'no application fee' for its own programmes and RWTH Business School charges 50 EUR. No reachable RWTH page states the position for the faculty programmes.

Places
Unrestricted
Source
“The HCIS master program is a program with an open admission (not a restricted admission (NC) )”

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/master-hcis/hcis-application-for-admission/ · checked 14 November 2026

Admission

What you need to apply

3-year bachelor’s
Case by case
Source
“An applicant must have a first degree in Computer Science or closely related field awarded by an internationally recognised university-level institution”

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/master-hcis/hcis-application-for-admission/ · checked 14 November 2026

No credit or duration floor is set for the first degree; the faculty compares course contents with its own bachelor's curriculum.

Subject background
A recognised first degree (bachelor of science or engineering) in computer science, computer engineering, informatics or a closely related discipline from an internationally recognised university. A different degree needs a strong background in computer science, mathematics and engineering, otherwise a bridging course may be required or the application is ineligible.
Source
“A candidate should hold a recognised first degree (Bachelor of Science or Engineering) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Informatics , or a closely related discipline from an internationally recognised university”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

HCIS replaced the Media Informatics master's, which stopped taking new applications from winter 2025/26.

Minimum grade
CGPA of at least 65 percent strongly recommended, not a formal requirement
Source
“We strongly recommend that an applicant should have a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 65% in his/her computer science or closely related undergraduate / bachelor degree”

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/master-hcis/hcis-application-for-admission/ · checked 14 November 2026

How your grade is converted
Not stated by the university
2 pages checked, 14 Nov 2026

No admission grade-conversion formula is published on any page that could be fetched; RWTH does not use uni-assist, which would otherwise convert the grade.

English
Level B2. IELTS 6. TOEFL and IELTS certificates lose their validity two years after the test. The IELTS must be the Academic test, not the General test.. Exemption: See the International Office's language requirements page
Source
“For an IELTS test, note that it must be the academic IELTS test, not the general IELTS test”
“Für diesen Masterstudiengang ist die ausreichende Beherrschung der englischen Sprache nach § 3 Abs. 9 ÜPO nachzuweisen” page
“ausreichende Beherrschung der englischen Sprache auf dem Kompetenzniveau B2 … International Englisch Language Testing System (IELTS) Test mit einem Ergebnis von … mindestens 6.0” page

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/master-hcis/hcis-application-for-admission/ · checked 14 November 2026

IELTS 6.0, not DAAD's 5.5. DAAD's entry for this programme states "b2 required" with IELTS Academic 5.5, which was the figure in the 2015 ÜPO; the programme's own examination regulations (Amtliche Bekanntmachung 2025/338, § 3 Abs. 5) require English at the level of § 3 Abs. 9 ÜPO, and the current Übergreifende Prüfungsordnung (Amtliche Bekanntmachung 2026/172, § 3 Abs. 9) sets that level at IELTS 6.0, so the stricter current figure is recorded. Unlike Data Science, neither this programme's regulations nor RWTH's language table offer the bachelor's-thesis route, so a certificate is needed. The faculty page adds the two-year validity limit and the Academic-test rule. The TOEFL iBT Home Edition and the Duolingo English Test are not mentioned.

German
Not needed when applying
Source
“German language skills No minimum language level required”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

DAAD's own field for this programme; RWTH asks for no German certificate at application or enrolment.

GRE / GMAT / GATE
Required
Source
“quantitative reasoning score: above 75th percentile (among 25% best) verbal reasoning score: above 15th percentile (among 85% best) analytical writing score: at least 3.5 … The GRE is not required for applicants with citizenship of the European Union or European Economic Area or who completed their secondary education in Germany”

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/master-hcis/hcis-application-for-admission/ · checked 14 November 2026

The GRE General Test result must be uploaded with the application; it cannot be handed in later. The ETS code for RWTH Aachen is 8504. Only EU/EEA citizens and Bildungsinländer are exempt — an Indian, Nigerian or Pakistani applicant always needs it.

Selection
Candidates should have performed above average in their undergraduate studies; the GRE must be in the application or it is rejected.
Source
“The GRE General Test is required for non-EU/EEA applicants and must be submitted with the application; otherwise, the application will be rejected”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3728 · checked 7 November 2026

India, Pakistan, Nigeria

Rules for applicants from India, Pakistan and Nigeria

English test waiver
Not stated by the university
2 pages checked, 8 Nov 2026

The only exemption RWTH publishes covers a high-school diploma or academic degree obtained in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the United States, and the same page adds that citizenship alone never exempts, so it reaches no applicant from India, Nigeria or Pakistan. The § 3 Abs. 9 ÜPO list does include a certificate from the school education required by law, but the binding Übergreifende Prüfungsordnung (Amtliche Bekanntmachung 2026/172, § 3 Abs. 9 h) accepts it only where it was acquired in a country that is a member of the Council of Europe and expressly certifies English at B2, which rules out school certificates from India, Nigeria and Pakistan; the central table's English wording leaves that condition out. RWTH publishes the table "ohne Gewähr", and § 3 Abs. 9 Satz 4 ÜPO lets a programme's own examination regulations add a route — the examination board checking a bachelor's thesis or seminar paper written in English, as the Data Science regulations do — so without that programme-specific PDF the position stays not stated rather than "none".

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.