Computer science has become an integral part of our lives. Put simply, computer science or informatics, as it is also known, is the science of using computers to find systematic solutions to problems that are typically of a computational or data-processing nature. The subject of computer science can be divided into the following four areas

• Theoretical informatics uses mathematical models to examine questions that address the fundamental performance capabilities of computer systems: For example: Are there problems that cannot in principle be solved by a computer? Are there problems that are solvable in principle, but for which the computational power required is so great that no single computer could solve the problem within a human lifetime? Would the answer to this question change if computers were used in parallel? If a program is correct, does it perform its task completely and without error? Under what conditions can questions such as these even be answered?
• The field of computer engineering examines the systematic design and construction of computer hardware. Areas covered range from the initial design, testing and manufacture of VLSI chips, to the architecture of massively parallel computers and the hardware components needed in high-speed communication networks and embedded systems such as airbags or autopilots.
• Algorithms can be thought of as well-defined sets of rules or procedures for solving specific problems. Practical informatics is concerned with developing algorithms as the basic building blocks of computer programming, analysing their efficiency and verifying their correctness. Practical informatics also deals with the development of the programming languages, methods and tools that enable these building blocks to be put together to create larger and more complex applications. One of the important goals of such work is to design the building blocks and methods in such a way that they can be used and adapted for the widest possible range of applications. This can help to ensure that software is developed more quickly and more cost-effectively, that it can be maintained and updated over a longer lifetime, and that it will actually do what the user wants. Particularly important application classes are specific system components such as databases, networks or graphical systems, each of which itself represents a very large area of independent research.
• The transition from the field of practical informatics to applied informatics is almost seamless. Applied informatics is concerned with the application of informatics solutions in other scientific fields and disciplines and with their application to the extremely wide range of problems in the industrial and business sectors. Computer science is a basic component of many aspects of the world around us. However, simply studying the theory while ignoring the practical implications can lead straight up the ivory tower, just as focusing on practical issues alone without studying the theory can mean that progress is delayed by time-consuming trial and error. For an academic discipline to succeed, theoretical and practical research must complement one another.

The standard period of study for a full-time student to complete the B.Sc. programme is six semesters. Students can also apply to study for some of the programme (but no more than eight semesters) as a part-time student.
Students successfully completing the degree programme will be awarded a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree.

Computer science/Informatics can also be studied by students wishing to qualify as teachers for a German Gymnasium (academically oriented secondary school), and Gesamtschule (comprehensive school) or Berufschule (vocational secondary school).
 

Career prospects for informatics graduates are excellent. German universities are barely able to meet the enormous demand for computer science and IT graduates in Germany. In view of the major importance of information and communications technologies to today’s economy, this trend looks set to continue well into the future. However, career success will depend crucially on the ability to keep up with future technical developments. The best way to stay fit for the future is to have had a solid grounding in the subject and to learn those methods and approaches that are of long-term relevance while still being flexible in their application – fundamental principles that are key features of the informatics programmes taught in Saarbrücken.

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