Computational Linguistics / Computerlinguistik University of Tübingen

As one of the leading computational linguistics programmes in Germany, the ISCL MA course of study focuses on current themes in computational linguistics research as well as on practical skills. Students can choose from a wide range of courses in our department and in other departments of the University of Tübingen. Topics dealt with in our courses include grammar formalisms, machine learning, information retrieval, dialectometry, and computer-aided language learning, to name just a few. By engaging in project-driven work and writing term papers, our students learn how to solve problems on a solid academic basis.

Students with a BA in computational linguistics can choose which courses they want to take relatively freely. Those with a pure linguistics or computer science background have to catch up on the corresponding counterparts. Many courses offered at our department include hands-on components. It is also possible to take courses at other departments of the university (e.g. computer science or general linguistics) and have them counted as part of the MA degree, with courses external to the department requiring approval by the adviser at the start of the semester.

A successfully completed university degree

• with good grades (better than 2.5 on the German grading scale) and
• with a focus on computational linguistics or with a major focus on linguistics or computer science, including at least half of the material covered by the BA in Computational Linguistics in Tübingen as well as
• good English language competence at least at the CEFR level B2 (for details, see below) and
• an obligatory motivation letter spelling out your background related to computational linguistics and your motivation for studying it

Enrolment fees at the University of Tübingen are currently about 200 EUR per semester. This includes use of local public transport free of charge from Monday to Friday in the evening, on weekends and on public holidays. In addition, students may purchase a semester ticket for unlimited use of public transport in the city of Tübingen and the surrounding area (currently about 160 EUR).

Estimated basic student expenses are about 1,000 EUR per month according to the Tübingen Student Services organisation (“Studierendenwerk”), including rent for student accommodation. Rent for private accommodation will be more expensive.

There are a number of positions for student research assistants in our department, and we traditionally fill these positions with participants from the ISCL programme.

Accommodation is available through the Student Services organisation (“Studierendenwerk“) or on the private market. Rooms in student accommodation cost approx. 250 to 480 EUR per month. As Tübingen is a very attractive place to live, private accommodation is more expensive and can take some effort to find. To make sure you find a suitable place to live, you should start looking as early as possible.

We recommend you apply for student accommodation through the “Studierendenwerk” at the same time that you apply for admission to the Master's programme (https://www.my-stuwe.de/en/housing/halls-of-residence-tuebingen/ and https://www.my-stuwe.de/en/housing/faqs/) and send in a copy of your notification of admission as soon as you have received it. (Your application won’t be processed before the “Studierendenwerk” has received proof of your admission.)

For further information, check out the “Studierendenwerk” pages on housing in Tübingen (https://www.my-stuwe.de/en/housing/housing-infos/).