Hi guys!
I know UIUC is amazing for computer science. Looking online, it says that degrees like cs+math and cs+stats are valued the same by employers as CoE CS degrees.
If this is true, what is the advantage of being in the CoE CS program? It is much harder to get into, so is there an advantage that makes it worth it?
If you look at the middle 50 percent of admitted students, the CS+X programs are only slightly easier for admission than CS-Engineering: https://myillini.illinois.edu/Programs/ComparePrograms, All CS majors are very competitive. If you also have a strong interest in one of the “X” majors but don’t have the time to complete a dual degree, than the CS+X degrees will have more exposure to both as part of the requirements. I assume the CS-Engineering degree has even more CS courses required if you compare the graduation curricula and maybe some benefit for a pure coding job or grad school in CS… As a top program, any CS degree is highly valuable in the market, but I suppose if you are targeting a job in a specific industry then a CS+X degree may have more appeal to a particular student.
I mean its a different curriculum, some people arent really interested in Stats or Theoretical Math so they’d rather take more CS classes
Not only is CoE CS more competitive than the aforementioned CS programs, it also offers more CS courses in
All of which will be covered in the undergrad curriculum. For CS+X and Stat/Math + CS, the programs will have more contents in the respective fields of focus. Thus, CoE CS is offered for those who are interested in a professional computer science career.
It isn’t ideal for someone who has a strong CS spike/focus to take the LAS courses. Thus, the strongest applicants often end up in CoE CS.
Thus, being valued equally by employer doesn’t mean that these degrees can provide identical knowledge.
You get a solid core of computer science courses from any of the three majors, CS Eng, Stats and CS, or Math and CS. Those in any of those majors can take any CS courses, subject to meeting prerequisites (usually other computer science or math courses). the required technical core courses for all three majors are similar and include computer architecture. The computational biology course offered at UIUC is a graduate school course, There are senior level courses specifically addressing computer security, which can be taken by any of three CS majors, but many do not take those simply because they choose to have a concentration elsewhere and all the courses you need to complete the four-year program can leave no room for those courses, although many graduate students also take them. That applies equally to specific computer graphics courses for which the main prerequisites are actually math courses.
The real differences among the three are required non-CS courses, CS Eng majors have to take a number of non-CS engineering and physics courses, math and CS majors more math courses, and statistics and CS majors more statistics courses, although a number of the higher level math and statistics courses needed are CS-related courses. As to prestige with employers, all three are valued highly, all three have very high employement levels for graduates who seek employment (rather than going to grad school), but one statistic tends to indicate a belief that the CS Eng degree with its engineering background is considered somewhat better than the others. The average starting income for graduates from the three majors in the last three years were: CS Eng $92,180, Math and CS $86,007, and Sats and CS $80,750.
Also note that the assumption made that it is “much harder” to get into CS Eng than Math/CS or Stats/CS is not really true. The middle 50% ranges for those two LAS programs are only a little lower than CS Engineering. All three have large numbers of applicants, and math and stats get many who are applying because they think it is easier to get into than CS Eng. A difference that makes the actual admission rates closer to each other is that the CS Eng major is usually looking to enroll, and determining how many admissions to give based on, a number that is more than double the combination of applicants the math/CS and stats/CS programs are looking to enroll
Why even bother with CS at all? Just do petroleum engineering!
^ I guess because UIUC does not have a petroleum engineering major.
@drusba @naturespirit @illinoisx3 Thanks for your help and the links! I honestly didnt do enough research before applying, but luckily I think I applied to the major that seems the best for me (math and cs).
I am not concerned with the ~5k difference in starting salary, as I am interested in pursuing further education after my undergrad.
Do any of you know if it is hard to change from cs and math to CoE cs, in case I change my mind?
Thanks!!!
It is possible to change from Math and CS to CS eng after freshman year but the odds are heavily against doing so, and the new process that will be in place for transferring into engineering from LAS (or other UIUC college) could result in total disaster.
Starting with the freshman class of 2017, the request for transfer from LAS to engineering after first year no longer exists. Instead, you must first apply at the end of freshman year to get into the PREP program, a prep program for engineering that is actually part fo the Division of General Studies, which is not in engineering, and not really in LAS. Entry into the Prep program requires a certain minimum GPA and completion of some of the courses freshman engineering students typically take in math and science.
Essentially, you are then in that Prep program for a year so you can request transfer into engineering at the end of sophomore year. However, there is no guarantee you will be able to transfer into engineering and transferring into CS Eng will still be very difficult because it does not accept many transfers. A more probable outcome is that you will be offered some other engineering major, if you maintain minimum needed GPA.
Now the kicker. Once you go into the prep program, you are no longer officially in the Math and CS program. If you eventually cannot get into CS Eng, you will need to apply to transfer back into the math and CS LAS program, and you may not be admitted back into the math and CS program. In other words, you have a risk of losing all chances at a CS major.
My son has a friend who had stats at or above the upper end of the middle 50 percent for CS-Engineering but was ultimately deferred/rejected. He accepted admit into another engineering or pre-engineering program. He persevered and managed to get a seat in CS classes, made connections with CS profs and advisers and aced his classes freshman year and was granted a transfer into CS-Engineering sophomore year. It can be done, but you really have to distinguish yourself. At least in Math+CS, you should have the advantage of priority scheduling for CS classes that are often not available to other engineering majors until later in the scheduling process. I wouldn’t worry about the starting salary either, that’s probably the variation from the jobs that open up in slightly lower paying fields rather than pure CS/software types of companies.
Thank yall! I’m so excited!