1. Master Introduction Computer Science Joint UvA-VU Degree Andrew S
Master Introduction Computer Science Joint UvA-VU Degree Andrew S. Tanenbaum Master on PDCS Prof. Wan Fokkink program director Masters CS and PDCS

2. Welcome to Amsterdam!
As a Computer Science student you are offered the best of two universities within a single Master program.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Dept. of Computer Science
University of Amsterdam, Informatics Institute
You will take courses by lecturers from both universities, at both locations (VU campus and Science Park East).

3. COMPUTER SCIENCE JOINT DEGREE
Joint degree: one diploma issued by both universities
Larger selection of courses
More research opportunities for graduation projects and world-class researchers at your finger tips
More of everything…
But you’ll need to travel between two campuses and cope with two different administrative systems

4. WELCOME TO AMSTERDAM

5. FACT SHEET 2 years program 120 ECTS credits taught in English
international student population
excellent job prospectives in industry (in NL and abroad)
stepping stone for a career in industry or academia

6. GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE CURRICULUM
Structure of the academic year: weeks
Schedule at: rooster.vu.nl
vurooster.nl
datanose.nl (UvA)
Study guide at: studiegids.vu.nl
studiegids.uva.nl
Courses are 6 ECTS, per year 60 ECTS
You’re supposed to study 40 hours per week

7. computer science
Six different tracks
Master core (for all tracks)
5 compulsory courses per track
constrained choices
programming
software engineering
foundations
mathematics
free choices (some courses are pre-approved)

8. Literature Study and Seminar Master Project (30 ECTS)
MASTER CORE
A course on the social context of computer science:
History of Digital Cultures on history of computing
ICT for Development on ICT in developing countries
ICT4D in the Field, an ICT project in a rural community
E-commerce Law on legal issues for on-line business
Entrepreneurship in AI and CS on starting a company
Literature Study and Seminar
Master Project (30 ECTS)

9. INTERNET AND WEB TECHNOLOGY
Focus: Technology for Internet and Web
Compulsory courses:
Internet Programming
Distributed Systems
Distributed Algorithms
Web Services and Cloud-based Systems
Performance of Networked Systems

10. COMPUTER SYSTEMS SECURITY
Focus: Security of computer networks from a system’s point of view
Compulsory courses:
Secure Software
Computer and Network Security
Binary and Malware Analysis
Kernel Programming
Distributed Algorithms

11. PARALLEL COMPUTING SYSTEMS
Focus: Large-scale parallel computing
(clusters, grids, clouds, mainframes)
Compulsory courses:
Parallel System Architectures
Programming Large-scale Parallel Systems
Parallel Programming Practical
Programming Multi-core and Many-core Systems
Performance Engineering

12. SOFTWARE ENGINEERING AND GREEN IT
Focus: mastering complex software systems for a sustainable digital society
Compulsory courses:
Green Lab
Service Oriented Design
Software Asset Management
Software Architecture
Software Testing

13. BIG DATA ENGINEERING
Focus: How to cope with the enormous amounts of data on e.g.
the Internet and social media and in companies
Compulsory courses:
Information Visualization
Data Mining Techniques
Web Services and Cloud-based Systems
Web Data Processing Systems Large Scale Data Engineering

14. FOUNDATIONS OF COMPUTING AND CONCURRENCY
Focus: Apply formal methods in
computing and concurrency
Compulsory courses:
Distributed Algorithms
Protocol Validation
Logical Verification
Advanced Logic
Term Rewriting Systems

15. CONSTRAINED CHOICE Ensuring breadth of each individual study program
Constrained choice modules (12-18 ECTS):
* one course on programming
* one course on software engineering
* one course on foundations
* one course on mathematics
Each to be chosen from a predefined set of choices
Partially covered by the chosen track's core

16. FREE CHOICE Free choice (30-36 ECTS):
Courses from other tracks and other courses from constrained courses are pre-approved
Any course from a pre-approved list of suggestions
Other courses (at Master-level) from Computer Science,
Computational Science, Articial Intelligence, Bioinformatics,
Logic, … (to be approved by the exam committee)

17. YOU CAN TAILOR YOUR STUDY PROGRAM
Want to go to industry ?
Do your graduation project as an internship with a company
(or do an Industrial Internship for 6 ECTS)
Want to go for a PhD / more ambitious research project ?
Combine literature study, individual project, graduation project for an ambitious scientic research project of up to 42 ECTS
Do you want to develop your own study program ?
Devise your own free Master program and get it approved by the exam committee

18. ADMISSION Entry dates: September 1 & February 1
For university students:
* BSc degree in Computer Science or Informatica
(or closely related subject)
* other degrees: individual assessment
For HBO students:
* BSc degree in Informatica (or closely related subject)
* average grade at least 7.0
* Individual premaster (typically 30 ECTS) from our BSc
Computer Science program to resolve deficiencies

19. PDCS MASTER
Andrew S. Tanenbaum Master on Parallel and Distributed Computer Systems

20. PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTER SYSTEMS
top Master program
selective admission
one of the most positively evaluated Master programs in The Netherlands
research oriented
practical orientation (labs, projects)
focused on systems
operating systems, networks, distributed systems
multiprocessors, clusters, Internet, clouds
parallel algorithms / languages / systems

21. PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Compulsory courses:
Distributed Systems
Computer and Network Security
Secure Software
Parallel Systems Architecture
Programming Large-scale Parallel Systems
Advanced Topics in Distributed Systems
Research Proposal Writing
Master Project

22. PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Two special optional courses:
Selected Topics in PDCS (6 ECTS)
PDCS Programming Project (12 ECTS)

23. Master program coordinators
PDCS: Prof. Alex Iosup
CS:
BDE: Dr. Adam Belloum
CSS: Prof. Herbert Bos
FCC: Dr. Femke van Raamsdonk
IWT: Dr. Jacopo Urbani
PCS: Dr. Jacopo Urbani
SEG: Prof. Patricia Lago

24. 10 GOOD REASONS TO JOIN OUR MASTER PROGRAM
two top universities for the price of one
learn from world-renowned scientists
staff dedicated to teaching
wide choice of courses
good teacher/student ratio
high-quality supervision of Master projects
high satisfaction rate of alumni
state-of-the-art facilities
international environment at home
excellent job market for graduates (academia or industry)

25. ALUMNUS CHRISTIAN ROSSOW
“The VU is an excellent learning environment with international multi-cultural flair. Driven by my interests, I followed the Computer Science Master studies at the VU and was never disappointed in my choice throughout the two years.
I particularly liked the flexible study program, which allows you to choose theoretical and practical subjects from a wide study catalog. And whatever course I took, I was satisfied with a high quality of teaching. To me the studies at VU were a perfect preparation for my current PhD career."

26. SUCCESS WITH YOUR MASTER !
Questions ?
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