Computer Science at UNC

<p>Does anyone know if the Computer Science program at UNC is well known or is well received in general? I 've heard mixed reactions about the program and I was wondering if any of you guys have heard about it.</p>

<p>you can’t major in computer science, only math with a computer science concentration. If you are good at math, consider doing business or economics. My dad majored in math with a computer science concentration at UNC and works for IBM and he discourages computer science now because many jobs are being outsourced to other countries like India and China.</p>

<p>i beg to differ. you can absolutely major in computer science at UNC. im pretty sure its a really good program too</p>

<p>Are you instate? I wouldn’t recommend UNC for anything engineering. It doesn’t even have an engineering department. Go to NCSU for compsi. Their engineering department is nationally renown and they attract top employers (like Microsoft and IBM). But if you are dead set on UNC, then I guess it wouldn’t hurt.</p>

<p>Or does it? I checked the website and I couldn’t find an engineering department. Does UNC have one or is it just small?</p>

<p>Department of Applied Science, but I think I read somewhere that it wasn’t accredited, and even if this isn’t the case WolfPackfan has it right, if you want something in the engineering field, go to State (and I am not a Wolf Pack fan).</p>

<p>EDIT: Here is the link to Carolina’s Applied Scienc FAQ: <a href=“http://www.unc.edu/depts/appl_sci/index.php/undergraduate/faq[/url]”>http://www.unc.edu/depts/appl_sci/index.php/undergraduate/faq&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Like I said above, if any type of engineering is your thing, go to State.</p>

<p>Yeah, Its just I’m up for a full ride at UNC. So, I think I might just take the full ride at UNC.</p>

<p>The CS dept at UNC is excellent. It’s ranked 20th (USNWR)- up there with Rice, Brown, etc.</p>

<p>Some things you may want to keep in mind. </p>

<p>The undergrad program is fairly new, so some places may not know much about it. The CS dept has been a grad dept for ages. Most larger companies hiring from within the field will be familiar with the work being done there.</p>

<p>The CS dept is not part of an engineering school. This is not as big a deal for computer science as some people think. It won’t stop a qualified person from getting into grad school or getting a job at a good company. That said, the department has all of the equipment you will need for doing the engineering side of things. It isn’t an engineering program, but you can do plenty of engineering work there. If you look around the website, you can find lots of info about cutting edge technology developed & built at UNC.</p>

<p>The CS dept is part of a liberal arts college, so unlike engineering schools, you’ll have to take a foreign language and take a wide distribution of coursework outside of your major. This is a good thing! Another plus for UNC: the male/female ratio on campus is more even than at many engineering schools.</p>

<p>The classes are small. There is no hope of going under the radar here. If you don’t show up to class, it will be noticed. On the plus side, you will have lots of contact with your professors.</p>

<p>The program doesn’t focus on classwork after you finish the basics. It focuses on hands-on learning, projects, research, etc. My son & I were very impressed by the access to equipment. In other school we toured, the labs are kept lock & access was limited. </p>

<p>The people we met were <em>very</em> nice & encouraging. Again, research and hands-on learning is a big focus. If you are looking for lots of structure and formal course progressions, my guess is that this isn’t the right program for you. The feel was very informal. My guess you could drift along and get a perfectly fine education in this dept. However, if you are motivated & willing to put in the effort, you could do some amazing things! </p>

<p>If you aren’t sure about the dept, I would suggest going to one of the CS info sessions or emailing the department. When we contacted them, it was easy & painless. The people were friendly, happy to talk about the program and answered all of our questions. I will they had the CS info session recorded so people could see it online. It’s a good talk & answers all of the major questions. Maybe they would send you the powerpoint.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision!
HS mom, NY</p>