Is computer science considered engineering?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Is computer science considered engineering? or is that only computer engineering?</p>

2

<p>I think it depends on the university as to whether the major “Computer Science” is considered engineering or not. Personally, I feel that academic subject “Computer Science” is in fact not a subfield of engineering - that it is fundamentally a subfield of mathematics, mostly applied mathematics (but not entirely).</p>

<p>In a CS degree program, you will learn things from other fields as well as practical skills: computer and software engineering, as well as programming and particular technologies. It can be difficult to separate out what CS really is, and until you do that, asking whether CS is engineering or not is futile.</p>

3

<p>What also leads to the confusion is that Computer Engineering is in the College of Engineering and Computer Science is in EITHER the College of Engineering or the Math Department on college campuses.</p>

4

<p>Some schools allow you to pick concentrations which emphasize software engineering over theoretical courses. I’ve never seen a CS program that doesn’t provide you with software engineering skills in terms of programming, using development tools, design, analysis, etc. I’ve seen some really iffy CS programs with no theory at all - I think that these should be labeled computer technology or information technology.</p>

<p>The CS degree is really flexible. It allows you to go into industry as a software engineer, or into grad school to do research or to work in information services, information technology and many other areas.</p>

5

<p>I have also look at quite a few graduate CS programs. Some programs actually have core courses and some just let you pick 8-10 courses…with no comprehensive exam.</p>

6

<p>Here it is under the umbrella of the College of Engineering, but they don’t have to take all the classes that ‘normal’ engineers do.</p>

7

<p>It really depends on the school. Some offers it in the engineering college, some offers it in the liberal arts college and some offers it in both. Usually if it is the engineering college, it probably combines both hardware and software. If it is in the liberal arts college, it might be software only.</p>

8

<p>Not this conversation again…</p>