Frequently asked questions from prospective students

Basic information can be found under "General information on the study program".

Further information can be found on the study program website . If you have any further questions that you cannot find here, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Integrated training: The "training-integrated" form is doubly qualifying. After 6 semesters you will take the final examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and after 9 successful semesters you will receive the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.).

Preparation for the IHK examination takes place in the 3rd and 6th semesters. You will receive a pass or fail grade for the compulsory module "IHK project" when you present your IHK certificate.

Practice-integrated: This form is no longer offered.

Integrated training: The vocational training in your company or public administration lasts 3 years and is completed with an examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (qualification: IT specialist in application development, system integration or digital networking). The course lasts 9 semesters (4 ½ years) and leads to a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) after successful completion of the course. A shortening is possible under 9 semesters.

What is the contractual situation? You will conclude a training contract with your company or public administration for this period. In addition, a study contract is concluded with your company or public administration. This regulates your rights and obligations as well as those of your company or public administration during your studies and is often overwritten by the training contract in the first three years.

As a rule, your company or public administration will cover the tuition costs incurred. These amount to approximately €330 per semester, which is made up of the contribution for the VRR semester ticket, the NRW semester ticket, the AStA fee and the student union fee.

Furthermore, there is the possibility for your company or public administration to support the study program through an individual sponsorship contribution. These contributions are paid by the training company.

As a student, you will receive a normal training allowance from your company as part of the training contract. The exact amount depends heavily on the company or public administration and the year of training. This sum can be between €900 and €1200 per month.

To start the dual study program, you need a training place at a company or public administration that offers or is willing to offer the dual study program. Dual study places are also explicitly advertised.

You can find current cooperation partners, including contact details, on the partner page (Opens in a new tab) of Fachhochschule Dortmund.

The prerequisite for applying for a dual study place is a (technical) university entrance qualification due to the course of study.

You have various options for contacting a dual training position. Traditionally, there are three options.

1. application in response to a job advertisement in the job market.

Link: Link to the job market(Opens in a new tab) 

2. direct application to a company or public administration with the appropriate IHK specialization.

Link: Link to the cooperation partners(Opens in a new tab) 

3. search for a new cooperation partner who would like to offer a dual training place. If you have found a new cooperation partner, please pass on our contact details for processing a cooperation.

You will find the contact details below under Contact persons.

You are applying for a dual training position with a company or public administration. There are many different ways to apply, e.g. via a recruiting portal or by traditional e-mail. Your application should indicate that it is a dual study program with Fachhochschule Dortmund and, if applicable, which IHK specialization you are interested in.

The application process is specified by the company or public administration. This varies greatly and can be, for example, a preliminary recruiting test or a preliminary interview until you are invited to an interview.

The deadlines for applying to a company or public administration are determined by them. You should find out in good time when the application phase begins at the individual companies or public authorities. As a rule, this starts after the summer vacation for the start of training in the following year, especially for the larger companies.

When applying to a university of applied sciences, it is important to note that this can only be done by July 15. Later applications can no longer be considered for a completed study program, even in individual cases. Not all documents need to be submitted with the application. These are only required at the time of enrollment.

Missing the application deadline may result in the termination of your training contract.

That is no problem at all. If your company or public administration is willing to conclude a framework agreement with Fachhochschule Dortmund, we can accept new companies or public administrations as cooperation partners at short notice. A dual study program with a company or public administration that does not wish to conclude this framework agreement may not offer a dual study program with us, as we make sure that our students are legally protected.

You can apply directly to a company or public administration that offers dual study places. These are solely responsible for selecting your applicants.

In the next step, you must apply online to the Fachhochschule Dortmund for the study program.

Integrated training: As soon as you have signed the training contract with a company, you must apply to the university.

The application is only possible online on the University of Applied Sciences website for the winter semester and must be completed by yourself.

Applications are submitted annually between the end of May and July 15. Applications received after this date cannot be considered.

After completing the online application, you do not have to come to the Office for Student Affairs in person to enrol.

You can submit all documents by post. You can also use our in-house mailbox in the Sonnenstraße 96 building (all day) or in the Emil-Figge-Straße 38 building (from 7.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.) to hand in your documents.

1. Online application(Opens in a new tab)  by 15.07. of each year
2. Online enrollment is possible online in the application portal (Opens in a new tab) 
3. Enrollment by date X (see dates in the portal(Opens in a new tab) ) of a year

Anyone who has submitted the online application(link(Opens in a new tab) ) in the correct form and on time by 15.07. of a year and meets all admission requirements will receive a letter of admission to the admission-free study program Computer Science Dual.

• Deadline until 15.07 of each year.
• Complete and submit the online application.
• Changes to your contact details can be made directly via the portal(link(Opens in a new tab) ).
• It is generally not necessary to submit documents during the application process.

You can retrieve and edit the letter of admission from the online application online in the study place portal (Opens in a new tab) by entering your e-mail address and the password assigned during the application.

• The letter of admission will not be sent by post!
• Studyplace portal(Opens in a new tab) : Log in with access data.
• After entering your data, you will receive a printable enrollment application.
• Please print out the application for enrollment for the winter semester and do not forget to sign it.

Please follow the instructions in the online enrollment and submit the documents listed therein in full by the specified date.

You must submit at least the following documents:

• Signed enrollment application (from the online enrollment)
• Insurance certificate for submission to the university (original)
• Copy of your identity card
• Officially certified copy of the certificates to determine the university entrance qualification

The following documents must at least be submitted by your cooperation partner:

• Confirmation from the company or public administration about the training and studies

Personal enrollment is not required!

Acceptance deadline: The date of receipt at Fachhochschule Dortmund counts.

Once you have been admitted to the study program, you must follow the checklist provided by the Office of Student Affairs.

• Checklist for the study program (Opens in a new tab) 

Yes, you need a cooperation partner for the entire duration, i.e. from the first to the ninth semester, otherwise it is not a dual study program.

In principle, you should complete the dual study program with a company or public administration. In exceptional cases, such as insolvency, a change is necessary. If there are other reasons for a change, please contact the SNS office first for advice.

You will not attend vocational school. The content required for the IHK final examination will be taught in regular courses and through additional courses offered by Fachhochschule Dortmund. In addition, you must prepare for the IHK examinations in the same way as all other trainees. The Faculty of Computer Science provides digital exam forms for learning and offers an exam preparation course as well as further workshops in classroom and online training.

The dual study program in computer science is structured in such a way that you generally spend 3 days a week at the university of applied sciences and 2 days a week in the company or public administration (depending on the semester).

During the lecture-free period, you usually work 5 days a week in your company or public administration.

There are periods before the exams when you are given time off by the company or public administration to study for your exams. Whether you do this at home, in study groups or in the company or public administration, where you are released from day-to-day business during this time, can be decided by the company or public administration as required.

There is a general attendance requirement for students on dual study programs in combination with IHK training. However, a legal basis for verification on the part of Fachhochschule Dortmund is only possible until the end of the vocational training, i.e. until the end of the 6th semester. If there are events in your company or public administration that you absolutely must attend, your absence can be excused at the university. If events (special courses) take place outside the registered lecture times that you must attend, the Fachhochschule Dortmund will contact your company or public administration to request this. If additional courses take place and participation is voluntary, you will not be contacted by the company or public administration.

In the event of illness, you must send an excuse to the SNS office at Fachhochschule Dortmund (by e-mail or telephone). In the case of prolonged illness, which also requires a medical certificate from the employer, a copy of this certificate must be submitted to the SNS office. The university reserves the right to request a medical certificate for individual days of illness in individual cases with prior agreement (e.g. in the case of frequent absences).

About 8 weeks before the start of the new semester, the dates for the upcoming semester fees are published in the student portal. Here you will not only find the date by which the amount must be transferred, but also where and how much the amount is exactly.

There are two options:

1. You pay the semester fee yourself: You must ensure that the re-registration is submitted on time and in the correct form.
2. The company or public administration pays your semester fee. You must use the re-registration confirmation email to check yourself whether the re-registration for the following semester has been submitted on time and in the correct form. Your company or public administration will send you a PDF with payment information for the semester fee, which must be transferred to Fachhochschule Dortmund. If this is not the case, you must contact your company or public administration (accounting department) and the Office for Student Affairs immediately.

Late re-registration will incur surcharges. If you do not re-register, you will automatically receive a notice of de-registration.

The vacation available to the company should be taken in the weeks in which lectures are not taking place so that it can be taken consecutively.

Vacation should serve your recovery and should therefore be taken consecutively at best. As you have to attend lectures during the semester, you cannot take leave during these periods. However, there are plenty of lecture-free periods in which you can take your vacation in consultation with your company or public administration.

By the way: Fachhochschule Dortmund always has a week off at Christmas and Easter.

You must register for the exams online within the deadlines. The same applies here: If you miss the registration deadline, you will not be able to register later. You can only register for the exams that are scheduled according to the curriculum.

If you do not appear for an exam (e.g. silent withdrawal, illness, etc.), you must inform your employer immediately.

You can send an e-mail to the Office for Student Affairs with the information for the seminar or compulsory elective subject. They will then activate the module for you, which can only be taken additionally.

This situation is certainly not desirable for anyone, neither for you, nor for us, nor for your company or public administration. But rest assured, you would not be the first or the last person to experience something like this. However, as this situation is always very individual, there is no one-size-fits-all answer at this point. We would certainly find a solution with you and the relevant advice centers in the company. This could be, for example, that you only want to continue your training in your company or public administration or perhaps switch to a face-to-face course.

No.

In this constellation, there are at least two contracts:

The IHK training contract is concluded by you with the company or public administration and regulates the period until you complete your training. Since you do not attend a vocational school, the Fachhochschule Dortmund must be entered as the training institution (vocational school).

A study contract, for example, is concluded by you with the company or public administration and regulates, for example, the time between completing your training and graduating.

After successfully passing the IHK final examination, you work as an employee in the company or public administration and continue to attend the university of applied sciences. The training contract is terminated, e.g. the study contract applies from now on. Payment may also change, e.g. if you are then paid as a working student in your company or public administration.

There is no dual Master's program for the Computer Science Dual study program. Of course, you have the opportunity to take advantage of the Master's program offered by the Faculty of Computer Science.

For example, graduates of the Bachelor's degree program in Computer Science Dual can choose the Master's degree program in Digital Transformation (English-language study program). This study program offers the opportunity to work in parallel.

The Master's degree program in Practical Computer Science is open to graduates of our degree program as a full-time study program. However, it is also possible to study part-time if the standard period of study is not to be adhered to and each semester and some courses are attended.

The joint degree course in Business Informatics is also open to our graduates if you or your company or public administration would like your studies to be more related to business topics. This degree program is designed to be completed while working.