TU Munich vs. RWTH Aachen vs. Saarland University

[uguradgzl88]

Hi everyone,

 

I've got admission from all the above mentioned institutions. Informatics Master's Program in TU Munich, Computer Science Master's Program in Saarland University and Software Systems Engineering in RWTH Aachen university. None of these universities offer financial support. Now I am having difficulties to chose one of them considering all of them are one of the best universitiest in Germany in Computer Science.

 

What can you say about these programs? What is the level of study in each of them? What program would you advise? What are the prospectives in research/work in these institutions? Which one would be better for quality of education(expectations) per cost of living criteria? :)

 

And finally, which university would you advise and with which reasons?

 

Thanks in advance for your answers.

[Lena]

Hey,

 

(in case you are German this might not be new to you but in case you're not, it might really help you)

 

I might be a little biased because I grew up in Saarbrücken (Saarland University) studied there for 4 years and my father is a professor in computational linguistics there. So, of course, I would advise you to go there. As far as I know they are really good in AI stuff and have a Max-Planck-Institute as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence close at hand. I know that my father's students (they also have CS majors working as research assistents) have very good job prospects in research and industry.

 

Munich: I don't know the university. Munich is beautiful but not cheap. Definitely way more expensive than Saarbruecken or Aachen.

 

Aachen: The RWTH Aachen is one of the best schools in Germany. But, it is NOT a university. We distinguish between universities and "Fachhochschulen". Universities are usually more theoretic and Fachhochschulen are supposed to be more practice oriented. Before the conversion to bachelor and master degrees a diploma from a Fachhochschule did not allow you to pursue a doctoral program but employers often preferred people from Fachhochschulen because they actually knew how to code. After the Bologna-Reform and the change in degree types a lot of things changed but I am still not quite sure whether Fachhochschul-degrees from certain schools might still be not that accepted for research positions (although the reputation of the RWTH Aachen is way better than the reputation of other Fachhochschulen).

 

So, I would go for Saarbrücken. They get huge research grants from the DFG and I loved my childhood there. Studying chem and bio wasn't bad either and I know many of my dad's colleagues and they're all very smart and extremely interesting people.

 

Good luck!

Lena

[blessed]

Hey,

 

(in case you are German this might not be new to you but in case you're not, it might really help you)

 

I might be a little biased because I grew up in Saarbrücken (Saarland University) studied there for 4 years and my father is a professor in computational linguistics there. So, of course, I would advise you to go there. As far as I know they are really good in AI stuff and have a Max-Planck-Institute as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence close at hand. I know that my father's students (they also have CS majors working as research assistents) have very good job prospects in research and industry.

 

Munich: I don't know the university. Munich is beautiful but not cheap. Definitely way more expensive than Saarbruecken or Aachen.

 

Aachen: The RWTH Aachen is one of the best schools in Germany. But, it is NOT a university. We distinguish between universities and "Fachhochschulen". Universities are usually more theoretic and Fachhochschulen are supposed to be more practice oriented. Before the conversion to bachelor and master degrees a diploma from a Fachhochschule did not allow you to pursue a doctoral program but employers often preferred people from Fachhochschulen because they actually knew how to code. After the Bologna-Reform and the change in degree types a lot of things changed but I am still not quite sure whether Fachhochschul-degrees from certain schools might still be not that accepted for research positions (although the reputation of the RWTH Aachen is way better than the reputation of other Fachhochschulen).

 

So, I would go for Saarbrücken. They get huge research grants from the DFG and I loved my childhood there. Studying chem and bio wasn't bad either and I know many of my dad's colleagues and they're all very smart and extremely interesting people.

 

Good luck!

Lena

 

Check this please German Universities Excellence Initiative - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Though Saarbrucken is also famous for its CS, I would still definitely pick one from the first two which are more reputable. Maybe a little more favor on TUM as it usually ranks No.1 or 2 in rankings regarding German universities as I've seen

[Lena]

Okay, let's put it like this: I would definitely pick the one program that fits you (researchers?) and the place that fits you and not the one that is supposed to be more reputable because wikipedia says so :) I guess he was smart enough to find rankings himself. The reason why you ask people in a forum is to get some information beyond those internet resources.

 

Aachen should not have tuition fees btw... At least they should not be having them for very much longer because the new SPD government promised so in their election campaign... But tuition fee in Germany is like 1200 Euros a year and everyone here works part-time while studying. So money usually is not that much of an issue.

 

Anyways, I did not really pay attention to the date when making my first reply. He made his decision two or three months ago, so I hope he made a good one :)

[rizh]

Lena, I found your post very informative. I am moving to Saarbruken shortly to study at Saarland University and would like to know if part time jobs are available for English speaking students? Thanks :)

[Lena]

Hi rizh!

 

Are you thinking of jobs at the university for graduate students (research fellowships / teaching assistantships) or part time jobs anywhere? Will you be studying CS, too?

 

I guess usually you can always find jobs as a native speaker writing english texts for company webpages or stuff like that.

[rizh]

Thanks for replying. I'd be studying Bioinformatics there. Yes, I wanted to know about jobs on campus :)

[Lena]

Oh, hi Rizh,

 

I totally forgot about forums after finishing up my PhD applications :D

 

I think you should definitely talk to your program coordinator or the professor who is responsible for international students. They should be able to give you an idea. I don't know whether you will be in undergrad or grad but I suppose for the latter there will most likely be options to work in your department.

 

Since it is already April now, you'll probably be in Germany already? I hope everything goes / went fine and you got all you need. Say hi to my "beautiful" home town for me!

[Gourmet Fudge]

Uni Augsburg and HPI Potsdam are both better than all these three first choices when it it about the bachelor studies.

 

TU Munich has accumulated more in-house research power and LMU Munich even more but don't feel elite just because you study there, it's easy to get into Munich and even Harvard relatively to the IITs in India. Very easy.

 

Rebuilt and Restored Dresden

 

Saarbrücken, Munich and Aachen are all first choice in Germany.

 

I would not leave out Uni Saarbrücken just because it's not one of the 11 new "elite universities".

 

(TU Berlin, HU Berlin, TU Munich, LMU Munich, University Cologne, Uni Bremen, TU Dresden, RWTH Aachen, Uni Tübingen, Uni Heidelberg, Uni Konstanz)

 

Rather I would recommend the CHE ranking University Ranking 2012/2013 for Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria

It gives a detailed in-depth review and is independent.

 

The elite status only means the university has a truly good future aptitude and concept, worldwide excellent clusters and a renowned graduate school.

 

German Universities are already among the best in the world, almost all in the top 2%, but mass universities in the very beginning.

They can often not not compete with the most advanced education countries (Australia, USA, Denmark, Netherlands, UK)

 

The accumulated in-university research power is much lower (as seen in the Times Higher Education Ranking, the Shanghai ranking is rather pointless in my opinion, especially outside the top 100 it makes no sense to me, I say this while my university continuously improves in every ranking)

 

You might also have a look at TU Dresden, which is member of the TU9 league (TU Dresden, RWTH Aachen, TU Munich, TU Braunschweig, KIT Karlsruhe, Uni Stuttgart, TU Darmstadt, TU Berlin, Hannover) and recently internationally elected "elite university" and has a good to very good position in the CHE ranking in many subjects.

 

Rebuilt and Restored Dresden

 

The ranking in informatics (for students) among those four would be

 

1. Saarbrücken (1,6)

2. TU München (1,9)

3. TU Dresden (2,0)

4. RWTH Aachen (2,1)

 

You see, Saarbrücken is not really a great city but informatics is the same there.

[Gourmet Fudge]

RWTH Aachen and TU Munich have a significantly higher overall reputation in Germany than Uni Saarbrücken, because they are officially "elite" universities or more exact universities of excellence.

 

But according to the independent and highly exact (detailed) CHE ranking (which should be preferred over totally idiotic rankings such as this from Shanghai) Uni Saarbrücken is still in the lead (which might change in future).

 

informatics:

 

1. Saarbrücken

2. TU Munich

3. Aachen

 

(not the first three overall !, just among each other, TU Ilmenau might not be known internationally but is also seen as outstanding in what they offer among moderate experts such as every German employer)

 

According to the CHE ranking TU Dresden is overall number one (because outperforming the good average in all measured dimensions) in electronics and information technology. I guess it's better than Aachen, as mass university which gets interesting post-graduate because it accumulates relatively much in-university research power for a German university. Normal students won't have very much use of it.

 

RWTH Aachen ist not a Fachhochschule, it's a Technical University and member of the TU9 universities. In almost all engineering subjects it's preferred by German employers (for masters), but we are close to their neck and apply more patents. In molecular electronics Dresden really is better.

 

In the past Universities and Technical Universities were significantly more renowned than Fachhochschuls (universities of applied sciences) but you have to look at the details now with the bachelor and master system.

 

My university for example, TU Dresden, is in the German top 5 for mechanical engineering and is well-equipped for automotive studies and traffic science. But they have 1.000 students alone in mechanical engineering. You are a nobody with a bad exam, especially when it's only a bachelor, not a master or Diplom-Ingenieur.

 

In opposite the local HTW Dresden university of applied sciences offers only 80 places very focused on the needs of automotive industries. This is where Bentley, Rolls Royce, BMW or the local Phaeton transparent factory hire. They don't want super-smart scientists or over-challenged average students with higher demands.

 

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Edited July 18, 2012 by Gourmet Fudge