UCLA Engineering Q&A

[flopsy]

<p>

@Ohnonomiss

hey so i kno these questions have probably already been answered in this thread, but right now i dont have the time to go through and read em all so sorry if these are annoying questions.

Thanks for heeding my request back in "College Search and Selection".</p>

<p>

@Ohnonomiss]<br> 1 - whats the difference between the comp sci major and comp sci eng? should i take the comp sci eng major if i want to be a computer engineer?</p> <p>[/quote

It's been asked in this thread already, but whatever... Computer Science (CS) and Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) are very similar and only diverge in the junior/senior years. CS has a few mandatory Computer Science classes that CSE doesn't have (e.g. Artificial Intelligence), while CSE has a few mandatory Electrical Engineering classes that CS doesn't have (e.g. Circuit Design and Circuit Analysis). CS also boasts the technical minor requirement, and slightly increased GEs compared to those of CSE. All in all, the CS core curriculum is 182 units, while the CSE core curriculum is 186 units, so you'll be loaded with either major.</p>

<p> [quote=Ohnonomiss] 2 - is their a diff between UCLAs bizecon major and other schools biz major?

From what I've heard, Business Economics at UCLA differs from a pure undergraduate business program at other schools by focusing on accounting and applied economics rather than management and marketing. You might want to ask our resident BizEcon savant, Brandnew2, about this.</p>

<p>

@Ohnonomiss]<br> 3 - how do these majors at UCLA compare to the majors and engineering schools of other schools? (any reccomendations of other good eng schools?)</p> <p>[/quote

Peer institutions to UCLA in the field of Computer Science and Computer Engineering are Michigan, UCSD, Brown, USC and Duke. Peer institutions to UCLA in the field of Business and Economics are Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Cornell and Virginia.</p>

<p> [quote=Ohnonomiss] 4 - how difficult would it be to double major in both comp sci eng and bizecon?

It's been asked already, but whatever... You cannot double major in both CSE and BizEcon without petitioning to the HSSEAS Office of Academic and Student Affairs, while presenting a high GPA and a strong reason to do so. Expect to take five years to graduate and take a full course load (16+ units) along the way. Like I already mentioned, only one person has double majored in this manner, and knowing him personally, I can say few humans exist like him. He's working at Microsoft now, telling Bill Gates what to do... :rolleyes:</p>

<p>

@Ohnonomiss

5 - do u kno how i can see the classes that are in the comp sci eng major so that i can take some now at the local community college during high school and get UC credit?

<a href="http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/curric05_06.html/HTML/compsciengcur.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/curric05_06.html/HTML/compsciengcur.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@UndecidedMom]<br> Thank you for all your time and dedication flopsy!</p> <p>[/quote]<br> :rolleyes:</p></p> <p><p><br> [quote=UndecidedMom]<br> Is it hard to get the classes you need in engineering? What about after the first two "commom" years?</p> <p>[/quote

No, not hard at all... I've gotten all the classes I needed, both engineering and non-engineering, during my first two years at UCLA. Now that I am in my third year, I have so far been able to enroll in all my desired classes except one (CS M152A, a low-enrollment lab class) which I wanted to take last quarter and am luckily now taking.</p>

<p> [quote=UndecidedMom] Also, is it realistic to expect to graduate in 4 years? I've heard that into the junior year, the course load/offerings are pretty tough (if not impossible) to pull off. I believe they are modifying the plan. Any info on this?

Yes, it is realistic to expect to graduate in four years if you plan ahead as a freshman. Most engineering students at UCLA graduate in five years as a matter of choice rather than of obligation; if you attended Engineering Open House this past weekend for the Computer Science departmental lecture you would have heard it from Prof. Smallberg himself. Although roughly half of UCLA engineers graduate in five years, this is usually anticipated before graduation time. I could probably graduate in four years by taking three upper-division Computer Science courses per quarter next year, leaving little time outside of those classes, but I have decided to graduate in five years for two reasons: to participate in Computer Science undergraduate research, and to take a few courses outside of my major for personal interests and the sheer love of learning. :rolleyes:</p>

[Ohnonomiss]

<p><a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/eng/brief/engrank_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/eng/brief/engrank_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>does anybody find this accurate?</p>

[milesguidon]

<p>you are aware those are graduate rankings, right?</p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@Ohnonomiss

does anybody find this accurate?

Everything but #9, which is owing to the overinflated research expenditures. :rolleyes:</p>

[Ohnonomiss]

<p>hey flopsy, what made u choose UCLA over other schools? what were your other options? thanks</p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@Ohnonomiss

hey flopsy, what made u choose UCLA over other schools? what were your other options? thanks

I chose UCLA over the other schools because I wanted to move to California where most of the software development industry is located, and because it had my favorite campus and environment out of all the schools I ended up visiting. To be honest, UCB was actually my first choice but I got rejected for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). My other university options (that weren't absolute safeties) were UCI (Information and Computer Science), USC (Computer Science) and Michigan (Computer Science). :rolleyes:</p>

[CyberDragoon]

<p>Quick question flopsy. I'm going into BioEng in prep for med school, but I don't want to be screwed GPA-wise (I hope). How hard would it be to maintain maybe 3.5 in terms of hours per day of studying? Is the curve THAT difficult?</p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@CyberDragoon

Quick question flopsy. I'm going into BioEng in prep for med school, but I don't want to be screwed GPA-wise (I hope). How hard would it be to maintain maybe 3.5 in terms of hours per day of studying? Is the curve THAT difficult?

I can't answer your question directly, unfortunately, because I don't know any Bioengineering majors that aren't freshmen. If it's anything like Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, you need to study/program like crazy to raise your GPA past 3.00, which is when the diminishing returns on academic time commitment typically start kicking in. Everyone learns at a different rate and some people do get 3.50+ as a CS/CSE/EE major because they're naturally talented and only study as much as needed to keep up with the lectures, while others get 3.50+ because they actually study like crazy to raise their test scores from 90/100 to 95/100. These classes are what Bioengineering is all about. :rolleyes:</p>

[flopsy]

<p>Interesting fact about UCLA Computer Science: according to Prof. Smallberg, the "attrition rate" for the Class of 2005 is 1/3, meaning that only 2/3 of freshmen who originally majored in Computer Science actually graduate with a B.S. Computer Science degree... That's how intense the weeding is. :rolleyes:</p>

[Ohnonomiss]

<p>hey flopsy - im reading through and every1 is talking about how challenging engineering majors, especially CS/CSE/EE, really are. lol to be honest all this talk is actually a bit intimidating. How are you holding up in, correct me if im wrong, your CS major? i know you said you were planning on staying for the fifth year. hows your gpa and stress/workload factor been over all your years and year to come at UCLA?</p>

[CyberDragoon]

<p>I hear they're dropping the requirement fir graduation to 180 units now. Would they do anything else beside help you graduate sooner?</p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@Ohnonomiss

hey flopsy - im reading through and every1 is talking about how challenging engineering majors, especially CS/CSE/EE, really are. lol to be honest all this talk is actually a bit intimidating. How are you holding up in, correct me if im wrong, your CS major? i know you said you were planning on staying for the fifth year. hows your gpa and stress/workload factor been over all your years and year to come at UCLA?

Don't worry about me. My GPA is above average. Worry about yourself. :rolleyes:</p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@CyberDragoon

I hear they're dropping the requirement fir graduation to 180 units now. Would they do anything else beside help you graduate sooner?

I've never heard that before. Do you have a source on this? Besides, a 180-unit minimum requirement for graduation has no bearing on Engineering majors since all of them require about 180-210 units to complete the core degree requirements. Therefore, they already satisfy the requirement and thus won't graduate any sooner than they already do. :rolleyes:</p>

[UndecidedMom]

<p>I remember hearing that they were dropping the required units to 180 at the Engineering Open House during the Electrical Engineering portion. They also mentioned the new "area concentration" classes (or something similar) required during senior yr.</p>

[lexan]

<p>I also went to the Electrical Engineering seminar. They did mention dropping the units, only because (apparently) many engineers graduate in more than four years. They want to allow engineers to graduate in four years like other UCLA students.. with about the same engineering expertise as the ones who graduate in five, so they're dropping credits and giving us more labs.</p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@lexan

I also went to the Electrical Engineering seminar. They did mention dropping the units, only because (apparently) many engineers graduate in more than four years. They want to allow engineers to graduate in four years like other UCLA students.. with about the same engineering expertise as the ones who graduate in five, so they're dropping credits and giving us more labs.

That makes more sense if it's an Electrical Engineering issue, since the notion of lowering units was never discussed at the Computer Science seminar. Electrical Engineers and Bioengineers tend to take the longest to graduate (due to high unit requirements), so they're most likely to have their units adjusted first, if at all. :rolleyes:</p>

[brunelicsb0018]

<p>ill be transferring to ucla the fall following the next one, so the fall of 07,(if i keep my 3.8 gpa). my major is aerospace engineering and i wanted to know how this department is ranked among the top schools , and also what should transfer students expect when they get into the HSSEAS moneywise, the social life, and graduation requirements. also i wanted to ask if u know anything about UCSD'S structural engieering department(being my second choice). i heard its a brand new ABET accredited major so i would like to hear what ur guys think of that major thanks</p>

[flopsy]

<p>

@brunelicsb0018

ill be transferring to ucla the fall following the next one, so the fall of 07,(if i keep my 3.8 gpa). my major is aerospace engineering and i wanted to know how this department is ranked among the top schools , and also what should transfer students expect when they get into the HSSEAS moneywise, the social life, and graduation requirements. also i wanted to ask if u know anything about UCSD'S structural engieering department(being my second choice). i heard its a brand new ABET accredited major so i would like to hear what ur guys think of that major thanks

UCLA is ranked 15th for Aerospace Engineering and first among the UC system. I don't think I can answer your second question sufficiently because it's so broad, and because I'm not a transfer student; maybe attending Transfer Orientation would comprehensively answer your questions about student life. Also, this is the first I've heard of UCSD Structural Engineering, so I wouldn't be able to comment on it. They are good in Civil Engineering, though; UCLA placed first in a recent earthquake endurance competition held right here at UCLA. :rolleyes:</p>

[Ohnonomiss]

<p>as i said earlier in the thread, i was looking to take some credit classes at the local JC and then if i go to LA i could transfer those credits. i was looking at the COMP SCI 31 course at LA and the equivilent course at my JC when i realized that it is available only during summer session 1, which takes place while i am still in school, and the course is not offered during summer session 2. my question is, would it b a good idea to take this course if i had to go to a non local JC in order to take it over summer? will it improve my chances of acceptance if the course shows under my high school transcript?</p>

<p>also, i was wondering if anybody knew of some computer/engineering summer camps available in the so cal area. thanks - ohnonomiss</p>