Companies and public administrations FAQ

Basic information can be found under "General information about the study program".

You can find all information about the course in the company portal(Opens in a new tab) . If you have any further questions that you cannot find here, please fill out the "Advice and information" form(Opens in a new tab) .

Each dual study program uses a form (e.g. training-integrated, practice-integrated, work-integrated or part-time) to reflect its dual content and structures. The Computer Science Dual study program only offers the training-integrated form. In the training-integrated form, this is a double-qualification study program that includes a Chamber of Industry and Commerce apprenticeship.

Integrated training: The "training-integrated" form is doubly qualifying. After 6 semesters, students take the final examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and after 9 successful semesters they receive a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.).

Practice-integrated: This form is no longer offered.

Integrated training: The vocational training in your company or public administration lasts 3 years and is completed with an examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (qualification: IT specialist in application development, system integration or digital networking). The course lasts 9 semesters (4 ½ years) and leads to a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) after successful completion of the course. A shortening is possible under 9 semesters.

What is the contractual situation? Students conclude a training contract with their company or public administration for this period. In addition, a study contract is concluded with your company or public administration. This regulates both the rights and obligations of the students and those of your company or public administration during the period of study and is overwritten by the training contract in the first three years.

Practice-integrated: This form is no longer offered.

You undertake to assume the respective rights and obligations listed for the training and studies via the cooperation agreement and the company confirmation form.

As a company or public administration, you generally bear the costs of the course. These amount to approximately €319 per semester, which is made up of the contribution for the VRR semester ticket, the NRW semester ticket, the AStA fee and the student union fee.

There is also the option for your company or public administration to support the study program through an individual sponsorship contribution. These contributions are paid by you as the training company.

Your company or public administration has the freedom to pay a normal training allowance as part of the training relationship. The exact amount depends heavily on the size of the company, the collective agreements and the apprenticeship year. This means that the amount can range between €900 and €1200 per month, for example.

As a cooperation partner in the dual study program Computer Science Dual, you can publish job advertisements via the company portal (Opens in a new tab) . .

Your students will not attend vocational school. The content required for the IHK final examination is taught in regular courses and through additional courses offered by Fachhochschule Dortmund. In addition, your students must prepare for the IHK examinations in the same way as all other trainees. The Faculty of Computer Science makes old exams available for studying and offers an exam preparation course and additional workshops for your students online.

The dual study program in Computer Science Dual is structured in such a way that students usually spend 3 days a week at the university of applied sciences and 2 days a week in your company or public administration (depending on the semester).

During the lecture-free period, students usually work 5 days a week in their company or public administration.

There are periods before the exams when students are given time off to study for their exams. Whether they do this at home, in study groups or in your company or public administration, where they are released from day-to-day business during this time, can be decided by your company or public administration as required.

There is a general attendance requirement for students on dual computer science study programs. However, a legal basis for verification on the part of Fachhochschule Dortmund is only possible until the end of the vocational training, i.e. until the end of the 6th semester. If events take place in your company that students absolutely must attend, their absence can be excused at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts. If events (special courses) take place outside the registered lecture times that students must attend, you will be contacted by Fachhochschule Dortmund. If additional courses take place and participation is voluntary, you will not be contacted.

In order to keep you as a partner company up to date, meetings are convened at regular intervals. These include voluntary coordination meetings and regulars' tables. Coordination meetings are convened every semester on the last working Wednesday in March and in September. Here, the review and outlook of the respective semester are discussed, as well as organizational matters. The purpose of this meeting is to exchange experiences. The regulars' table takes place on the last working Wednesday in January and June. Invitations to these two meetings are sent out by email.

This situation is certainly not desirable for anyone, neither for the students, nor for us, nor for your company or public administration. However, as this situation is always very individual, there is no one-size-fits-all answer at this point. We would certainly find a solution together with you and the relevant in-house advisory services. This could be, for example, that your\e student\r only continues the training in your company or public administration or perhaps switches to a face-to-face degree course.

As an employer, you must submit specific topics as projects for the course by helping to design the integration or software internship and the practical phases. You must also focus on specific content with the students as part of the seminar, project and Bachelor's thesis.

Yes, cooperation with arms companies is categorically ruled out.

By concluding the cooperation agreement (framework agreement), your company becomes a partner company of our study program. If you are interested, please send us a non-binding request using the "Request information material"(Opens in a new tab)  web form.

There are at least three contracts in this constellation:

The cooperation agreement (framework agreement) (request for the web form "Request information materials"(Opens in a new tab) ) is concluded between Fachhochschule Dortmund and you as the company or public administration providing the training.

The IHK training contract is concluded by the students with your company or public administration and regulates the period up to the completion of the training. As the students do not attend a vocational school, the Fachhochschule Dortmund must be entered as the training institution (vocational school).

The study contract (example in the company portal(Opens in a new tab) ) is concluded by the student with your company or public administration and regulates the time between, for example, completion of training and graduation.

As we usually do not have the contracts, we need the company confirmation for each new student to be enrolled. (Document is available in the company portal(Opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) )

After successfully passing the IHK final examination, students work as employees in companies or public administration and continue to attend classes at Fachhochschule Dortmund. The training contract is terminated, the study contract applies from now on. Payment may also change, e.g. if you now pay your students as working students.

There is no dual Master's program for the Computer Science Dual study program. Of course, your students have the opportunity to take advantage of the Master's program offered by the Faculty of Computer Science.

For graduates of the Bachelor's degree program in Computer Science Dual, the Master's degree program in Digital Transformation (English-language study program) is available. This study program offers the opportunity to work in parallel.

The Master's degree program in Practical Computer Science is open to graduates of our degree program as a full-time study program. However, it is also possible to study part-time if the standard period of study is not to be adhered to and each semester and some courses are attended.

The joint degree course in Business Informatics is also open to our graduates if your company or public administration or\the student\r would like your studies to be more related to business topics. This degree program is designed to be completed while working.