Questions Concerning ISCL

Computational Linguistics one of the main sources for new applications at the intersection of computers and human languages.

Computational Linguistics is a rather young academic discipline that is closely connected to the latest developments in information technology. Flexible search engines, smart dialogue systems, advanced office automation or e-learning tools are only some of the applications of computational linguists. The improvement of all these applications depends on the integration of linguistic data structures, and that is what Computational Linguistics is mostly concerned with. Computational linguists work at modelling and simulating human language to make it understandable for computers.

There are few things that have a stronger impact on our daily life than language and communication.

Language is one of the most essential and fascinating products of our cultural evolution. It is humanities' prime means for communication and interaction. It allows us to talk about everyday bussiness and express the most extravagant and abstract ideas. The human need for communication is mirrored by the fact that thousands of languages and dialects have emerged over the centuries and keep developing today to accomodate new facts and ideas. Although language is a complex phenomenon which never ceases to puzzle those who try to find out how it works, little children have no difficulty learning it within a very short time. Thich shows how closely language is connected to our innate capabilities of thought and understanding.

Computers as a means for effective communication.

Looking back on the 20th century, it is easy to see that computers have been one of the most important inventions with respect to cultural evolution. Today, computers are everywhere. It is hard to imagine our professional or personal lives without them. And yet computers started out as simple calculators, and it took a while before people started using them to process different kinds of data. Today language in its spoken and written form is very much in the focus of interest as an effective and ubiquitious means for communication. The focus is not only on developing applications which support humans in their interaction, but also on facilitating communication between humans and machines.

What makes Computational Linguistics so challenging?

Human beings generally use something called 'natural' language, a rather complex system of sounds and signs, which is subject to constant change, allows for variation and ambiguity, and is robust enough for meaningful messages to be exchanged under almost any circumstances. Computers on the other hand have problems deciding what is important and what is just background noise. They are restricted to 'formal' languages, which are vulnerable to ambiguity, variation, unfinished sentences or spontaneous changes. One of the most important tasks in Computational Linguistics is therefore the adequate representation of the properties of natural language into a formal system that allows for the above mentioned characteristics of human language.

Computational Linguistics is more than just a connection of two disciplines.

At a glance, Computational Linguistics seems to be a merger of Linguistics and Computer Science, but it actually bridges even more scientific disciplines: it is closely connected to Cognitive Psychology, Mathematics, the different philologies (i.e. the large panorama of the languages of the world) and finally Philosophy. We might say, that your studies in Computational Linguistics will bring you into contact with the oldest reflections about language and the latest developments in information technology.

CL defined by the association of Computational Linguistics:

"Simply put, Computational Linguistics is the scientific study of language from a computational perspective. Computational linguists are therefore interested in providing computational models of various kinds of linguistic phenomena. These models may be "knowledge-based" ("hand-crafted") or "data-driven" ("statistical" or "empirical"). Work in computational linguistics is in some cases motivated from a scientific perspective in that one is trying to provide a computational explanation for a particular linguistic or psycholinguistic phenomenon; and in other cases the motivation may be more purely technological in that one wants to provide a working component of a speech or natural language system. Indeed, the work of computational linguists is incorporated into many working systems today, including speech recognition systems, text-to-speech synthesizers, automated voice response systems, web search engines, text editors, language instruction materials, to name just a few." from the "What is CL?"-Website at the "Association for Computational Linguistics" - ACL)

Our Profile: Interdisciplinary - International - Intensive

Why Interdisciplinary?

The demand for natural language applications in information technology is continually increasing, but there are only few people who combine competence in Computer Science with sufficient linguistic expertise. ISCL offers contemporary training in the area of information technology, with the opportunity to acquire the linguistic knowledge and skills essential for the design and development of natural language applications. The B.A.'s innovative combination of a strong major in Computational Linguistics with a minor in either General Linguistics, German Linguistics or Slavic Linguistics is unique in Germany. The M.A. programme allows students to supplement their studies in CL with advanced courses from various Linguistic fields.

Why International?

Information Technology is essentially an international field. So whatever career you're aiming at, having been trained in an international setting will be an advantage on the jobmarket. This is why in ISCL you will study and work together with people from all over the world, taking courses in English and later on in German, and why your performance will be evaluated according to international standards (ECTS). We also strongly advise our German students to spend some time abroad, studying at a foreign university or interning at an international firm.

Why Intensive?

Today's most promising jobs require the accomplishment of a swift, successful college education. Therefore, to allow you to start your professional career as early as possible, we offer you an internationally accredited qualification after only three years of study. At the same time the program is very intensive: in these three years you will learn all the theoretical and practical basics of CL and your chosen minor. You will also gain hands-on experience through internships. All of this will be achieved in an international setting. After completing your B.A. you might desire to gain a higher qualification or simply to refine and widen your knowledge and dive into current research trends. Your degree allows you to continue your studies with the M.A. programme in CL or one of the related subjects. Our M.A. programme is an excellent preparation for further studies, especially if you are interested in research or pursuing a Ph.D. in the field.

English and German are both languages of instruction for the B.A. and the M.A. programs.

The first year of the B.A. program will however be taught completely in English, to accomodate students with no previous knowledge of German into the programme. Afterwards some courses may be taught in German. Courses for the minor in German Linguistics will be taught in German only after the first year.

Exams can usually be taken in German or English as preferred.

All applicants have to register at the Studentensekretariat of the University of Tübingen. 

Applicants to the MA program will have to demonstrate that they meet the academic prerequisites for being admitted to the MA program. Please contact our secretary if you need further details. 

The admission procedure, including complete information on the documents that have to be submitted, are described on the general admissions pages of the University of Tübingen. For country specific application requirements, please visit the following page. 

Here international students can find more information about studying in Tübingen. 

English Language Requirements B.A. and M.A. ISCL

• All courses in the Computational Linguistics program are taught in English. A high level of competence in English therefore is a prerequisite for successfully studying in the program.
• Formally, a proof of competence at least at the B2 level in the Common European Framework of Reference is required, and should be documented through one of the standard international tests (TOEFL, IELTS, etc.). The required scores are:
  • IELTS: 6.5 or more
  • TOEFL iBT: 79 or more
  • Cambridge: First Certificate of English (FCE)
• Applicants with a German Abitur and applicants whose native language is English or who graduated from an English-medium school do not need an additional proof of English competence.

Admission Requirements M.A. ISCL

a successfully completed university degree

• with good grades (better than 2.5 in German grading scale),
• focused on computational linguistics or with a major focus on linguistics or computer science, including at least half of the material covered by the BA in Computational   Linguistics in Tübingen, and
• good English language competence, at least at the CEFR level B2 (details see above)
• an obligatory motivation letter spelling out your background related to computational linguistics and your motivation for studying it

Bachelor students of the International Studies in Computational Linguistics (ISCL) at the Department of Linguistics (SfS) are required to take part in a software internship as part of their course program. This offers the possibility of aquiring insight into a company and gaining practical experience. 

When

The internship is usually taken either during the (long summer) semester break between the fourth and fifth semester or on one or two days a week during the fifth semester. This depends especially on the company and their requirements. If a student wants to do his/her internship in another country or another place far from Tübingen, then it makes sense to do an internship contiguously. 

Another possibility is to take the only seminar scheduled for the fifth semester already in the fourth semester. This offers more time for an internship during the fifth semester. But this option is only recommended to students who are confident that they will make the additional seminar workload in the fourth semester. 

Students should apply for an internship early enough! At least half a year before they plan to do the internship. 

Duration

The internship should span at least 190 hours of programming. It might be even longer if there are other tasks than programming involved. This could be a couple of consecutive weeks, such as six weeks in a row, or a few days a week during the entire semester. 

Constraints

The internship should span at least 190 hours of programming. The programming could be in Java or another programming language the student already knows or is interested in learning. There is no prescribed set of programming languages, but HTML, e.g., is not sufficient. 

Ideally, the company is working in the field of computational linguistics or at least the internship task is in this field. But also tasks that have nothing to do with computational linguistics are valid. 

Where

Generally, the software internship can be taken at any company of the student's choice (also in a foreign country), as long as it has been approved beforehand. Ideally, the company is working in the field of computational linguistics, but also companies (and tasks) that have nothing to do with computational linguistics are accepted. 

The Fachschaft maintains a list of companies that frequently offer internships for computational linguists.

You can also find internship offers in the "Praxisportal" of the Faculty of Humanities. 

Report and Presentation

Interns are required to submit a full report describing their work and present their topic afterwards. The report needs to be submitted to the internship advisor (see below). It should be written in English and should not exceed 10 pages. The presentation will typically be 15 minutes plus 5 minutes for questions. Both report and presentation required in order to have the internship for the ISCL BA course program recognized.

The following list of example internship reports gives an impression of what such a report could look like:

• Valentin Deyringer @ VICO Research & Consulting (download pdf)
• Sabrina Galasso @ EURAC Research (download pdf)

Internship Advisor

If you have further questions concerning the internship that are not yet answered or to submit your internship report, please contact the internship advisor: Çagri Çöltekin