Orientation for new students on the Master's Programme in Computer Science at Uppsala University, Autumn 2025.

WELCOME!

This page gives you information about the specifics of starting the Master's Programme in Computer Science. (Once you have started the programme, refer to the main programme page for information.) For general information about starting out as a student in Uppsala, please refer to information pages of the university and of the Department of Information Technology.

Be sure to read the whole page carefully. Please note that the information on this page may be updated from time to time. In particular, information about events during the orientation week will be added as information about them becomes available.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

In this programme, courses for the first semester are chosen together with department staff during the orientation week (August 25-29). Contrary to what is stated in some places on the university web, at the start of this programme you do not have to apply or register for courses in advance online!

Plan to arrive in Uppsala before Monday August 25! Classes don't begin until the September 1st, but you need this first week for various preparations. In case of unavoidable delays, you must be present in person at the Ångström campus of the university on Friday September 5th at the latest. If you are not you'll lose your place on the programme! The only exception is if you planned to be here by that date but can prove that you were delayed while traveling e.g. by late or cancelled flights. This is non-negotiable! Experience shows that students arriving more than a week late are very likely to fail courses during the first semester which causes major problems for them. Also, some teachers refuse to accept students that are more than a week late as that causes practical problems for their courses. Starting courses remotely is not an option.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Programme coordinator: Lars-Henrik Eriksson
Student advisor Liselott Dominicus. E-mail the student advisors

PREPARE YOUR INDIVIDUAL STUDY PLAN

The Master's Programme in Computer Science is a very open programme, offering great flexibility in the choice of courses. Before coming to Uppsala you should have given some thought about what courses you want to take during your studies.

To help you plan, you can find detailed information about the programme in the programme syllabus. See particularly the current outline. When reading about courses, note that semesters are divided into "half-semesters" or periods. The autumn semester includes periods 1 and 2, the spring semester includes periods 3 and 4.)

You can find tables of all the courses in the programme divided into subdisciplinces with their prerequisites (i.e. what course(s) you must take to be eligible for another course) here. The prerequistes are very important for your planning as the courses you choose for the first semester may determine what courses you can or can not take in later semesters.

Note that the compulsory introduction course "Advanced Computer Science Studies in Sweden" is not in the tables, nor is the final semester which is always dedicated to a degree project.

In particular, you need to think about the first semester courses, as you have to choose them during the orientation week. To help you plan, there are recommended study plans focusing on five areas of Computer Science: Programming language and Theory, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Concurrency and Parallelism, Computing and Society. The recommended study plans can be used as starting points for building your individual study plan.

You can also take courses outside of the programme, both within the department and in other departments, subject to availability and you having the necessary prerequisites.

If you are a fee-paying student then you must choose courses for a total of exactly 30 credits each semester. (Including the 5 credits for the introduction course in the first autumn semester.)

If, upon starting a course, you find that it wasn't what you expected, you can change courses during the first week of study, but not later. (That means at the latest September 5 for the first courses in the programme.)

INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS

All students need to have an individual meeting with one of the persons responsible for the programme or with the programme student advisor to discuss your study plan and finalise enrollment.

Detailed information on how to sign up for meetings will be given at the information meeting (see below) or sent to you by e-mail.

ORIENTATION PROGRAMME

The orientation programme consist of several parts:

More events will be added so check this web page again, at the latest when you arrive in Uppsala.

Monday August 25 at 10:15-12:00, Roll call and information meeting

The roll call and information meeting will be held in lecture hall 101195 at the Ångström campus.

This meeting is compulsory. Should you for any reason be unable to attend you must contact the Programme Coordinator in advance and as soon as possible.

Here you can see the presentation slides by Lars-Henrik (Programme Coordinator) and Liselott (Student Counsellor).

Wednesday August 27, 10:10 - 14:10, Steam Train Excursion

We will take a museum steam train from Uppsala train station to the village Marielund, about 15 km from Uppsala. The train leaves from track 10, on the east side of Uppsala railway station at 10:10 sharp. (You don't need to register for the event so if you're late, we won't know about it and can't wait for you.)

In Marielund we will socialise and have some fun and games. A light lunch and refreshments will be served. The second year students are also invited, so take the chance to meet with them! We'll be back in Uppsala at about 14:10.

Friday August 29, 09:15 - 11:00, Followup meeting

The roll call and information meeting will be held in lecture hall 101195 at the Ångström campus.

During the week you will have been bombarded with information and impressions. This meeting gives us a chance to reiterate important information and give you a chance to ask followup questions.

Here you can see the presentation slides.

Friday August 29, 13:00 - 15:00, Welcome reception

The university will hold a welcome reception in the main university building. The reception will begin with mini-fair in the entrance hall where student nations, student unions, the University’s student support services and associations linked to the University will all be present. At 14:30, there will be a ceremony in the Grand Auditorium hosted by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Coco Norén. It will be followed by light-hearted entertainment and useful information. The ceremony will be held in English.