Computational Linguistics University of Stuttgart

Dialogue systems, machine translation, search engines and much more – with your Master of Science degree in Computational Linguistics (CL), you can make your contribution to all these fascinating fields!

The programme is offered by the Institute for Natural Language Processing Stuttgart, which is located in Faculty 5: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. It is intended for students from the fields of computational linguistics, computer science, general linguistics and related disciplines. Our programme provides an advanced education to students who wish to widen their knowledge of theories and applications relevant to the automatic processing of written and spoken language.

The programme starts with an intensive class that reviews the basics of computational linguistics. Students can focus on one of the following areas by choosing specific elective courses:

• Core Computational Linguistics (covering a wide range of theoretical foundations and fundamental technologies for different CL areas)
• Applied Natural Language Processing (covering a wide range of text processing applications and the techniques used to address them)
• Speech Processing (focusing on the automated processing of spoken language for a variety of purposes)

In a CL team laboratory in the second semester, students acquire practical skills for typical collaborative project situations. A CL research module in the third semester prepares students for writing their Master's theses.
In addition to the mentioned obligatory modules and the Master's thesis, the programme consists of a wide range of possible elective modules. These are offered by the Institute for Natural Language Processing and by the departments of Computer Science and Linguistics.

FAQ regarding MSc Computational Linguistics and teaching at the IMS

According to the Study and Examination Regulations:

• Semester one: Methods in Computational Linguistics, elective courses, Intro to DL for STP 
• Semester two: CL team laboratory, elective courses
• Semester three: CL research module, elective courses
• Semester four: Master's thesis

There are no obligatory internships, but six ECTS credit points can be acquired for a voluntary internship.

A Bachelor's degree in computational linguistics, natural language processing, computer science, linguistics or a related field is required.

Approx. 200 EUR per semester

Living expenses amount to about 1,050 EUR per month. Non-EU students will have to demonstrate that they have sufficient finances to cover living expenses for 12 months. EU citizens may apply for state-guaranteed loans during the time of enrolment. 

For more information, see the links on our website.

Stuttgart is located in Baden-Württemberg, one of the economically strongest and most innovative regions in Germany and Europe. The region is home to numerous companies and offers students many opportunities to get a student job or internship.

For more detailed information, please consult our university's website: Financing your studies and working for international students.

Please check our university's website regarding scholarships and financial aid.

The university’s Career Service and the FiT-US project offer personal counselling and support as well as numerous activities on how to prepare for a career (e.g. job fairs, alumni talks, CV check, study-related German as foreign language courses):

Career Service for students | TRACES 

Prepare for the job market: Student success, career orientation and employability.

Additionally, our student associations publish job offers and organise company visits.

Both the campus in Stuttgart-Vaihingen and the campus in the centre of Stuttgart have on-site halls of residence. Dorm rooms (ranging from 320 EUR to 650 EUR per month) are furnished. Some are equipped with a sink, and all have access to a kitchen and sanitary facilities, telephone and Internet. From the campus in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, the city of Stuttgart can be reached by suburban railway within ten minutes.

Intelligent systems to benefit society

The University of Stuttgart is one of the leading technically oriented universities in Germany with global significance. It sees itself as a centre of university-based, non-university, and industrial research. Furthermore, it takes on a role as a guarantor of research-based teaching, focused on quality and holism. The university promotes the transfer of knowledge and technologies to society in all its areas of expertise and competence. The "Stuttgarter Weg" (Stuttgart Way) means an interdisciplinary integration of engineering, natural sciences, humanities, management, economics and social sciences based on the fundamentals of cutting-edge research at a disciplinary level. Our vision is “intelligent systems to benefit society”.

Excellent research and teaching

The University of Stuttgart implements innovative concepts in research and teaching in order to provide knowledge and strategies for a meaningful and sustainable development. It focuses on basic research that is both knowledge-oriented and application-related. To facilitate this research, the university is actively part of regional, national and international research networks.

The university is committed to the principle of unity between research and teaching. Students acquire knowledge, expertise and the power of judgement, in accordance with the guidelines of scientific research and awareness. The university fosters fascination for the sciences, supporting its students and junior researchers at all stages of their careers. It promotes independent thinking and provides an environment for responsible action. In doing so, it educates individuals into becoming exceptional experts who think in an integrative and global manner and act responsibly in the sciences, economics and society.

A powerful region

Founded in 1829, at the beginning of the Industrial Age, the University of Stuttgart continues to prepare the way for innovation within an economically and scientifically powerful region and contributes to the economic success and prosperity of our society. This process combines the requirements of a social and cultural change, which allows for an early and extensive input of social interests in research and design as well as teaching and further education.

Open-mindedness

The University of Stuttgart stands for open-mindedness, individuality and community spirit. It brings together students who are eager to learn, highly motivated employees, outstanding teachers, and excellent researchers, as well as visionary thinkers and inventors. By means of its culture of integration, the university creates and conveys knowledge for shaping the future of our society.

The University of Stuttgart is nestled in one of Europe’s most vibrant industrial regions. This fosters many forms of interdisciplinary collaboration — for instance, in numerous Collaborative Research Centres (also known as CRC or sometimes CRC/TRR) and in application-oriented research assignments. The University of Stuttgart sets up a close relationship and a successful transfer of knowledge and technology between its research institutions and business enterprises in the region and beyond. This very practical orientation benefits research and teaching. At the same time, economic players profit from rapid access to new scientific knowledge and contact to experts in their specialised fields. There are numerous possibilities of collaboration for businesses. Furthermore, the university also maintains a close relationship with non-university research institutions such as the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society, the German Aerospace Centre, and the German Literature Archive Marbach. Thus, the optimal prerequisites for cutting-edge research at the highest level are all to be found in Stuttgart.