This master’s program is built around student-driven research: you are encouraged to turn personal curiosity and creative ideas into independent projects. To allow flexibility and depth, the curriculum is organised into several interrelated focus areas so you can design a study path that matches your interests and career goals. Teaching and project work span hardware and software, perceptual and technical aspects of media, and human-centred design.
The programme’s content covers technical foundations as well as specialised modules. Core focus areas include media technology, signal processing and transmission, practical computer science, graphic imaging and virtual techniques, light and optics, and usability. Example modules range from audio and video signal processing, coding and perception, to communication networks, adaptive signal processing, practical informatics, neuroinformatics, advanced computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality, game development, and technical optics.
Students combine modules into personalised profiles aimed at research, development or leadership roles. Typical combinations prepare graduates for jobs such as audio or video engineer, AR/VR developer, user-interface designer, multimedia engineer, lighting engineer or television studio engineer. International applicants should note the programme language options (English and German) and are advised to check specific admission and language requirements, funding opportunities, and potential supervisors before applying.
Key facts and focus areas
Curriculum overview
This four-semester Master’s programme is built around interdisciplinary specialisation and hands-on research. In the first three semesters you follow courses across three categories: core media-technology modules (including a compulsory research seminar), a project component that can be taken as a group media project or as an individual research project, and a set of elective modules drawn from other engineering fields to tailor your profile. You also undertake a short soft-skills unit and a language or studium generale option to round out academic and professional competencies. The final (fourth) semester is dedicated to an independent Master’s thesis, concluded with a colloquium (thesis defence).
Key modules and learning outcomes
Core media-technology topics expose you to audio and visual signal processing, perception and standards — for example: Audio Signal Processing and Audio Systems, Audio Coding, Image/Video and Perception, Video Systems Technology, Advanced Psychoacoustics, User-centric Engineering, Crowdsourcing and Human-Based Computing, and Multimedia Standards. Through either a 10 ECTS media project (group) or a 20 ECTS individual research project you apply theory to practice, gaining experience in project planning, teamwork or independent research, and technical implementation. Electives from related engineering areas (such as Human–Machine Interaction, Deep Learning, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Mobile Communications, Applied Neural Computing, Light–Human Interaction, Game Development, and Fundamentals of 3D-Image Processing) let you customise your studies toward academic research or industry roles. The programme emphasises research skills, interdisciplinary problem solving, and the ability to design, implement and present technical work — competencies that also prepare graduates for entry into a subsequent PhD programme.
Programme structure (requirements at a glance)
This program expects applicants to hold a relevant undergraduate degree and to arrive with a basic familiarity with media-related technologies. The academic prerequisite ensures you have a solid foundation in electrical and computing fundamentals, while prior exposure to audio and video technologies will make the transition into media-focused research topics smoother.
For international applicants, make sure your bachelor's credential corresponds to the stated duration and credit volume from a recognized university; arriving with hands-on or coursework experience in media technology (e.g., signal processing for audio/video, codecs, or multimedia systems) will be particularly helpful during the early part of the Master’s.
Winter Semester (International)
15 May 2026
Summer Semester (International)
15 November 2026
Winter Semester (EU/EEA)
15 September 2026
Summer Semester (EU/EEA)
15 March 2026
Graduates are prepared for careers in research and development, product engineering, and management within media-related industries. Typical roles include audio and video engineer, multimedia systems developer, AR/VR developer, user-interface designer, lighting engineer, and television/broadcast systems engineer. The programme’s strong emphasis on signal processing, media systems, graphics and optics also opens opportunities in telecommunications, imaging companies, and companies developing interactive and immersive systems.
The mandatory research components and the 30 ECTS Master’s thesis provide a solid foundation for those pursuing an academic path; graduates are eligible to enter subsequent PhD programmes. The interdisciplinary and practical orientation makes alumni attractive to both industry R&D teams and research institutions working at the intersection of media technology and computer science.
Offenburg University of Applied Sciences — Offenburg
RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau — Kaiserslautern
RWTH Aachen University — Aachen
Chemnitz University of Technology — Chemnitz