The programme alternates between lectures and project work in study groups. During the programme, you will gain knowledge and cross-disciplinary skills, and you will get the opportunity to specialise in your areas of interest. You will also work with realistic cases that reflect the challenges you may face as a software engineer in the real world – both within companies and society at large.

The Master's in Software gives you a strong foundation within the fields of advanced and data-intensive software and IT technologies. You will learn how to design and develop complex systems and solutions for everyday use in a digitalised society.

With a Master's in Software, you are in a strong position as there is a high demand for software engineers. Many software students are handpicked for jobs even before they graduate. You can find jobs in the industry, at private and public companies, and you can work in areas such as software development, AI, healthcare technology, mobile communication, network technology, game development, digitalisation and technological innovation. You can also choose to stay at university to pursue a three-year research programme (PhD).

Our teaching is based on problem-based learning (PBL). It is a form of teaching that Aalborg University has helped develop, and for which we are known throughout the world – both among teachers, politicians and business leaders. PBL provides the framework for the academic content and your everyday life at the study programme. 

It is our experience that problem-based learning and working in teams not only makes it possible for the students to work with more complex and exciting real-world issues that they are interested in – often in close collaboration with companies and other external partners. There is also the bonus that PBL contributes to increased responsibility, motivation and sense of community among the students. This applies both in everyday life and in connection with the group exams. Problem-based learning provides more learning both academically and socially.

For the same reason, you will find that there is a vibrant life at campus. There are many who stay at the university even after the courses. Here, for example, you do assignments together with your project group or other students. You will also find that there are many who spend time on the social and professional associations that are on site.

In the 1st semester of the Master's programme, you and your group must do a project within the theme "Internet". Here you need to develop an internet application, agent or service. This is to be understood broadly and ranges from the more common internet applications to autonomous agents and the "Internet of Things", where internet technology is used to link physical objects together without a traditional browser-based user interface.

Project module

• Internet (15 ECTS)

Courses

• Programming Paradigms (5 ECTS)

You can choose 2 out of 4 courses below.

• Elective course 1: Web Intelligence (5 ECTS)
• Elective course 2: Industrial Test and Verification (5 ECTS)
• Elective course 3: Data-intensive Systems (5 ECTS)
• Elective course 4: Distributed Systems (5 ECTS)

In the 2nd semester, you will learn to develop mobile applications and services through project work. Here, too, the theme is broad-based and should be understood as equipment that is characterized by limited resources in the form of screen, interaction, processor and memory – and which, with limited power consumption, can utilize wireless communication with other equipment and servers.

Project module

Mobility (15 ECTS)

Courses

• Selected Topics in Programming (5 ECTS)

You can choose 2 out of 4 courses below.

• Elective course 1: Software Innovation (5 ECTS)
• Elective course 2: Mobile HCI (5 ECTS)
• Elective course 3: Web Information Processing (5 ECTS)
• Elective course 4: Mobile Data and Location-based Services (5 ECTS)

The 3rd semester project work is directly preparatory for your master's thesis, which you will do on the 4th and last semester of the Master's programme. You will be working with and communicating a current research problem within Software with a view to preparing your master's thesis.

You choose the topic of your project based on your specialisation course together with your supervisor. The project work takes up 2/3 of the time, and therefore you only have two courses in addition – one in entrepreneurship and one in IT-Law.

Project module

Pre-specialisation in Software (20 ECTS)

Courses

• Specialisation Course (5 ECTS)

You can choose 1 out of 2 courses below.

• Elective course 1: Entrepreneurship (5 ECTS)
• Elective course 2: IT-Law (5 ECTS)

There are no courses in the 4th semester – it is the master's thesis semester. The thesis must include a practical and/or theoretical study of one or more issues that fall within your chosen specialisation. When you finish the 4th semester, you are cand.polyt (MSc in Engineering) in Software.

Project module

Master's Thesis (30 ECTS)

In the curriculum for the Master's degree programme in Software (Copenhagen) you can find details about courses and projects as well as information about the legal basis of the programme, etc.

Latest curriculum for the Master's programme in Software.

As a MSc in Software Engineering, you get sought-after skills in programming and development of software - from idea to finished product. You learn to work with large and complex applications and databases, and learn to develop different parts for a complete running system. There is a great demand for Engineers in software from Aalborg University.

Examples of areas where Engineers in software make a difference: 

Real-time systems: Systems that are programmed to respond within milliseconds or microseconds. For example, an airbag must deploy at the exact moment it is needed and not a microsecond before or after.

Internet of Things (IoT): Devices such as mobiles, locks, ventilations, cars, etc. that contain both software and internet connection.

Robots and drones: Intelligent software that makes the hardware work as intended.

Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI): Engineers in software can build interactive systems that make it easier for us to use the technology in a way that meets our needs.