Master's Degree Programme
| About the programme Language: English (See language requirements) | Place of study: Aarhus | Commencement: August / September |
The MSc in IT Product Development is based at Aarhus University’s Department of Computer Science and offered in collaboration with the Department of Engineering. Students take a combination of courses from both departments related to computer science and industrial design.
The programme offers the highest-quality teaching from a strong international team of researcher - all in an informal learning environment. The teaching style is a mix of lectures and classes, with preparatory work in study groups.
In the first year of the programme, students take several required courses in the research priority areas of physical and spatial design, IoT/cloud computing, and augmented reality. These are followed by an innovation project. In the second year, students complete their master’s thesis. Elective courses give students the scope to specialize in fields including advanced data management, multimodal interaction, interactivity, or computer mediation.
Applicants are expected to have acquired a thorough knowledge of the basics of IT and industrial design in their bachelor’s programme. These should include programming, systems, system development, physical design, basic electronics, as well as some experience of combining these disciplines.
Since English is the language of instruction in all subjects, all applicants are required to provide evidence of their English language proficiency.
The following Bachelor's degrees qualify students for admission to the Master's degree programme in IT Product Development:
At the university's assessment of whether a bachelor's degree gives access to the Master's degree program in IT Product Development, emphasis is placed on:
The Bachelor's degree program contains it product development subjects to an extent that meets the prerequisites for following the mandatory courses and a majority of the elective courses offered in the Master's Degree program. To meet the prerequisites for all mandatory and elective courses the following is required:
The course basis for admission must reflect contemporary theory and practice.
There may be requirements for the composition of the study program in connection with possible admission.
It is a condition that the student’s language skills correspond to a B level in English.
Language Requirements
Since English is the language of instruction in all subjects, all applicants are required to provide evidence of their English language proficiency.
Read how to document your language qualifications
Documentation
Please see the general admission requirements
Legal right of admission
Students with a Bachelor's degree programme in IT on the 2017 academic regulations or later at Aarhus University or students with a bachelor's degree programme in IT with the direction Product Design at Aarhus University have the right to be admitted to the Master's degree programme in IT Product Development on the condition that application is made for admission to the Master’s degree programme no later than three years after completion of the Bachelor’s degree programme. The legal right of admission requires receipt of the application by Aarhus University within the appropriate period of time.
Download appendix for your application
If you apply for admission with an international Bachelor's degree, you must fill in this appendix and upload it in the application portal. The appendix serves to help the Admission Board assess your Bachelor’s degree in regard to the admission requirements.
As the Master’s programme only admits a limited number of students each year, meeting the admission requirements does not in itself guarantee admission to the programme.
Allocation of student places is based on an overall assessment. In evaluating qualified applicants, the admissions committee assess applicants on the basis of the following criteria:
Academic background
* Relevant courses include core courses within the subject areas of IT-Product Development, Industrial Design, Mathematics, Probability Theory and Statistics
Please note that grades obtained after the time of application cannot be included in the assessment of grade level.
The admissions committee assess each applicant on the basis of the information provided in diplomas, transcripts, and course descriptions.
The Department of Computer Science has many spaces for getting together with fellow students outside class, which form an excellent basis for both study-related and social activities. The department and our student associations organize a variety of events and tech talks in collaboration with local and international companies. There is also a popular Friday bar, and students organize the annual hackathon AUHack.
The Department of Computer Science is in the IT City Katrinebjerg, where Aarhus University has consolidated all its IT programmes and research. As the largest IT education center in Denmark, with more than 3,000 students and 200 researchers, IT City Katrinebjerg is an exciting study environment. This multidisciplinary hub, unique to Aarhus University, provides great opportunities in IT for students, researchers, and businesses to work and interact together.
The IT city Katrinebjerg is close to the unique main campus of Aarhus University. The campus is located near the city center, and student accommodation is readily available as long as you apply on time. There are a range of activities, ranging from running to regatta on the lake, as well as guest lectures, film screenings, and university events taking place throughout the year. To ensure student well-being, counselling services are available for students, to offer support and guidance during their time at Aarhus.
Want to know more about student life in Aarhus? Ask all your questions about courses, workload, student jobs and much more via Unibuddy. Our friendly student ambassadors are here to answer your questions. Find an ambassador from your home country or the subject you want to study.
As the second-largest city in Denmark, Aarhus is a young and dynamic place with plenty of opportunities. The 40,000 students at the university make up almost 20% of the city’s population, which leaves its mark on city life. An attractive feature of Aarhus is that beaches and woods are just a short bike-ride away, as well as many cultural events taking place throughout the year, including the Aarhus Festival in September. The theatres in the city and the ARoS art museum offer many events that enable you to experience the Danish culture.
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With thousands of pictures #AUInternational, #AarhusUni and #AUDatalogi gives insight into the everyday life as a student at AU; the parties, procrastination, exams and all the other ways you’ll spend your time at university.
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The chart shows the five most common types of work for graduates 1-2 years after finishing their degree. The data is derived from a survey made by Epinion for the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Aarhus University in 2020.
The IT Product Development Master’s is multidisciplinary, and it qualifies you to work across a wide range of fields. Graduates of the programme are particularly qualified to develop IT products, as well as digital and physical interface applications supplemented by web-based services.
Previous graduates have gone on to develop media and navigation equipment for motor vehicles, mobile applications, energy and media control equipment for homes, experience and learning installations for museums and attractions, and technology for the health sector.
There is a great demand for IT specialists in Denmark, and many Aarhus-based IT companies are on the lookout for student employees for part-time jobs. The department has a close collaboration with the industry network Destination AARhus, who helps international IT talents find student- or full-time jobs. The department also has an online ‘jobwall’, and every year we host a career fair (“Kdag”), where students get a unique opportunity to meet more than 50 IT companies.
If you are interested in staying in academia, the department also has a very popular PhD programme. It is possible to apply for admission during your master studies. The PhD programme is open for admission four times a year. All PhD positions at the department are fully funded.
Many of our students are interested in innovation and starting up new companies. At the Department of Computer Science, one of our goals is to support entrepreneurial activities of our students and recent graduates. Therefore, we have created an experimental innovation lab and incubator environment called HatchIt Lab.
In HatchIT Lab, you can develop a start-up idea in a business-oriented incubation and innovation environment. The lab is located close to the IT research and educational facilities at Aarhus University. Hereby, HatchIT Lab contributes to collaboration between students, researchers, and companies. As an open innovation environment, HatchIT Lab supports the sharing of knowledge and experiences between students, entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses, and well-established companies.
I work in a division that develops new play concepts for LEGO. We work with the early phases of product development, including prototyping and tests. The job is a great fit with my degree. On my programme we made prototypes of all the concepts we developed. Working with prototypes in our studies means a lot for the way we approach projects. We take a very practical approach and we can quickly produce something concrete that can move the development process along.
Morten Boye Mortensen
Graduate, MSc in IT Product Development
Digital concept designer at LEGO
