Difference Between Computer Science and Computer Engineering?

title says it all. should I take both if I want to get in to University of Berkley's "Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences" program?

Reply 1

iisjman07

I would assume CompSci would be more theoretical

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Reply 2

tynanv

Original post by iisjman07

I would assume CompSci would be more theoretical

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Should I take both in highschool to have a better chance at getting into the program I listed in my fist post?

Reply 3

sabian92

Original post by tynanv

Should I take both in highschool to have a better chance at getting into the program I listed in my fist post?

If you can handle the work then definitely - having a broad understanding can only help. They are a lot of work though, CompSci is basically just programming.

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Reply 4

manderton

Original post by sabian92

CompSci is basically just programming.

I lol'd.

a very common misconception - very little is actually programming.

Reply 5

Darth Stewie

Original post by tynanv

Should I take both in highschool to have a better chance at getting into the program I listed in my fist post?

Yeh, computer engineering usually focuses on things like digital logic and micro architecture while computer science goes into things such as theoretical programming and computation.

It's always best to ask the university directly if they think x course is suitable for x degree however i would be very surprised if taking both is seen as anything other than an advantage. Not very familiar with the American system but if you have an option for taking Maths i definitely would take it as when dealing particularly with electrical engineering (which is what the vast majority of computer engineering falls under) having a strong mathematical background is crucial.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 6

iCiaran

Original post by sabian92

If you can handle the work then definitely - having a broad understanding can only help. They are a lot of work though, CompSci is basically just programming.

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No, it's not, programming is just a tool available to computer scientists.

Reply 7

CharliePhillips

Okay so essentially, Computer Science is more in the direction of software, while Computer engineering is more hardware. So CS more maths, more programming while CE is more of electronics mixed with CS. HOWEVER, every university is different and there is alot of overlap between the two subjects, you'll also find there is next to no CE courses in the UK at university which is a bummer as thats what I wanted to do.

So....
Computer Science = Computer Science
Computer Engineering = 'Electronics mixed with Computer Science'-ish

Reply 8

tynanv

Thanks for the help guys, I decided to take both. Hopefully they will help me further down the road when I have to apply for University.

Reply 9

Dirac Delta Function

Original post by sabian92

If you can handle the work then definitely - having a broad understanding can only help. They are a lot of work though, CompSci is basically just programming.

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Don't give advice when you haven't got a clue.