<p>Title of thread says it all, what is the differance in Carnegie and UofC? I have heard from friends who attend Carnegie that Carnegie is the best school in the nation for computer science, but what makes it so good over UofC?</p>
<p>What kind of math classes do you have to take at both for CS?</p>
<p>P.S. sorry for all the questions just very very curious. :)</p>
<p>You can not compare CS @ CMU with CS @ UChicago. School of computer science @ CMU is much much bigger and you will have a lot more choice with course selection there than at UChicago.</p>
<p>As the other poster notes, it is hard to even compare given that Carnegie Mellon is in effect a engineering school with all the surrounding tech culture that implies, whereas the Chicago CS program is primarily a second major for people who want to dabble in computing, or people who want an elite liberal arts education (first and foremost) and also happen to want a CS degree. </p>
<p>What makes it slightly harder than deciding between, say, MIT for CS and Harvard for CS (which I would argue is a no brainer), is that CMU outside of the applied sciences is not really in the same recruiting bracket as far as popular career fields go. If you want to study CS and go into technology consulting or work on Wall Street, there is a slight material edge apart from CS major itself associated with the Chicago name.</p>
<p>As far as math in UChicago’s CS department, the absolute minimum for the major would be the first quarter of Calculus and one quarter of ‘Foundations of Software’ which is essentially a discrete maths course for CS majors. Of course, it can easily vary; a friend doing CS told me that you know you’re a real CS major when you haven’t touched a computer or programmed for class in a year . . .</p>
<p>For computer science, Carnegie-Mellon is pretty much the gold standard, arguably the best undergraduate program in the world. Lots of students, lots of faculty, lots of corporate tie-ins, especially with Microsoft. Students apply separately to the School of Computer Science, which is different even from its Engineering School. The training is comprehensive, both practical and theoretical, and very career-focused.</p>
<p>Chicago isn’t remotely in the running for “Best Computer Science Program”. Its department is relatively small, and highly oriented towards theory (hence the joke about CS majors not touching computers or programming). CS majors of course take the Core Curriculum, like everyone else, and it represents about 1/3 of their college courseload.</p>
<p>Here are links to the basic degree requirements at both institutions. You can compare them yourself. Remember that CMU has a two-semester school year, while Chicago has a three-quarter school year.</p>
<p>[School</a> of Computer Science](<a href=“http://coursecatalog.web.cmu.edu/schoolofcomputerscience/]School”>School of Computer Science < Carnegie Mellon University)
<a href=“http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/pdf/CMSC.pdf[/url]”>http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/pdf/CMSC.pdf</a></p>
<p>Rny2 is a little off, by the way: at least two quarters of basic Calculus are required at Chicago.</p>
<p>JHS is absolutely correct about CMU. Another aspect is that CS at CMU, as their most prominent program, tends to dominate the campus. Many other fields, e.g. cognitive science, have a more computational bent than elsewhere, and interdisciplinary work between CS and other areas is very common. I believe CMU was one of the first places to offer an interdisciplinary program combining CS and art. </p>
<p>Just to put in a plug for CS at UChicago–at least researchwise, it benefits greatly from the connection to Argonne National Labs and is world class in high performance computing. I don’t know how this trickles down to the typical undergrad experience, though.</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Engineering Specialties: Computer - Best Colleges - Education - US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/spec-doct-computer]Undergraduate”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/spec-doct-computer)</p>
<p>and grad schools</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Computer Science - Graduate Schools - Education - US News](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-computer-science-schools/rankings]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-computer-science-schools/rankings)</p>