computer science or cs and design major at NE?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
1

Hi I’m currently a high school senior applying for NE and I am debating whether to major in computer science or computer science + design. I am interested in design as well as computer science, so I thought that this major might be good for me. However, I would rather just major in CS if the CS+design major is lackluster at NE. Does anyone know how good the program is, or have any advice as to which major I should go for?

Thanks!

2

You will get plenty of CS with either degree. I would recommend starting with CS+Design, and decide if you like it from your freshman year. It’s easy to switch from CS+Design to straight CS, as they have the same core CS classes for the first two years at least.

3

@jjaykay - My daughter was accepted EA to the Urban Landscape major, but after a semester of AP CompSci, she had become more sure that she wanted a CS component to her program. She just submitted a request to change to CS+Design. (We’re hoping that approval is just a formality!) Like you, she isn’t 100% sure about the design piece. She’s also interested in the Psychology/Linguistics/CogSci cluster of subjects, and I think there’s a good likelihood that she may later switch to one of the psych or linguistics combined majors. But the reasoning we went through was:

  1. She was already accepted to CAMD, and everything she said in that application about her interest in a creative major/career was true, so best to keep one foot in that College and give the Design program a chance.
  2. The combined major only involves one art/design class each semester in the first year. She can still take a psych or linguistic elective each semester, since she already has AP credit covering first-year writing. And the design class is likely to offer a nice change of pace from the other academic classes; and it would also be her only small class freshman year. (A review of the course schedule for Fall 2016 shows that there were nine sections of ARTF1122, ranging in enrollment from 12 to 16)
  3. From there, if she loves the design department, she can continue in the combined major, which requires 12 art/design classes altogether. If for some reason she loathes it, she can switch and leave it behind. But in the most likely event that she likes it but wants to scale it down to make room for a psych/linguistics combined major, by the end of freshman year she will already have taken three of the five classes required for an Interaction Design minor (the two art/design classes plus CS2500), so she can shift her CS+X major and still finish the minor easily. (Same would be true of shifting to straight CS.)

I know you’ve already decided and applied by now, but just through I’d share our reasoning process in case it’s helpful to you or others. What did you decide to do?

( @PengsPhils , thanks as always for your helpful input!)

4

@aquapt Thanks so much on the thoughtful insight! After talking it through with my family, I ended up applying for CS+Design! I have an strong interest in both CS+Design so I think it’ll be a good intro for both topics for me so I can see what each field has to offer. :slight_smile: