<p>As a computer science major, which science classes did you take? How many years/semesters did you take this science class? On my school's website under plan of study for CS, I have to take a year of a science elective. I have a choice between general biology, general chemistry or general physics - algebra based. I have no idea which one to take. I never took any of these classes in high school either, so I don't really know what to expect. In case any of you are wondering, I plan to go into the software engineering industry, web development, or the gaming industry. Which one of the science classes will be more helpful for me in the future? Which one is easier/harder? I really need your help on this. I'll be registering for spring semester classes soon.</p>
<p>A two semester sequence in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics is pretty typical for a CS student. What is surprising is that you are permitted to take algebra based physics as opposed to physics with calculus. Are you getting a B.S. or a B.A. (as that may explain why)? Both physics and biology have applications in CS. Chemistry is probably the least relevant but not entirely useless by any means. If you have an interest in game development then physics would be a good choice.</p>
<p>Oh, and I took two semesters of biology because I thought it would be the most interesting (turns out I thought most of it was boring). I was also required to take two additional science electives with a broader choice of classes. I ended up taking a year of geology because they were the easiest classes I could pick from and the rest of my schedule was stacked with math and CS classes.</p>
<p>I have to take principles of chemistry 1 & 2 with labs. I wish I could take BIO, but all the universities I looked into (in Georgia) require chemistry for computer science or engineering.</p>
<p>I will take Physics I: Mechanics followed by Physics II: Electricity & Magnetism, all calculus-based courses. My concentration is software engineering, although these courses are the same for computer engineering concentrations.</p>
<p>Personally, I’ll be taking these courses because physics would go along with 3D game design, even 2D game design fundamentals. Overall, and you can bash my opinions on that, I don’t think you’d need biology or chemistry for a software engineering concentration, nonetheless would you not need these two subjects in a career typically aimed at “only” developing web/desktop applications or games. However, they might be useful if you’re thinking about working for a health care, pharmaceutical or bioinformatics company, or anything that has to do with computations in the hard sciences (e.g. research or programming in genetics, etc.) Hope I could help.</p>
<p>@econcalc
So, are you saying that I need biology to go into research? Because that’s what I plan to do later on after my ph.d in computer science?</p>
<p>Well, I wrote that it might be useful, but if you’re planning on doing research in genetic material/bioinformatics/computational biology, then yes, you’d need the knowledge, right? However, your Ph.D. program will make you take certain courses based on your research/concentration anyway.</p>