Learning Agreements are your insurance that the courses you choose to attend at your higher education institution abroad will be recognized by your home university upon return.
Generally, there are two ways of recognizing coursework and examinations you complete abroad:
Direct recognition
For a course to be directly recognized, it has to be considered equivalent to a course from the module catalog of your program in terms of the skills you acquire in that course. If you can identify a course at your host university that is largely identical (>70% conformance) to a course you can or must complete here based on the course description, you can include it in your Learning Agreement for direct recognition. The course you complete abroad will then substitute the course taught in Mannheim. To discuss whether a particular course can be directly recognized, please contact the chairs offering the course here in Mannheim.
Indirect recognition
If the Mannheim module catalog contains no direct equivalent to the course you wish to complete at your host university, but the module contents fit one of the areas ”Data Management“, ”Data Analyses“ or ”Projects and Seminars“, it may be recognized indirectly as "Additional Course Data Management“, ”Additional Course Data Analyses“ or ”Additional Course Projects and Seminars“. Bear in mind, however, that the sum of credits awarded for these courses must not exceed 18 ECTS credits in total.
To discuss whether indirect recognition is possible for a particular course, please contact the chair whose area of research and teaching is closest to the course you would like to complete. If you are unsure, please turn to the MMDS program managers.
Conversion of Credits from abroad to ECTS credits in cases of indirect recognition
The examination committee determines how many ECTS credits you will receive for a MMDS Additional Course. The number of ECTS credits awarded is calculated by converting the credits of the host university. In many cases, students are not awarded the usual 6 ECTS credits as in Mannheim, but different ECTS values. Keep in mind that we can only recognize a total of 18 ECTS credits for Additional Courses in the master’s programs. Higher education institutions in European countries usually also use ECTS credits or credit systems that are equivalent to ECTS.
Should I choose courses for direct recognition or courses for indirect recognition?
As the number of courses subject to direct recognition is generally unlimited, unlike Additional Courses, you should choose such courses wherever possible. Courses that are directly recognized also bear the advantage that the credits obtained in these courses do not have to be converted.
Once you have been accepted by a partner university (in the case of free movers, the acceptance letter will come directly from the university abroad), you should start filling out your Learning Agreement. We strongly advise you to conclude the agreement before you go abroad. That way, you are on the safe side and already know beforehand which courses will be recognized for your studies at home.
The Learning Agreement consists of two forms:
For the recognition of your courses and credits, you need to follow two steps:
After it has been decided which higher education institution you will be going to, but before departing, you issue one Learning Agreement form for each module you intend to study abroad to the chair responsible in order to have the module approved. The contact persons for courses offered at the School of Humanities, the School of Social Sciences, in usiness Mathematics in Business and Economics, at the Business School, and at the Department of Economics are:
After your return from abroad, please hand in the following four documents to the examination committee responsible for you at the School of Business Informatics and Mathematics:
Your documents will then be checked and your grades converted. Grades obtained abroad will be recognized by the University of Mannheim on the basis of these conversion tables. After your documents have been checked, we will return the originals to you and transmit a copy to Student Services.
Please submit your application in digital form via your university email address. Therefore please send your complete documents to pruefungsausschuss.wim. To verify your transcript, please ask your host university to send your transcript directly to the University of Mannheim ( uni-mannheim.detranscripts). uni-mannheim.de
The Mannheim Master in Data Science (MMDS) program equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to gain operational insight into large and complex datasets. It covers six major areas: Fundamentals, Data Management, Data Analytics, Responsible Data Science, Projects and Seminars, and the Master’s Thesis.
Fundamentals (0 – 14 ECTS)
The goal of the Fundamentals area is to align the different knowledge students acquired in their previous degree programs. Graduates of computer science and mathematics programs will acquire the knowledge required in empirical research (in particular, data collection and multivariate statistics). Graduates of social sciences programs and other fields will acquire the knowledge required in computer science (in particular, programming and database technology).
Data Management (18 – 36 ECTS)
One of the central challenges in the Big Data area is to handle the enormous amount, speed, heterogeneity, and quality of the data collected in industry, the public sector, and science. The Data Management area covers methods and concepts for obtaining, storing, integrating, managing, querying, and processing large amounts of data. The area includes courses on modern data management technology (such as parallel database systems, Spark, and NoSQL databases), data integration, information retrieval and search, software engineering, and algorithms.
Data Analytics (30 – 54 ECTS)
The Data Analytics area forms the core of the study program. It provides courses ranging from data mining, machine learning, and decision support, over text analytics and natural language processing, to advanced social science methods such as cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysis. The range of methodological courses is enhanced by courses on optimization, visualization, mathematics and information, and algebraic statistics.
Responsible Data Science (3 – 10 ECTS)
There are great concerns about the use of data. A variety of stakeholders are increasingly becoming concerned about the irresponsible use of data. Within this field, students study data science techniques, infrastructures and approaches in order to make them more responsible.
Projects and Seminars (14 – 18 ECTS)
The Projects and Seminars area introduces students to independent research and teaches the skills necessary to successfully participate in and contribute to larger data science projects. The area consists of research seminars, individual projects, team projects. The projects are conducted jointly with industrial partners and/
Master’s Thesis (30 ECTS)
In the master’s thesis, students apply what they learned throughout the program. The master’s thesis is written over a period of six months. Students are encouraged to write their thesis either in the context of research projects conducted by participating institutes or in cooperation with an industrial partner. Students often write their master’s thesis in cooperation with a company from the MMDS Industry Partner Network.
The module catalog 2024/
Please read the examination regulations of your program carefully.
Chairman
Student representative: Alexander Haberling
You can contact the examination committee via pruefungsausschuss.wim uni-mannheim.de
Tasks of the central examination committee
We are responsible for the following topics:
The student advisory (run by the study coach and program manager) is a combined offer for the Mannheim Master in Data Science program.
You can consult us in questions regarding:
You can contact the advisory service via studienberatung.wim. uni-mannheim.de
Finding a supervisor and a topic for your master’s thesis requires early planning and initiative on your part. It is primarily your responsibility as a student to contact a chair that fits your study profile. This means that you need to contact several chairs or professors on your own initiative in order to find someone who will agree to supervise your master's thesis. It is the norm that students contact the chairs personally, and something we expect from students at our school.
Who can supervise my master's thesis?
In general, all professors teaching courses in the MMDS program also supervise master’s theses. However, professors from other schools and departments may also do so, provided the topic falls within the scope of the MMDS program.
Industry Partner Network
MMDS students often write their master’s thesis in cooperation with a company from the MMDS Industry Partner Network.