<p>Hi, I am currently a high school senior and I recently enrolled into the engineering school at Rutgers University New Brunswick. I am more interested in programming and software as opposed to hardware, but I feel like I would miss out on an important aspect of computers that is offered through the ECE major. I was wondering what were the major differences between the ECE major offered at the engineering school and the computer science major offered at the school of arts and sciences.</p>
<p>If you look at the course list for the two programs, it should be pretty clear what the differences are. CS is mostly software and ECE is mostly hardware.</p>
<p>What I have found so far to be the most fitting program for me is a 5 year program where you spend half your time at the school of sciences and half at the school of engineering and get a degree in science and a degree in engineering. </p>
<p>TL;DR, you can get both in almost the same time (or the same time if you took enough AP classes!)</p>
<p>Also, you can take CS classes to fulfill all of your Computer and Technical electives for the ECE degree, and the CS equivalents to required classes like Programing Methodology and Discrete Mathematics. This way you graduate with a degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering but you’ll have learned about the programming aspect from the computer science department.</p>
<p>As an engineering student(NOT ECE) i would say ECE because the job field is very good looking. High paying.</p>
<p>As for taking programming class.</p>
<p>You will take programming and hardware couses. All engineering students take intro to computers which teaches MatLab(engineering software). Syntax is similar to C++ but its different in many ways. </p>
<p>My friend(ECE) is taking courses where they learn Java, C++ and other languages.</p>
<p>As for my opinion in what looks better?</p>
<p>Degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering > Degree in Computer Science.</p>
<p>More employers will hire engineering majors over CS majors from what i hear from career services presentations.</p>
<p>ECE is very difficult and demanding program btw. If you do decide on this, you should know that you will take upto calc 4 where CS only takes upto calc 2. The professors are more foreign than american but thats 80 % of rutgers</p>