<p>Suppose I attend Princeton to study CS. Where can I find the course requirements for this? I want to know, for instance, what/how many courses I'll need to take in areas outside of the field I'm studying. Writing requirements? How much freedom do students have in choosing classes?</p>
<p>For CS, you have a choice between a BSE and a AB.</p>
<p>The general education requirements (on the same page, but different depending which one you choose) are here:
[General</a> Education Requirements - Undergraduate Announcement](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/requirements/]General”>http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/requirements/)</p>
<p>The requirements for an AB are listed here:
[Department</a> of Computer Science - Undergraduate Announcement](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/cos]Department”>http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/cos)</p>
<p>The requirements for a BSE are here:
[Program</a> of Study for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering - Undergraduate Announcement<a href=“general%20engineering%20reqs”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/coe/]Department”>http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/coe/]Department</a> of Computer Science - Undergraduate Announcement<a href=“cs%20reqs”>/url</a></p>
<p>The CS department has their own stuff here:
[url=<a href=“http://www.cs.princeton.edu/academics/ugradpgm/program]Undergraduate”>http://www.cs.princeton.edu/academics/ugradpgm/program]Undergraduate</a> Program of Study :: Princeton Computer Science](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/programbse/]Program”>http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/programbse/)
[A</a> Guide for the Humble Undergraduate :: Princeton Computer Science](<a href=“http://www.cs.princeton.edu/academics/ugradpgm/life]A”>http://www.cs.princeton.edu/academics/ugradpgm/life)</p>
<p>And there’s tons of other info about Princeton and classes here:
[Undergraduate</a> Announcement, 2009-10 - Undergraduate Announcement](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/]Undergraduate”>http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ua/)</p>
<p>Congrats again on getting in!!! :-)</p>
<p>Now, I would be curious what the difference is between the two degrees - I mean, obviously one is more liberal-artsy and one is more engineering-focused, but does this actually make a difference in the long run? Do companies or grad schools prefer one to the other? Can any actual Princeton student speak to this? Thanks!</p>
<p>CS engineers don’t have to write a thesis! However, that doesn’t exempt them from independent work altogether since they have to do at least a semester’s worth of it. Some engineers decide to write theses anyway. As a struggling senior, I have no idea why they’d want to, but there it is.</p>
<p>Engineers also have to take more courses: 36 as opposed to the 31 that the AB kids need to complete, but they also have fewer distribution requirements. So if you’re not interested in humanities or languages at all, then BSE might be an option you’d prefer.</p>
<p>Apart from that, I don’t think there’s much of a difference; I have CS major friends who went both the AB and the BSE route, and both ended up getting jobs in big companies without too many difficulties. That’s the extent of my knowledge; as a humanities kid with one intro CS course to her transcript, I’m pretty much a complete outsider.</p>
<p>Hey guys, I’m a sophomore in the CS department (BSE) here at Princeton so I may be able to help clarify some more things up. Those links all have helpful information, but hopefully I can consolidate some of it for you based on my experiences.</p>
<p>BSE take 36 courses, AB take 31 as smudgeandpallor said. However, when you do independent work as an engineer that counts as a course, and if you decide to do a thesis that also counts towards your course requirements (but only for engineers, AB is 31 in addition to the thesis).</p>
<p>The basic requirements to get into the department are 126 (General Computer Science), followed by 217 (Intro to Systems Programming) and 226 (Algorithms and Data Structures). 217 and 226 can be taken in either order, or even at the same time. 126 can be placed out of with a score of 5 on the AP CS exam (but I’m not sure what happened with the whole A vs. AB exams. Only AB counted before, and I don’t know if A counts now that they have eliminated AB).</p>
<p>217 and 226 are prerequisites for pretty much all other courses in the department, with a few exceptions. Thus, I suggest you get them both out of your way freshman year if you can, even though they are labeled as sophomore classes. After this, you need 2 300 or 400 courses from each of 3 different groups: systems (operating systems, networks, some courses in the electrical engineering department), applications (graphics, vision, security, AI, etc.), and theory (theoretical CS and some courses in the math department). </p>
<p>On top of those 6, you need 2 more 300 or 400 level courses from any of the groups. So you could have 3 systems, 3 applications, 2 theory for example. Of course, you are welcome to continue taking more after that.</p>
<p>AB need to write a junior paper and a senior thesis. BSE need to do one semester of independent work in junior or senior year, and they can optionally complete a senior thesis (I will probably do this - if you are an engineer who may be interested in research, for example, then it is an option).</p>
<p>As far as distribution requirements go: For AB, I’m not all that sure so you should read up in the links above. For BSE, you need 7 courses across at least 4 of the following areas:
Epistemology and Cognition
Ethical and Moral Thought
Historical Analysis
Language and the Arts (includes foreign language I think, or that may be a separate category)
Social Analysis</p>
<p>BSE students also need 1 semester of chemistry, 2 semesters of physics, and 1 semester of computer science (which obviously you are already satisfying if you are in the CS department). Chemistry and physics can be satisfied with AP credit. You need 4 semesters of math, the first 2 are calculus (which can be satisfied with AP credit), and the other 2 are multivariable calculus and linear algebra. AB students only need linear algebra and do not need multivar, physics, or chemistry.</p>
<p>You have a great deal of freedom in which courses you take. Once you have taken or placed out of 126 and taken 217/226, you can for the most part take any other course in the department. Still, it is a good idea to plan your schedule at least a bit ahead of time since some courses are not offered every year, and many of them are only in the Spring or Fall (but basic ones like 126/217/226 are offered every semester).</p>
<p>It’s possible to complete the degree requirements pretty quickly. I probably will be done with everything except independent work by the end of my junior fall, but there are still a lot of interesting courses in the department that I’d like to take - so don’t feel constrained by the requirements.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions feel free to ask.</p>
<p>EDIT: Also, to confirm smudgeandpallor’s correctness, there is really no difference between the AB and BSE degrees outside of the requirements. Take whichever one mandates the non-CS courses that you are more interested in taking.</p>
<p>The 31 vs. 36 courses is only one course more once you take into account independent work. AB students do independent work for 4 semesters (which if you did as a BSE would be worth 4 classes)</p>