<p>Hello. I'm a senior interested in Computer Science wanting to focus in cyber security, and I was curious if anyone could give me some insight on which of my two schools boasts the stronger CS curriculum. </p>
<p>I have been accepted to both universities: the University of Kentucky & Northern Kentucky University. UK's CS degree is in their College of Engineering, whereas NKU's is in their College of Informatics (Griffin</a> Hall: Northern Kentucky University). </p>
<p>I feel NKU has a better niche in the study of information and they have two minors: one in Computer Forensics and the other in Information Security. </p>
<p>UK has a strong CS program but it's just a part of their College of Engineering so I feel it would be less specialized in it. </p>
<p>That's where you guys come in, I just want to get some opinions as to what curriculum (class-wise) is stronger. I could care less about nationally recognized, I understand that UK is the flagship research institution in the state. I just want to know which one gives me a stronger understanding in the discplines of computational theory. </p>
<p>I don’t think it will matter a whole lot for undergraduate studies, as your undergraduate merely serves to provide a broad base for future research.</p>
<p>What I would do is this – go visit each of the schools again and see which department you like better. If you’re interested in specific areas of CS, then look at graduate and research opportunities at each school. The undergraduate CS curriculum will be fairly standard at every college.</p>
<p>Most of your cyber security training will come from 3rd-party vendors outside of universities but taking some background courses during your undergrad years can help.</p>
<p>CS for those who write the security software.</p>
<p>IT/IS/MIS for those who use the security software.</p>
<p>UK does seem to be the stronger overall CS department. That NKU’s CS department is in a business-oriented division of the university, rather than an engineering-oriented or math-oriented division, brings up questions about the rigor and course content of its courses. It may be ok, but that would need further investigation to be sure.</p>
<p>In general, it is best to get a relatively broad background of CS topics in your undergraduate education, so that you can move into any specialty at work or graduate school relatively easily. Overspecializing in undergraduate may make it more difficult to adapt later.</p>
<p>Those minors you mention appear to focus more on IT/IS/MIS type topics, which are somewhat easier to learn on your own if you have a solid foundation in CS.</p>
<p>Are you more interested in computer *science<a href=“UK”>/i</a>, or IT/IS/MIS type topics (NKU)?</p>
<p>I could go for either, I just want to go into Cybersecurity and Computer Forensics. Whichever I major in wouldn’t bother me, as long as Cybersecurity is the end result.</p>
<p>I think a solid CS foundation is the most important thing to get right now. It’ll be more helpful in the long run, especially if you decide to focus on something else later (even if you don’t, better fundamentals will help you be better at cybersecurity/computer forensics).</p>