AdmitArriveFree shortlist

Master’s · Computer Science & Software Engineering

Software Systems Engineering M.Sc.

RWTH Aachen University · Aachen · 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
“is in English (thus no German language proficiency is required)”

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/sse/ · checked 14 November 2026

The DAAD entry adds that additional courses in German are optionally available.

Study mode
On campus
Source
“Course location Aachen”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3696 · checked 7 November 2026

The DAAD entry names Aachen as the course location and gives no online or hybrid mode of study for this programme.

Attendance
Full-time
Source
“full-time Programme duration 4 semesters”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3696 · checked 7 November 2026

Length
4 semesters
Source
“is a two year (four semesters) program”

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/sse/ · checked 14 November 2026

Intakes
Winter
Source
“only starts in winter terms that usually begin in October”

sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/studium/master/sse/ · checked 14 November 2026

Non-EU deadline
1 Mar 2027 (winter 2027)Applications can be submitted between December and 1 March. A hard deadline: the GRE result cannot be handed in later.
Source
“Non-EU & Non-EEA applicants March 1st”

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

EU/EEA applicants have until 15 July. A standing annual deadline.

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

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3696 · 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 SSE master program is a program with an open admission (not a restricted admission (NC) )”

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

Admission

What you need to apply

3-year bachelor’s
Case by case
Source
“Each application is carefully examined regarding whether each of the required courses is matched by one ore more of the applicant's provided qualifications”

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

No credit or duration floor is set for the first degree: the faculty compares course contents, not the volume of the degree, and there is 'a small margin' for a few unmatched courses. 'ore' is a typo on the page.

Subject background
A bachelor of science or engineering in computer science, computer engineering, informatics or a closely related discipline from an internationally recognised university-level institution, with a substantial background in computer science and mathematics.
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/sse/application-for-admission/ · checked 14 November 2026

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/sse/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/sse/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 2026/142, § 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
“No German language skills are required for admission and enrollment. However, you will have the chance to take German language courses as part of your curriculum at RWTH Aachen University Language Center”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

German is not an admission or enrolment requirement for the English-taught master's programmes; German courses are available through the RWTH Language Center.

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/sse/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
The International Office checks the formal requirements and the examination board the subject match; applications that miss a formal requirement are rejected. A higher-semester start needs proof of roughly 30 ECTS of matching coursework per semester skipped.
Source
“The International Office checks whether submitted applications meet these requirements. Applications that do not meet these requirements are rejected”

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