<p>Basically, what types of people would major purely in computer science, and what types of people would combine computer science and math in their majors? Do both paths lead to the same types of career opportunities, or does combining computer science with math lead you down a more specialized career path than majoring in just computer science?</p>
<p>I'm trying to decide which path I should take. I want to go into artificial intelligence research in graduate school. What are the advantages to combining math and computer science, and what are some reasons for doing this versus majoring purely in computer science?</p>
<p>I think it will depend a fair amount on the school. I’m doing a double major, but at my school the math major is pretty flexible so this is a very manageable amount of work. I wouldn’t say that adding a math major restricts your career path: your career path depends a lot on what classes you take and what research/internships you do. Math seems like it’d be pretty useful in AI so that’s another consideration. I’m not sure how much experience you have with math though. If you’re familiar with and enjoy college math then it sounds like a good idea. If you haven’t taken proof-based math classes, then you should explore some math classes before you make the decision.</p>
<p>I don’t think the math major will have a large effect on your future employability or grad school acceptances. However, being good at math can make theoretical CS classes much easier, and really hone your problem-solving skills. I did math competitions fairly extensively at the end of high school, and I was able to breeze through some CS classes that otherwise would have been quite challenging without a strong math background.</p>
<p>I’m going to attend Brown, and the reason I’m asking this is because if I concentrate (major) in both CS and Math I would probably have to sacrifice some of the more theoretical and in-depth CS classes to make room for the more intensive math courses. Do you think doing so is worth it, or should I keep my concentration pure CS if I intend to go into AI research in the future?</p>
<p>Well since you’re already doing a CS major, I don’t see the point of going out of your way to get a math major. Why restrict yourself? I assume you won’t have much trouble getting into the math classes, so you can just take whatever you want! If you take enough courses for the math major then great, but if not it doesn’t really matter since you’re just doing it to learn. Math courses will improve your problem-solving skills and can make some CS classes easy by comparison, but they may not be as directly applicable as theoretical CS classes. It’s your choice!</p>
<p>If your emphasis is on CS, why not just do a CS major, but take math courses as electives of interest (or applicability to your CS interests) without worrying about whether they make a math major?</p>
<p>This isn’t as much a “I don’t know what I should do” post as a question asked purely out of curiosity. I’d just like to know the advantages, if any, that a CS/Math combination would have over pure CS, and vice versa.</p>
<p>Probably little or none for the second major if you want to go on to PhD study in CS or work in computer software, especially if filling in all the boxes for the second major reduces the number of CS courses you can take. Specific math courses as electives can be helpful in some CS contexts, though.</p>