I am an international student looking to study in Germany. I’m in a unique situation where my best possible option of beginning my studies in Germany is most likely doing my bachelors in Artificial Intelligence. I want to study Computer Science and then maybe do my masters in AI, but unfortunately I might not be able to do that. I am passionate about CS and learning in general and I have good grades. Studying AI itself doesn’t bother me, but my career prospects worry me as I would like to still have a chance at all other CS fields since they all interest me and for the safety of it.
Context: German universities require American Highschool students to have AP scores ready before their deadline of 15 July which is impossible for me because AP scores come out by 21 July. The only universities offering CS bachelors in English seem like they won’t be lenient with the deadline and me not having my APs in time, hence, I want to be prepared for the worst possible case scenarios. I have contacted Deggendorf Institute of Technology and they seemed like they would give me time for my AP scores to come out, making it a very safe and likely option. The problem is that they offer an [Artificial Intelligence Bachelors](https://www.th-deg.de/ain-b-en#subject-overview), not a CS one. I am thinking of ways to solve this and have considered the option of possibly doing AI for a semester or a year and then transferring to a CS Bachelors and this option might be viable, but I would still like to ensure that doing a bachelors at DIT in AI wouldn’t stop my career in anyway in case I can’t transfer. In a worst case scenario where I have to do the AI degree, I am thinking of doing my masters in CS since I initially intended to do the opposite.
Would jobs hire me as a software engineer with an AI degree? Does it make me less appealing to jobs even if I have the same skills if not more?
Would doing my bachelors in AI decrease my opportunities and limit me?
Is DIT respected?
I am interested in research. Would I have opportunities there?
Do my plans seem realistic? Could I transfer universities after a semester or a year?
How is life in Deggendorf?
Thank you so much in advance and I apologize for the long post.
2 comments
DIT is a university of applied sciences. There will be significantly less research than at regular universities.
>Would jobs hire me as a software engineer with an AI degree? Does it make me less appealing to jobs even if I have the same skills if not more?
Once you have a Master’s, it doesn’t matter what your Bachelor’s degree was. If you plan to apply with only a Bachelor’s degree, you won’t come very far (salary-wise) in Germany anyway.
>Would doing my bachelors in AI decrease my opportunities and limit me?
It might limit your choice of initial employment somewhat, but IT people are in high enough demand that it shouldn’t actually impact your career opportunities.
>Is DIT respected?
It’s a standard public university of applied science.
German public universities (and employers) don’t care much about rankings or reputation.
>I am interested in research. Would I have opportunities there?
It’s a university of applied science (as opposed to a “general” university), so I’d expect courses and internships to be more practical/industry-oriented than academic. For a Bachelor’s degree, it probably won’t make much difference.
>Do my plans seem realistic? Could I transfer universities after a semester or a year?
Probably yes, but be aware that a “transfer” in Germany is basically a new application from scratch.
You may be able to transfer some of your courses and grades once you get accepted somewhere else, but you would essentially be going through the same application process you’re looking at right now.
>How is life in Deggendorf?
It’s a small-ish town (~35k people) in a rural-ish region. There will probably be things to do, but don’t expect a buzzing nightlife.
>Thank you so much in advance and I apologize for the long post.
No need to apologize, hope I could help.