Master of Science in Computer Science
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
About this program
Master of Science in Computer Science
The programme prepares you for an active role in computer science research and development, in academia as well as in the ICT industry. Our master programme builds on your existing academic foundations in computer science (such as a bachelor in computer science, or equivalent) and provides you with a deeper knowledge and understanding of computer science in general, as well as of the state of the art in your favourite of four specialisations:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Data Management and
- Multimedia
- Software Languages and Software Engineering
This master's Program is jointly organised by two departments, the Department of Computer Science at the Faculty of Sciences and the Department of Electronics at the Department of Engineering. Together, they employ more than 200 researchers, who cover a wide range of research topics.
Admission requirements
As a general rule, every study programme comes with its own set of conditions.
Which degree is required?
Application prerequisite for the programme Master of Computer Science is an academic bachelor’s degree in computer science or equivalent. We will evaluate equivalency and admission to the programme case by case after reviewing your academic record.
Will I need to sit an entrance exam?
You will not need to sit an entrance exam to begin the programme.
Are there any language requirements?
You can provide proof of sufficient knowledge of English as the language of instruction by meeting one of the following criteria:
- successful completion of one of the following language proficiency tests:
- TOEFL: minimum level: 213 for the computer-based test (CBT); 80 for the internet-based test (IBT); 550 for paper-based test
- IELTS: minimum level academic module 6.5
- ITACE: minimum level B2 • Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE), grade B
- Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), grade C
- successful completion of at least one year of secondary education with English as language of instruction, or successful completion of secondary school in a Belgian institution;
- successful completion of programme units in higher education with a minimum of 54 ECTS credits where English was the language of instruction.
Does this course require proof of English proficiency?
The TOEFL iBT® test is accepted by 11,500 universities and higher education institutions in over 160 countries. Book your test today!
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Program content
Artificial Intelligence
First Year Master Compulsory
- Methods for Scientific Research
- Declarative Programming
- Scientific Integrity
- Software Architectures
- Open Information Systems
- Theory of computation
- Information Theory
Second Year Master Compulsory
- Research Training
- Master Thesis Computer Science
Profile Artificial Intelligence : Mandatory Courses
- Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning
- Heuristic Optimisation
- Actual Trends in Artificial Intelligence
- Computational Game Theory
Profile Artificial Intelligence: Electives
- Adaptive Systems Seminar
- Processus dynamiques
- Reinforcement Learning
- Evolution of speech
- Discrete Modeling, Optimization, and search using Answer Set Programming
- Computational Creativity
- Computer Vision
- Swarm Intelligence
- Advanced Methods in Bioinformatics
- Artificial Intelligence Programming Paradigms
- Natural Language Processing
- Decision Engineering
Electives from other profiles
- Image and Video Technology
- Formal Verification of Computer Systems
- Capita Selecta of Software Engineering
- Multicore Programming
- Distributed and Mobile Programming Paradigms
- Compilers
- Programming Language Engineering
- Next Generation User Interfaces
- Software Quality Analysis
- Cloud Computing and Big Data Processing
- Functional Programming
- XML and Web Technologies
- Meta Programming and Reflection
- Biomedical Signals and Images
- Voice Image Coding Media and Systems
- Multimedia Seminar
- Computational Geometry
- Physical Communication
- Image Processing
- Capita Selecta Multimedia
- Information Visualization
- Advanced Topics in Information Systems
- Capita Selecta of Programming Languages
- Information Retrieval and Data Mining
- Fundamentals of programming languages
- Big Data: Distributed Data Management and Scalable Analytics
- Database Systems Architecture
- Advanced Databases
- Conceptual Modeling & Design Methods
- Scalable Data Management Systems
Other electives
- Distributed Computing and Storage Architectures
- Information Theory
- Project Embedded Systems
- Multiprocessors and Reconfigurable Architectures
- Security in Computing
- GPU Computing
- Signal Theory
- Digital Signal Processing
- Design and Implementation of Digital Circuits
- Telecommunication Networks
- Cryptography
- Capita selecta Telecom
- Coding Theory
Data Management and Analytics
First Year Master Compulsory
- Methods for Scientific Research
- Declarative Programming
- Scientific Integrity
- Software Architectures
- Open Information Systems
- Theory of computation
- Information Theory
Second Year Master Compulsory
- Research Training
- Master Thesis Computer Science
Profile Data Management & Analysis: Mandatory Courses
- Scalable Data Management Systems
- Information Retrieval and Data Mining
- Information Visualization
- Advanced Topics in Big Data
Profile Data Management & Analysis: Electives
- Cloud Computing and Big Data Processing
- Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning
- Advanced Databases
- Database Systems Architecture
Profile Data Management & Analysis: Electives from other profiles
- Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning
- Meta Programming and Reflection
- Capita Selecta of Software Engineering
- Image and Video Technology
- Natural Language Processing
- Multicore Programming
- Capita Selecta of Programming Languages
- Distributed and Mobile Programming Paradigms
- Fundamentals of programming languages
- Discrete Modeling, Optimization, and search using Answer Set Programming
- Computational Creativity
- Compilers
- Cloud Computing and Big Data Processing
- Functional Programming
Profile Data Management & Analysis: Other Electives
- Distributed Computing and Storage Architectures
- Cryptography
- Security in Computing
Multimedia
First Year Master Compulsory
- Methods for Scientific Research
- Declarative Programming
- Scientific Integrity
- Software Architectures
- Open Information Systems
- Theory of computation
- Information Theory
Second Year Master Compulsory
- Research Training
- Master Thesis Computer Science
Profile Multimedia: Mandatory Courses
- Image and Video Technology
- Computer Vision
- Capita Selecta Multimedia
- Image Processing
- Virtual Reality
Profile Multimedia: Electives
- Physical Communication
- Computational Geometry
- Multimedia Seminar
- Voice Image Coding Media and Systems
- Biomedical Signals and Images
Electives from other profiles
- Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning
- Actual Trends in Artificial Intelligence
- Heuristic Optimisation
- Conceptual Modeling & Design Methods
- Scalable Data Management Systems
- Capita Selecta of Software Engineering
- Multicore Programming
- Distributed and Mobile Programming Paradigms
- Compilers
- Programming Language Engineering
- Software Quality Analysis
- Processus dynamiques
- Cloud Computing and Big Data Processing
- Functional Programming
- Meta Programming and Reflection
- Evolution of speech
- Reinforcement Learning
- Database Systems Architecture
- Decision Engineering
- Next Generation User Interfaces
- XML and Web Technologies
- Advanced Topics in Information Systems
- Information Visualization
- Formal Verification of Computer Systems
- Advanced Databases
- Capita Selecta of Programming Languages
- Natural Language Processing
- Information Retrieval and Data Mining
- Fundamentals of programming languages
- Big Data: Distributed Data Management and Scalable Analytics
- Discrete Modeling, Optimization, and search using Answer Set Programming
- Computational Creativity
- Artificial Intelligence Programming Paradigms
- Advanced Methods in Bioinformatics
- Swarm Intelligence
- Adaptive Systems Seminar
- Computational Game Theory
Other electives
- Cryptography
- Capita selecta Telecom
- Coding Theory
- Information Theory
- Project Embedded Systems
- Multiprocessors and Reconfigurable Architectures
- Security in Computing
- GPU Computing
- Distributed Computing and Storage Architectures
- Operating Systems and Security
- Signal Theory
- Digital Signal Processing
- Design and Implementation of Digital Circuits
- Telecommunication Networks
Software Languages and Software Engineering
First Year Master Compulsory
- Methods for Scientific Research
- Declarative Programming
- Scientific Integrity
- Software Architectures
- Open Information Systems
- Theory of computation
- Information Theory
Second Year Master Compulsory
- Research Training
- Master Thesis Computer Science
Profile Software Languages and Software Engineering: Mandatory Courses
- Meta Programming and Reflection
- Functional Programming
- Cloud Computing and Big Data Processing
Profile Software Languages and Software Engineering: Electives
- Software Quality Analysis
- Capita Selecta of Programming Languages
- Fundamentals of programming languages
- Next Generation User Interfaces
- Programming Language Engineering
- Compilers
- Distributed and Mobile Programming Paradigms
- Multicore Programming
- Capita Selecta of Software Engineering
- Formal Verification of Computer Systems
Electives from other profiles
- Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning
- Computational Geometry
- Physical Communication
- Image Processing
- Capita Selecta Multimedia
- Computer Vision
- Image and Video Technology
- Evolution of speech
- Reinforcement Learning
- Processus dynamiques
- Decision Engineering
- Natural Language Processing
- Artificial Intelligence Programming Paradigms
- Advanced Methods in Bioinformatics
- Swarm Intelligence
- Adaptive Systems Seminar
- Computational Game Theory
- Actual Trends in Artificial Intelligence
- Conceptual Modeling & Design Methods
- Heuristic Optimisation
- Database Systems Architecture
- XML and Web Technologies
- Advanced Topics in Information Systems
- Information Visualization
- Information Retrieval and Data Mining
- Big Data: Distributed Data Management and Scalable Analytics
- Discrete Modeling, Optimization, and search using Answer Set Programming
- Computational Creativity
- Scalable Data Management Systems
- Biomedical Signals and Images
- Voice Image Coding Media and Systems
- Multimedia Seminar
Other electives
- Distributed Computing and Storage Architectures
- Information Theory
- Project Embedded Systems
- Multiprocessors and Reconfigurable Architectures
- Security in Computing
- GPU Computing
- Signal Theory
- Digital Signal Processing
- Design and Implementation of Digital Circuits
- Telecommunication Networks
- Cryptography
- Capita selecta Telecom
- Coding Theory
Tuition
EEA students: 1,092 Euro per year.
Non-EEA students: 3,620 Euro per year.
Career paths
After Graduation: Industry or Academia?
You will be equipped with exactly those skills that are paramount to a successful career in high-end industry or academia: a sharp, inquisitive mind dedicated to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and human accomplishment.
You can even become part of one of the highly professional research teams at VUB with a societal and economic impact. Here you will be able to implement an active policy in technology and knowledge transfer, patenting, spin-off creation, industrial networking and innovation.
Message the school
About this institute
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
VUB is a public and modern university located in Brussels, the heart of Europe. Ranked as one of the world’s top universities, it offers a full range of bachelor’s and master’s programmes taught in English. The University counts over 22,000...
Why study at Vrije Universiteit Brussel
When moving about in Brussels, you hear a lot of different languages. That’s no coincidence, because the city is a melting pot of cultures. With 35% of the population of foreign origin, you can expect a rich cultural environment. Brussels is home to the EU Institutions and several affiliates, NATO HQ, diplomatic representation offices, headquarters for many international companies, NGOs, trade associations, one of the world’s largest press corps, as well as a whole host of international and European schools.
It goes without saying that Brussels offers unique career opportunities. As the home to more than 2,000 international organisations and companies, it offers a wide range of internship possibilities and future career options. Flagship areas include ICT and communication, life tech, finance and law consulting, communications and media agencies, and creative industries.
VUB Education Delivers Strong Individuals, Critical Minds & World Citizens
Interactive and personal
Being a medium-sized university has its advantages. First of all, it allows frequent personal contact between students, professors and teaching assistants. This is part of a real direct contact culture that is well embedded within the university. Additionally, students are strongly encouraged to interact with each other through group assignments within the curriculum and through the various extracurricular activities.
Choice and flexibility
VUB offers a full range of programmes taught in English where the key concept is flexibility. A system of majors and minors enables students to plan and personalise their curriculum in a way that best meets their interests.
Guidance and service
It is important to VUB to help students familiarise themselves with university life and to provide good guidance. Educational counsellors and study advisers provide students with personalised study guidance on a range of topics. The International Relations office provides students with information on university life and facilitates their integration by organising cultural, social and sports activities with student associations. They also provide information on administrative aspects regarding living in Belgium.
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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