Software engineering at Kaiserslautern University

Hallo people

I am from Perú, I'm new here. I've came across with this page and let me tell you I liked so much since I was looking for a long time information about Germany. Magnificent!

Well, got to the point. I was looking for universities there, trying to get a postgraduate in Software Engineer. I got this university.

http://www.uni-kl.de/

Is that a good university? What do you think? I think it is cheaper than other ones: 650 euros per 6 months. The only problem for me is the cost of living.

I will be very grateful for your feedback.

Kind Regards

Rubén

Que tal tocayo?
Here's a link to a University Ranking fron DAAD. There you could compare how the Kaiserlautern Uni compares to others in different areas. When I went through the process of choosing where to study I did the selection based on where to live rather than where to study. At the end I came to the Technische Universität München and it was not a bad choice at all since it's one of the best technical unis in Germany (and I had no clue about that before). Remember that besides studying you will also be living here for some time, so you have to go somewhere where you get a good compromise between studies, life and personal finances. Take into account the difference in living costs in different cities, for example, it's a lot more expensive to live in Munich than in Berlin. Hope that helps. Suerte!

There is also a pretty good community of Peruvians living in Munich. I knew a few. But Munich is EXPENSIVE. Kaiserlautern is cheap.

Hola Rubén

Uni Karlsruhe is supposed to be the best for computer science.

Hola a todos,

Muchas gracias por sus respuestas = Thank you very much for your responses.
Well, I'm planning to study in Germany and also work. I think it will be in 2 years (2009 - 2010) because I definitely have to improve my german (Currently I'm taking studies in Goethe Institute here in Lima. I'm still in A2 level). I would like to stay here in Lima, but to be honest, salary is not even what i expect and i think i deserve more than that. Moreover, I am a pasionate for foreign languages, so this is an additional stuff. What impressed me are the fees for applying to this postgraduate: for example, just 650 euros per semester. It looks quite cheap. Is that amount typical there? Obviuosly, the are more fees to pay like for example public transport, matriculation, etc. The only hard thing that i can find out was the cost of living. My questions are:

- Do you know how much should I have per month to live comfortable (medium status)?
- How is life in Karlsruhe?
- There mentions about public transport per month -> 150 euros. It means I have free-pass for public transport for a month? Sorry maybe is a silly question, but in Peru is so much different.
- Can I get a part-time job with a student visa easily?

Thanks in advance.
Kind Regards
Rubén

Karlsruhe... the public transport should be cheaper. I would expect more like €150 for the entire semester which means you have a pass for all public transport for however long the ticket is valid for (if it is a semester it would be 6 months). I study in Heidelberg and pay about €100 a semester. I can go to a lot of places with the ticket, even Kaiserslautern and Würzburg.
As far as I know you can get a part-time job on a student visa if you are enrolled in a regular degree program.

Oh yeah, the fees are about the same everywhere in the southwest area. Tuition is €500, €100 for semester ticket, €100 for fees.
I would expect that with €500-600/month you can live a fairly decent life, especially if you find accommodation in student housing.

Thank you to all, your feedbacks have been pretty much exploited. I think, it'd be better if I go to Germany for my vacations of next year (2008) to make a glance by my own.

Anybody knows the average salary for a part-time software developer? Programs I know are C#, VB.NET, Java, PHP, C++ and Delphi.

Thank you very much!
Rubén.

Ruben, you can only work up to 90 full days or 180 half-days on a student visa as a non-eu foreigner. At least on the written law you are suppose to come here with sufficient funds to live without the need for a supplementary job. A proof of this is usually required when you register with the authorities to get your residence permit. Usual ways of proving that you can live without a job are a bank account with the equivalent of at least 600 euro per month for the time that you will stay or sometimes it is also accepted a letter where your parents or someone assures that they will support you. This letter should be accompanied by a bank statement which shows that your sponsor has sufficient funds on his/her own to actually support you. With the letter thing you don't really need to get any money from your sponsor, but it's good enough for them to see it written.
There is one exception to the 90-day rule and it is if you work as a student assistant in the university. This usually is considered to be in close relationship to your studies and thus is accepted for longer term.
Salaries for a student working part-time on IT or software developing areas in Munich go from 8 to 15 euro per hour approximately. So also don't expect to get rich there. I don't know figures for Kaiserlautern on that respect, but it shouldn't be very different. For living costs I also don't know figures for Kaiserlautern, but in Munich you can survive with 600, a little better live with 800. But only if you get a veeeery cheap room in one of the student dorms or a cheap shared flat somewhere. And the 600-800 range is not a fancy lifestyle, it allows you to pay the rent, health insurance, transportation, buy groceries and go out a bit. But not much than that. However, I reckon that Kaiserlautern should be cheaper.

And if you read closer in the university website, you will find some more information in english related to living costs and other issues relevant for foreign students.

Also for more information on work regulations you may want to ask your local german consulate.

Kaiserslautern and Karlsruhe should be cheaper, yes. You should be able to find a place to live for €200-250.
You can even find a place for that money in Heidelberg, and that city is a lot more expensive.

I lived in Kaiserslautern for a while and can't really recommend it.

It's very cheap (for Germany) but also..well...very boring. It's a small town in an economically depressed area. The students are mostly male, so if you're hoping to meet a nice German lady while studying here, don't go to Kaiserslautern. Karlsruhe is a much better bet in terms of student life/diversity of the student body.

but not the university. it's a technical university and traditionally the man to woman ration is pretty high.

In Baden-Württemberg the cities with the best student life are Freiburg and Heidelberg but I don't know if they offer your major.

Masters progarm at Univerity Heidelberg for computer science (their translation is "Application Oriented Computer Science"). i know a friend doing this. it's all in German. she works part-time at SAP as well as a "Werksstudent".

If I had known better back then, I would have rather studied Informatik (this is what Computer Science is called in Germany) at the UniKarlsruhe. They are said to be really excellent. And Karlsruhe is a small town, it should be cheap. A friend of mine from Venezuela studies there and she loves it.

Thank you for the tip. Yes, people told me Kaiserslautern is really very cheap.


Yeah, it could be, Well, actually I don't know anything of cities there in Germany 'cause I haven't been there yet. I was told TU KL is one of the best universities regarding computer science, software enginering and all that stuff. So, my intention is not to find a German lady to get married or fall in love. My goal is to get a degree there, I don't care if in KL there are not any woman over (hey, I'm not gay by the way ). Maybe at the weekends, i'll be able to visit Franfurt, Manheim, Stutgart, Munchen to get some fun, but believe me, fun doesn't matter.


I will check it out. Vielen dank Mariposa.


part-time at SAP? wow, really interesting.


Good news! I think I'm in the right way. Just save money and go there. If I look for studying there I have to plan my budget for these 2 years.

- First payment (matriculation): 1000 euros = 1000
- Tuition: 650 euros per semester (4 semester) = 2600
- Public transport ticket: 150 euros per semester (4 semester) = 600
- Cost of living for a month: 600 euros (12 months) = 7200

Total = 11400 euros

Is that ok for a good life there?
Do i need to add-up something more?

Thank you very much
Rubén

What is that matriculation about? I don't know that fee. All you pay per semester is about €600.

Health insurance should be around €50 a month.

"Good life" is relative. You will have a very small apartment or share one most likely, but most students do that anyway. You will not be able to go out every night, but if you watch how you spend your money you will be able to go out quite a bit. Especially if you do earn some extra money by working a little.

If you ever want to fly home you might want to have some money for the flight. And a full degree takes 6-9 semesters (6 if it is a B.A., 8-9 if it is a Diplom).

some schools do have a "start" or "administration" fee. if you're a foreign student, i wouldn't be surprised. but 1000 Euro is quite a lot. maybe it's a deposit? also, it's possible to get a part-time job as a student, so if you can swing it, you might have a little bit in your pocket to play with.

When I came here I calculated about 1000 USD per month for the 24 months that my MSc program lasted. I spent more than that at the end. However, I traveled to wherever I wanted and I've been living in Munich. But that figure should give you an idea of how much money you will need. I don't spend much money going our for example, I don't go shopping a lot, but I eat out a lot, I spend a lot of money on cooking stuff (food, tools, and others). On the other hand I paid way less per semester. I finished my MSc before the new regulation started, so I only paid 85 euro per semester, no start-up fee.

Of course I should have written that it should really be cheap seeing that it's a small town, just corrected my own post(brain not working today, am ill). Anyway, I have an Indian friend who studies in Fulda. He manages to get along on €400 per month, don't know how he does it. It depends on how much you go out. You also didn't add your health insurance costs. This is compulsory in Germany, but I don't think it's a lot for young, male students. Finding student jobs is always easy BUT be sure to learn German. Honestly, you will get you much better jobs. If all else fails you can always get a job as a Spanish teacher on the sideline. Mio segundo maestro de Espanol fue también de Peru.

It might be possible that the postgraduate degree costs more. (Also never mind what I said about 6-9 semesters, I didn't see you want to do a postgarduate degree.)
However Immatrikulationsgebühren/STudiengebühren (matriculation fee) = tuition/fees.
Most M.A./Sc. degrees don't cost more than a B.A./Sc.

i don't know whether your german is good enough, i post it anyway: students from mainz, munich, cologne, freiburg and bonn are comparing their expenses ie rent, phone, food etc. inhere
i am sure by 2008 (and later) prices will have increased.

I just had a look at that article and the costs seem a bit arbitrary to me.
The only time I spent more than €100 a semester on textbooks was when I lived in the States (there it was closer to $350). Usually I spend around €50. Of course this depends on your major. My cellphone bill is €23 a month and that already seems quite a lot to me, I have been considering cutting down to a cheaper plan but I would probably go over my minutes all the time and end up paying more.

One thing to consider: if you share an apartment, you can split a lot of costs, like phone, internet, GEZ (a fee to pay for the publicly owned TV stations), etc.
I am lucky that my landlords/neighbors have their phone/internet set up so all basic fees are included in the rent, and I only pay for the calls I actually make.

And keep in mind, that you may need more money in the beginning, because you will not be able to bring everything from home, like bedsheets and towels and some kitchen equipment (you will want to get a furnished apartment but you'll still have some expenses at the beginning to buy everything else).

a bit off topic (referring to the Sueddeutsche.de article), but the guy who still lives with his parents has spent 284 € for recreation, whereas the others spent between 75 and 140. Spoiled brat.

Regarding books, you should really spend very little money if you go to a good Uni. The libraries will always have all what you need. I only bought about two or three books. The rest we got always from the library.
Regarding fees, they are the same for regular diploma students and MSc students.

1000 USD per month. It sounds too much expensive and unreachable for me as well. Maybe since you studied in Munich, not in Kaiserslautern. Yes, the last thing i will do is to waste my money in parties or whatever. Anyways, I believe that getting a job I could manage it better. The only fear is my student visa. But you people gave me a lot of ideas. Spanish teacher could be one of them. I don't know if it is a trendy matter over there.


Nice spanish MajorBummer!. Yes you are right. I didn't add health insurance. Regarding language, yes, i agree with you, German is a must. As i told you, I'm studying German in Goethe Institute in Lima. I think i will speed up my courses to get my certifications earlier.


Ok, good info, planetmoni, danke


Omg, every time I see it more expensive than it was.


I think just need my laptop, and that's all. As you say, with a good library I'll be more than ok.

Well, the expenses at the beginning should not be that much, you can buy cheap things, to to IKEA, sales etc. you just need to have a bit of a financial cushion at the beginning.

I do not think you need $1000 a month, plus $1000 is a bad currency to talk in anyway, since the dollar isn't very strong. €600 and you will be fine.
Remember that you also have to pay a deposit for your apartment usually, which will be 2-3 months' rent. Munich is so much more expensive than K-town and Karlsruhe, it makes no sense to compare them. Living expenses will be similar everywhere with the exception of rent! And that is where you can save a good chunk of money every month if you choose a city like Karlsruhe or KL.

Regarding accommodation, you should aim to get a room in one of the Studentenwerk dorms. Take a look at www.studentenwerk.de. It's kinda difficult to get a room there because there's more people than rooms, but if you ask nicely and insistently you get one. With a room like that you only pay one month deposit and you don't need to buy any furniture.

As a foreign student it should definitely be easier for him to get one than for a German student.

Not really... it's still a challenge dude. Those peeps at Studentenwerk are really something special.

Hmm, well, I know I don't even qualify for the Studentenwohnheim, so I never bothered applying.

I got one but only becuase the people from my program requested it directly. It really doesn't matter much if you are a foreigner. I've know a good deal of people who haven't been able to get a place even after trying for several semesters.

Meinprof, considered infamous by some, collects ratings from students: http://www.meinprof.de/unis/rheinland-pfal...i-kl/Informatik

Browse around a little and compare the ratings to other universities you consider.

Hey Rubén, don't be scared off by those large monthly figures. since you're going to a cheap place, then you should be fine on 600 Euro a month. you've got your priorities set, so aim for that.
Also, as a student, you can work, but I think only 30 hours a month or something silly like that so you can always supplement your income a little bit. and i wouldn't even bother teaching spanish. try to get a part-time job in computer science. if you study in KA, you can try applying at SAP (which is about a 40 min commute). i know they pay part-time student workers around 11 Euros an hour & you get free lunch

@Ruben, please be sure that you understand the regulations and limitations regarding part-time or full-time employment for foreign non-EU students. You are allowed to work, but only for a limited time each year. Here's a thread where the issue is discussed a bit. Contact you local consulate for more information. Don't rely completely on the having a part-time job to supplement your finances, it is of course very likely that you will get a job in the IT industry, but you can never be completely sure. Make sure that you can actually survive even if you don't get a job.

Ruben, you should seriously visit KL before considering studying there. It's cheap but that is perhaps the only thing to recommend it. Full disclosure: My husband graduated from KL university (not in computer science though) and didn't like it. He seriously considered transferring to Karlsruhe during his studies, and ended up studying abroad for a year just to get out of Kaiserlautern.

Nice info Dostoyevsky, but it seems KL is not well qualified. why?


Thanks for cheering me up! Well, getting a party-time job would be great. Point being, I don't know how situation will be. So, better if i got the enough money to survive for these 2 years. My idea was to save money for just one single year, but i think it won't work. You people wonder why if you say it is a city that is quite cheap, yeah, but for example 600 - 900 euros is what an engineer earn here for a month if he/she works as a developer, 1000 euros - 2000 euros as a IT manager. My salary to be honest is about 800 euros = $1000. So you know what i mean. for me save 600 euros per month will be a challenge. I am not complaining about my salary, because here cost of living is by far lower than Germany, KL as well. Although, salaries get frozen, and I think a engineer here should be earning more than he is currently. So, that is why I took that decision. People think I'm a freak, but i want to improve my knowledge and obviously my life quality.


Exactly, that is the point Panama. It will cost a lot of work here. I will try to save all the money I can. I'm getting certificates from Microsoft and IBM and Sun (Java). I hope they can help me.


Yes, people tell me that KL is not the best place in Germany, but although, I've received a lot of good opinions about that university. If there is a possibility to stay in Germany after studies, definitely I will move up to the big cities... Munchen, Frankfurt, i don't know.

Is there a possibility for you to apply for a scholarship?

By the way I just found a link that might be helpful for you:
http://www.daad.de/deutschland/index.en.html

That was going to be my next suggestion. Actually in South America usually the case is that there are very few applicants for the DAAD scolarships, so your chances are not bad at all. The usual problem is that you have to apply to the scolarship after you have been accepted by the universitiy. That usually takes about 6 months, but because of the applicatio periods at DAAD it's effectively one year. That means you usually have to start the process to get a DAAD scolarship two years in advance. But you said somewhere that you are planning to come over here in 2008 or 2009, so maybe now is a good moment to look into that.

Thanks Panama, Mariposa

yeah I will try to apply for DADD. I had already heard about it but i didn´t try.
By the way, now I have 1 choice more. Guess?? Munchen...!!!

I have family there, and they want me studying there. So, anybody says TU Munchen?? opinions please?

Regards

Rubén

Yessssssssss!!! I am biased because it's my hometown but Munich is and stays the best city in Germany in my opinion.
TU and LMU universities are both excellent schools, they were recently named "elite universities" (Exzellenzinitiative -> competition between universities to get fnding from government, I think four universities were selected in the first round, two are the ones in Munich).
They both have a good reputation.
But: living in Munich is expensive, but managable. If you have family there, you may be able to live with them anyway.
My brother is at TU, as is a friend of mine from high school. Good university.

Nice!!! I know Munich is quite expensive, also know is one of the most beautiful places in Germany. I will to balance these 2 possibilities. With a family there, maybe things could be a little bit easier than being alone, despite Munich's high cost of living, don't you think?

Yes, if you get along with your family, hehe. Family was one reason I left Munich, but things are a lot better now.

hahaha, I think I can deal with them.

Hello,
Well I am student in Computer science engineering in Algeria, I will graduate in june 2009, how can I apply for Non-Consecutive computer science master?
The application need the final diploma of graduation, and the deadline of winter session are in May, but I can't get my degree until June, and the time's up!
How can I do??

i think you should ask at the university. we are just a bunch of expats.

Hello,

How about the German language level required to study an international program??

Thanks!