<p>Hello all, I am a freshman in computer science, although this topic can really apply to any engineering major. I recently was notified by my university that there were research opportunities for CS majors in departments other than engineering. The two specific departments that were looking for computer scientists / programmers were the physics dept (for scientific computing and systems administration) and the psychology dept (for computational modeling of data). Do these research assistant positions look worse than those in the CS/Engineering dept? Would these positions look good when applying for grad school or a job? I appreciate any answers. Thanks!</p>
<p>A lot of research is interdisciplinary. And yes, research experience is a plus when applying to grad school regardless of the department. In any case, I think students overemphasize the importance of how their collegiate c.v. appears “on paper”. Just try to figure out what interests you and where you’d like to focus in your career.</p>
<p>Those would be very good research opportunities.</p>
<p>If they interest you and you can learn something that you want to learn, then they are good research opportunities.</p>
<p>Nice to know that research in departments outside your major isn’t looked down upon! I’m not qualified for those positions as they were looking for very experienced programmers, but I’ll keep my options open.</p>