FAQ for accepted students at the master programmes
A. Housing
A1. How can I find an accomodation?
B. At the department
B1. When do I have my holidays? How long are they?
C. Courses and exams
C1. How many basic and advanced courses can I take respectively within my Master Degree?
C2. How do I select courses within the programme?
C3. Why do I have to select courses in advance?
C4. How do I find more information about the courses?
C5. How do I register a course?
C6. What happens if I try to register for a course, that I am not accepted for?
C7. What if I want to change my mind about which courses I wish take?
C8. How do I sign up for exams?
C9. What if I forget to sign up for the exams?
C10. I have finished my courses. How do I get my diploma?
C11. Can I use courses that are not finished in my degree?
D. Master Thesis
D1. When can I do my thesis?
D2. How do I find a Master Thesis?
D3. What are the formalities needed to do a master thesis?
D4. How long will the master programme last?
E. Student health care and sports
E1. Does my MSc Prgramme include any insurance? What does the insurance cover?
F. Visa issues
F1. I will start in Uppsala next semester, and I am still in my home country: How do I apply for a visa?
F2. I have studied for one year, and need to renew my visa for the second year. What should I do?
F3. What if the Migration Board complains about something?
F4. The Migration Board has complained about a problem, and I cannot solve it myself. What should I do?
F5. I have stayed here for two years, and have almost finished the programme. Only a few courses or the final part of my master thesis remains. What shall I do?
F6. If I need to contact my Supervisor/Academic Coach in a visa issue, how long in advance shall I do this?
F7. Is there any general advice, for all students to follow?'''?
A1. Q: How can I find an accomodation?
A: Most students find their accomodation from student nations. The procedure is: register in a student nation -> apply for accomodation and thus wait in an application queue -> show up at the nation on the day when the nation announces the available rooms/apartments -> you get an accomodation if you are ahead of most students in the queue, or you will have to wait another month for the next time that the nation annouces the accomodations.
One can also register in studentstaden
http://www.studentstaden.se/Templates/StartPage.aspx?id=1874 and apply for a room.
No one has been without housing before. We, the department, assist, but only if you also are putting an effort into it.
Paying non-EU students are guaranteed housing, provided that they apply for a room according to the instructions mailed to them.
B1. Q: When do I have my holidays? How long are they?
A: We have two long holidays:
Christmas holiday, which starts before Christmas and ends in mid-January (approx Jan 18).
Summer holiday, starts when you finish your last final exam, which should be no later than June 7th and ends on approximately August 31st. Nothe that the semester starts earlier for all first year students.
And a shorter one: easter vacation, which lasts one to two weeks.
Plus, between the two periods in a sememster sometimes there are some vacant days.
However, most retakes are held during the holidays and usually there are some projects or assignments left for you to finish in the vacation.
C1. Q: How many basic and advanced courses can I take respectively within my Master Degree?
A: The Master Degree contains 90 credit points of courses (including 30 points of basic level courses at the maximum amount), and the Master Thesis as a course on 30 or 45 credits. For more details please go to http://www.uu.se/en/node189, and check "Degree of Master" under the section of "SECOND LEVEL GENERAL DEGREES".
C2. Q: How do I select courses within the programme?
A: New students select their courses on arrival. For all other students, there is a procedure to follow, which might change between the years. You must keep updated by reading http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MSc_CS_UU/.
C3. Q: Why do I have to select courses in advance?
A: The courses at the master programme are getting more popular and have an increasing number of applicants. We need to know how many students will attend a course to make sure that, for example, the room is big enough and that there are enough lab assistants
C4. Q: How do I find more information about the courses?
A: You can go to the official website of the department -> choose Education (on left column) -> Courses -> choose the relevant semester -> find the course you are interested in -> click its column of "Homepage".
C5. Q: How do I register a course?
A: You should register a course at studentportalen
. You can only register on a course, if you have applied for it and are accepted. If you fail to register it, you can also register in the first lecture of the course, but again, you have to be accepted.
C6. Q: What happens if I try to register for a course, that I am not accepted for?
A: Your name will be deleted. You will not be notified
C7. Q: What if I want to change my mind about which courses I wish take?
A: This is normally not possible. If you want to try, please send a mail to your Academic Coach. If you go to the first lecture of a course without a prior agreement, we will simply remove your name from the course list, without contacting you.
C8. Q: How do I sign up for exams?
A: To sign up for an exam, you need to go to the official website: www.it.uu.se -> choose "final exams" on the left column -> choose the link "Registration for exams" -> input your P-number and click the button "logga in" -> choose the date of the exams and click the button "Lista tentor i intervallet" -> find the relevant course and tick before "Anmälan".
Note: make sure that you register the exam with the correct the course code!
C9. Q: What if I forget to sign up for the exams?
A: If you forget to sign up for the exams, you risk losing your seat for the exam. Do not disturb the IT office or your lecturer, as there is nothing they can do. Instead, just go to the exam room. Usually there are enough seats for the exam, but there is also risk that all the seats are occupied.
C10. Q: I have finished my courses. How do I get my diploma?
A: Fill in the form that find at http://www.uu.se/en/education/after_your_studies/degrees/ You can also get further information from examen@uadm.uu.se . Hand it in according to the instructions.
C11. Q: Can I use courses that are not finished in my degree?
A: No, you can only use courses that are completely finished in your degree. That is, all labs, exams, assignments etc need to be finished.
D1. Q: When can I do my thesis?
A: You need to finish 60 credits of relevant courses before you can start your thesis.
D2. Q: How do I find a Master Thesis?
A: You can do a MSc Thesis either at a university or in industry, and you should search it by yourself. Contacting companies or teachers (e.g., finding thesis on courses which you have done well) and getting advice from friends is also a good idea.
Some of the thesis projects are announced at http://www.it.uu.se/edu/exjobb/links/.
There are also many websites where companies and universities publish their available MSc Theses.
For example:
http://www.xjobb.nu/
http://www.stepstone.se/home_fs.cfm
http://www.exjobbstips.se/
http://www.examensjobb.nu/
http://www.exjobb.se/
D3. Q: What are the formalities needed to do a master thesis?
A: See http://www.it.uu.se/edu/exjobb
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D4. Q: How long will the master programme last?
A: It depends on the size of the Master Thesis Project and the courses you have taken. A MSc Project can be of 30 or 45 credits. Usually the length of the MSc Programme is 2 academic years if you take a project of 30 credits, i.e., you spend 3 semesters to take courses and 1 semester to the MSc Thesis Project. You can start earlier if you choose to do a 45-credit-project.
However, some of the students might not be able to finish the required number of course credits within the 2 years. In this case, you will need to continue until you get enough credits for the Master Degree.
E1. Q: Does my MSc Prgramme include any insurance? What does the insurance cover?
A: There is no insurance for the students included in the Master programme. However, all the students who are accepted for more than a year have the right to apply for a personal number (civic registration number) from the tax authorities. That gives you the right to medical care and medicine on the same conditions as for Swedish citizens. For more information please check here.
F1 Q: I will start in Uppsala next semester, and I am still in my home country: How do I apply for a visa?
A: Contact the nearest Swedish consulate. The Swedish Migration Board can help. Apply as soon as you get your letter of admission - the visa process can take up to three months (and even more in complicated cases). The semester starts at a certain date, that is individually decided for each semester. If you miss this dead-line, you risk to lose your seat.
Note: you should take a copy and archive of the full application materials, including attachments, in case there should be a delay or a problem of some kind.
F2 Q: I have studied for one year, and need to renew my visa for the second year. What should I do?
A: Hand in an application to the Migration Board. Attach the letter of acceptance to the programme (that is, which you got a year ago), the letter of acceptance for the courses for the upcoming semester (which you will get in July), and your results.
Once you have got this, you can apply. You must apply before the expiration of your visa."
The last day to apply for the renewal is on the day before the expiration date of your old visa. Even if you apply very close to your expiration date, you have the right to stay in Sweden and wait for the result.
If you are a first year student and your visa expires before the end of July, the follow the instructions in F5.
F3 Q: What if the Migration Board complains about something?
A: Ask to get all information in written form. Then try to solve their problem.
F4 Q: The Migration Board has complained about a problem, and I cannot solve it myself. What should I do?
A: Ask to get all information in written form. Create one long pdf-file with a copy of your own application (with all attachments) and all your correspondence with the Board, all in chronological order. Compact the file, make sure it is in pdf-format and mail it together with your story, very clearly explained to your Supervisor/Academic Coach.
F5. Q: I have stayed here for two years, and have almost finished the programme. Only a few courses or the final part of my master thesis remains. What shall I do to prolong my visa?
A: Get a transcript from Studentportalen, showing which
(1) courses you have passed, which you are
(2) registered on and
(3) which you are admitted to.
Also include
(4) a scanned copy of your current visa. If you are currently working on your master thesis, also include
(5) a statement from your supervisor, indicating the title of your thesis and as well as the expected date to finish.
Make sure everything is in pdf-format at compact the files to be of a reasonable length.
Please note that your thesis must be registered (see the FAQs concerning master thesis). If it is not, it cannot be used as a basis for a statement to the Migration Board. Mail these documents in pdf-format, together with a clear explanation of your problem to your Supervisor/Academic Coach.
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Note: you should take a copy and archive of the full application materials, including attachments, in case there should be a delay or a problem of some kind.
F6. Q: If I need to contact my Supervisor/Academic Coach in a visa issue, how long in advance shall I do this?
A: 1) Approximately one month in advance. You should also respect holiday periods (in the summer approx June 15 - August 10). If you come too late, you risk not to get any help. Count on a processing time of two weeks.
2) Do not contact your Supervisor/Academic Coach more than approximately two months of semester time in advance.
3) The dead-line for submitting the application to the Migration Board (for students who already have visas) is the expiration date of your old visa. You may then, legally, stay in Sweden during the processing time.
F7. Q: Is there any general advice, for all students to follow?
A: 1) Take a copy and archive of the full application materials, including attachments, in case there should face a delay or a problem of some kind.
2) Send all the information and all attachments in one single mail. We will not search for information in different mails.