<p>Hi, I'm going to be applying for masters programs in EE. I was wondering as part of my curriculum if it would be possible to get a good background/foundation in CS. I'm not so much interested in doing a complete master's in CS but I just want a solid foundation. I guess a "specialization".</p>
<p>Probably not. How many courses is your MS program requiring you to take, and how many of those must be in your area of EE? You’re unlikely to have time to take as many CS courses as you’ll need for that solid foundation.</p>
<p>There are many fields where CS and EE overlap. Computer Architecture, Digital VLSI (especially CAD), and embedded systems come to mind.</p>
<p>I’m a more interested on the software rather than the hardware side.</p>
<p>Then it’s unlikely there will be much overlap. Tell us more about your MS program. How many courses are you required to take? Of these, how many are EE concentration courses (which will probably be unrelated to anything CS) ? </p>
<p>Does the program require you to take some courses outside your immediate major/concentration? If there’s a bunch of these, you could take CS classes. </p>
<p>Do you have some undergrad background in CS? Will you be able to take graduate CS courses or will you have to stick to undergrad courses? That could be a problem, since sometimes as a grad student you can only take a limited number of undergraduate classes.</p>
<p>If you are interested in software rather than hardware, why are you going into EE rather than CS?</p>
<p>In any case, if you take EE embedded systems courses you will probably do plenty of (low level) programming. And some EE programs allow elective engineering courses taken outside the department, although usually just one or two so maybe you can take an AI class on the CS side or something?</p>
<p>I’m still a senior in undergrad and will be applying for grad schools later this year. My major is EE. I’ve only taken basic courses in programming.</p>
<p>That background is adequate for a masters in CS. MORE than adequate. If your eventual goal is software development, just apply for CS- I’m sure you’ll get in to plenty of places.</p>
<p>Now, if you want to learn more about software development (but not at the expense of your EE courses), just get a few books and do some projects. Its not that hard.</p>
<p>How would I position myself for a CS grad program? Here are some pros/cons:</p>
<p>pros
-have a few internships involving programming learned java, sql, vba, etc.
-independent programming project learned php, SQL, etc.
-intro programming courses and a few on the architectural side
-research project on total scene understanding (kind of on the borderline between CS and EE)</p>
<p>con
-the 3 or 4 CS classes i’ve taken is much lower GPA wise than my EE classes
-haven’t taken any CS classes recently or any of the theoretical CS classes</p>
<p>Any tips?</p>