CHE ranking: Passau's Computer Science programme among the best in Germany

The University's M.Sc. Computer Science is one of the leading degree programmes of its kind in Germany. This is according to the latest Master's survey carried out by the German Centre for Higher Education (CHE) from October 2014 to April 2015, for which students rated specific aspects of their degree programmes. The CHE ranking is the most comprehensive and detailed of its kind in the German-speaking world.

For the ranking, students were asked to rate 13 aspects of their degree programmes, including 'overall study situation', ' courses offered', 'research orientation', 'teacher support', 'IT infrastructure' and 'international orientation'. The University's M.Sc. Computer Science programme scored top marks across the board. 'We are incredibly pleased about this ringing endorsement for our Master's programme, which shows that our University is not only able to compete with the large universities in Germany on things like infrastructure, but that our more compact university campus and good support from lecturers and professors are seen as beneficial by our students,' said the Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics, Professor Christian Lengauer.

Passau's Master's students gave 'very good' or 'good' marks for most categories. Across all sections of the survey, the positive response rate was between 85 and 100 percent. Using the German marking scale, which goes from 1 as the best achievable mark to 6 (a fail), the degree programme's results were well above average for all categories. Thus, for the category 'study situation', the programme scored 1.2, placing it squarely in the leading group. Students also showed themselves highly satisfied with the organisation of the degree programme and the IT infrastructure (both scoring 1.3) as well as the courses offered and the library facilities (both at 1.4). Teacher support, research orientation and international orientation also received very good marks (all three scoring 1.5).

Not all categories in the CHE ranking were based on student responses; some used objective data, such as the 'publications per academic staff member' statistic, in which the University of Passau occupies first place among the Bavarian universities, and 'third party funds per academic' which tracks external funds acquired for research projects by the researchers, and where, in the Bavarian comparison, the University comes in at second place behind Technische Universiät München (TUM).

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