The programme supply you with a solid foundation in computer science, combined with deeper and more detailed understanding and skills within your chosen area of specialization in the master thesis.  

The program consists of four mandatory courses in computer science, a total of 40 ECTS credits, and 20 ECTS credits of elective courses. The elective courses may be within topics such as economics, management, psychology and entrepreneurship. The program concludes with a master thesis of 60 ECTS credits. The master thesis can also be done in collaboration with an external IT-company.  

Since the study programme is very experimental with a lot of practical programming exercises and laboratory work emphasis is placed on that the students are acquiring computer science and engineering skills. The computer science courses are directly connected to the on-going research carried out by the academic staff at the department.

For each program at the UiT there are set targets for knowledge, analytical understanding, skills and competences that a student has reached by the end of studies.  

Knowledge - The candidate has ...

• a broad solid foundation in computer science
• considerable depth of understanding of a selected area of specialization
• a deep understanding on state of the art distributed and parallel software architectures
• a solid knowledge about risks and threats in computer systems and their related security measures
• a solid understanding of system and application development relevant to the chosen specialty

Skills - The candidate can ...

• work independently on a significant non-trivial problem over a longer time-period
• analyze a problem and plan how to work towards a solution
• plan, organize and execute the work required to solve the problem. Adapt to changes and limitations.
• demonstrate the feasibility of the solution by implementing key parts
• collect and analyze relevant metrics characterizing the problem and the solution
• write a well-structured and clearly formulated report describing the thesis work and reflecting on its results

General competence - The candidate ...

• has an interest for the continued development of computer science as a dynamic field under the influences of advances in the discipline, changes in technology, and in application areas, business models, and businesses.
• can communicate effectively, orally and in writing, within the field, and with the public as well as experts in other fields
• can pursue life-long learning and development
• is aware of relevant social and ethical issues and apply this awareness to their professional conduct

After graduating with a Master's degree in Computer Science, you can work all over the world within many different industries, for instance IT, mobile, health, teaching and oil. The work is typical as system developers, engineers, scientists or consultants, within areas such as web, mobile phones, data security, computer games, 3D- and film animation, search engines, operating systems, databases and network. It is common among the candidates to hold manager positions and to establish their own enterprise.

Admission to the Master`s programme in Computer Science requires a Bachelor`s degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in Computer Science of minimum 80 ECTS. The minimum average grade needed:

• Applicants who hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent issued in Norway, Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand: An average grade C as a minimum requirement, or the corresponding numerical mark/percentage score is to be eligible for admission to master's level study programmes.
• Applicants who hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent issued in countries other than the above mentioned region/countries: An average grade B as a minimum requirement, or the corresponding numerical mark/percentage score to be eligible for admission to master's level study programmes.

See General admission requirements - Master

Excellent programming skills, (preferably in C, Python) at a systems level, and knowledge of operating systems is strongly required. Students are expected to have skills equivalent to the prerequisites the courses in the study program build upon.

Applicants from Norway or Nordic countries:

• The application deadline for Norwegian and other Nordic applicants is April 15th for admission to the autumn semester
• Online application, study code 4008.

Applicants from outside the Nordic countries:

• The application deadline for international applicants is 1 December for admission to the autumn semester.
• Online application, study code 2017.
• Applicants from outside the Nordic countries must enclose an overview on their practical programming skills and what large implementation projects they have been involved in. The applicants should give examples (refer to URLs) of such projects and their own contribution (the programming part) to these projects.
• Applicants from outside the Nordic countries must enclose source code for a solution of this programming task. The source code must be uploaded in the application web as a .zip file named in the form surname.zip (where you change surname with your name).

Are you an international applicant? How to apply.

To complete the program until the master's degree requires motivation and targeted work effort. To achieve the learning outcomes for the study program, students must expect to spend more than 40 hours a week in the study from the study start, including lectures, group hours, laboratory work and self-taught self-study.

The program offers a varied teaching programme while most courses are intensive and project oriented. In lectures, theory and academic theme are examined. In the group work, students are expected to be active in discussions of issues in the subject matter. Students work in laboratories where compulsory assignments are solved to acquire practical skills in designing, building and maintaining computer systems, either individually or in teams with other students.

In addition to collaborating with other informatics students, the students will also work with people who have knowledge in other areas. In order to train this, it is important that the student takes an active role, is present and contributes to the learning environment, both in organized teaching and otherwise during the weeks where the students cooperate and largely learn from each other.

All academic staff who teach the study programme are active researchers in various research projects. The courses are based on relevant research and are related to the departments research activity. As a student, you will be able to engage in projects in the research laboratories along the way. Special curriculum and master theses are often part of a larger project context, in a working community in a research group. In the work on these assignments, individual guidance is provided from the department's academic staff.

The language of instruction is English and all of the syllabus material is in English. Examination questions will be given in English, but may be answered either in English or a Scandinavian language.

Also the Master's thesis may be written either in English or a Scandinavian language.

On successful completion of the degree programme, students may be qualified for admission to a PhD programme in Science, depending on satisfactory grades in the Master's and Bachelor's degree. PhD-programme in Science are offered at the UiT.

Exchange stays at other educational institutions in Norway or abroad can by agreement be included in the programme. The Department of computer science has subject-specific exchange agreements (Erasmus +) with several universities in Europe where the agreements with the Technical University of Munich, Germany and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands are recommended. An overview of the departments exchange agreements can be found at the Department of Computer Science's web pages.

Students can carry out an exchange stay in the second semester of the study. The courses scheduled for completion during the exchange period must be pre-approved in consultation with the department. The department will in each case assess how and to what extent external courses can replace mandatory subjects in the student's education plan at UiT.

Students wishing to carry out an exchange stay as part of the study programme must contact the department administration in good time before leaving, no later than the semester start of the semester before departure. The pre-approved courses are included as part of the study at UiT. If the student do not accomplish the pre-approved arrangemnent this may lead to extended study time.

The amount of work should be representative of the period during which the student is on exchange stays.