Programme overview
The MSc by Research in Computer Science is tailored to industry professionals or candidates with research skills and interests in a specific CS topic.
The programme is highly oriented towards independent work. Students work exclusively with an assigned mentor, a professor in the CS Department, and agree on the study plan and schedule suited to the student and the mentor.
This MSc by Research programme equips students with skills such as: critically analyzing research problems; mastering techniques and methods in the selected research field; ability to work independently on solving real-life problems; exercising innovation and creativity; presenting research.
The Faculty of Computer Sciences organizes the Study Programme/Postgraduate programme of the second cycle as below:
- Students who have completed the first cycle of studies, which is evaluated with 240 ECTS points, enroll in the second cycle, which lasts one year and is evaluated with a minimum of 60 ECTS points, and
- Students who have completed the first cycle of studies, which is evaluated with 180 ECTS points, enroll in the study program of the second cycle, which lasts two years and is evaluated with a minimum of 120 ECTS points.
Programme specifications
The Faculty of Computer Science offers a Master’s Programme as follows:
1. The structure of the One-year program of a Master's study is as follows (Master by Research):
Semestar 1
- CS501: Independent study 1: Literature review (8 ECTS)
- CS502: Independent study 2: Research methods (8 ECTS)
- CS503: Independent study 3: Practical application of techniques from the selected research area (8 ECTS)
- CS504: Independent study 4: Independent study 4: Formatting academic articles and adapting them to the specifications of the conference or journal in which they will be published. (8 ECTS)
- CS506: Dissertation
- Annual review
Semestar 2
- CS507: Dissertation (40 ECTS)
- Dissertation defense
This programme is for the students who have completed the first cycle of studies which is evaluated with 240 ECTS points.
The student writes seminar papers (See table: Independent study 1-4) under the supervision and in cooperation with the mentor. Papers are written on topics relevant to the chosen field of research.
Students can choose to focus their studies and research within the following areas: Artificial Intelligence, Bioinformatics, Cryptography, Serious Games and Immersive Learning, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Big Data and Business Intelligence, Software Engineering, Cyber Security, Smart Solutions in Electrical Energy Systems, Embedded Systems, and others.
Lectures will not be organized for the modules mentioned (Independent study 1-4). The modules will be conducted one-on-one between the student and the mentor.
During this master's study, the student must submit at least one scientific paper to an international conference or journal. It does not have to be published.
All candidates must have an active knowledge of the English language, as the teaching is conducted in English, as well as the preparation and defence of the dissertation.
Admission into the programme
For admissions purposes, students need to submit the following:
- Undergraduate certificate and transcript of grades
- MSc research proposal, comprising an initial research topic, research description, brief literature review, and overview of methodology.
- The research topic/area should be selected in advance from the currently offered areas by the CS Faculty: Artificial Intelligence, Bioinformatics, Cryptography, Serious Games and Immersive Learning, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Big Data and Business Intelligence, Software Engineering, Cyber Security, Smart Solutions in Electrical Energy Systems, Embedded Systems, and others.
The Faculty of Computer Science offers a PhD program as follows:
- PhD three-year programme (6 semesters).
- PhD six-year programme (12 semesters).
All doctoral candidates complete their doctoral dissertations in one of the existing research fields at SSST. Each candidate is assigned a mentor/supervisor, who conducts regular monitoring of the candidate's work.
In the first year/ two years of study, alongside conducting research toward the dissertation, candidates also write seminar papers in four key areas (two papers per area) relevant to the content of their dissertation, which is jointly set by a committee and the mentor.
At the end of the first year of the PhD three-year programme/ the end of the second year of the PhD six-year programme, the candidate defends eight papers in front of the committee and also gives a preliminary presentation of his/her dissertation PROPOSAL, a conceptual outline and progress to date (which constitute the Qualifying Examination). If the candidate successfully takes the Qualifying Examination, he/she is free to continue his/her research and presents his/her progress before the supervisor and doctoral committee at the end of each semester.
For the following two years/four years, candidates submit and defend their doctoral dissertations. Before the defence, the candidate will, as a rule, have published two papers or the results of their research in a notable and relevant academic journal, or have presented them at a prominent international conference.
PhD Degree - Successful students, who will defend a doctoral thesis by University of Buckingham criteria, procedures and regulations, will be awarded a Buckingham Doctoral degree (DPhil), validated by the SSST. Both collaborating institutions endeavour to maintain an internationally recognized reputation for excellence by providing high-standard supervisory support and continuously monitoring the quality of PhD research projects and the progress of each candidate.
The possible topics of dissertations are chosen from areas in which SSST conducts active research.
The PhD study program is implemented through:
- Seminars as needed
- passing the qualification exam in four selected subjects/areas,
- research work,
- writing and defending seminar papers from the doctoral dissertation,
- selection and registration of doctoral dissertation topics,
- work on a doctoral dissertation,
- defense of the doctoral dissertation.
Enrolment Advantages
- Access to highly qualified faculty with international experience.
- Possibility of joint mentorship by professors from SSST and the University of Buckingham.
- Programs are flexible for working professionals.
- Opportunities to publish in international journals or conferences during PhD studies.
- Dual degrees with the University of Buckingham.
For MSc levels, the course fees are € 5.200,00 per year. There is a number of scholarships available for exceptional candidates. For additional information, please contact our Finance Department.
For doctoral studies, the tuition for the 4 - year programme is EURO 15,200.00. For additional information, please contact our Finance Department.
For Master level, all candidates must be graduates of an undergraduate program in Computer Science, or similar, with a GPA of 3.0 or above. Students with a lower GPA will be considered for admission if they can demonstrate sufficient motivation for the course of study and the exceptional idea for their Master's thesis.
Please fill out and submit the Application Form for Graduate Studies to admissions@ssst.edu.ba. Please make sure to fill in all the required sections of the Application Form and include all additional materials requested.
This set of documents can be sent to the SSST Registry Office via email at admissions@ssst.edu.ba or by post (the copies of your diploma and grade transcripts do not have to be stamped) to:
SSST Registry / Graduate Programmes
University Sarajevo School of Science and Technology
Hrasnička Cesta 3a
71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Application Deadline: 01.09.
Interviews with potential candidates are held by appointment. SSST Registry Office will send a timely notification to candidates for the purposes of scheduling their interview at SSST.
For all additional questions, please contact the SSST Registry Office.
For further details on the program, please contact:admissions@ssst.edu.ba or + 387 33 975 001/002