What It's All AboutComputer engineering versus computer scienceby Tom Cudd When students first decide they want to enter the world of computers, many do not realize it is a diverse field in which one person cannot hope to specialize in more than just a few areas.
If there were a sliding scale for the computing field, computer science would be at one end with electrical engineering at the other. Computer engineering would be a mix of the two somewhere in the middle, but leaning to one side or the other depending on a particular emphasis. Dr. Charles Riedesel, the chief undergraduate adviser for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Computer Science and Engineering Department explained some of the similarities and differences between computer science and computer engineering programs. “There is a lot of overlap between the two areas. The math is the same and the physical sciences are comparable,” Riedesel said. “Even the computer science courses are the same for the first couple of years.” After the first year or so, learning about digital logic is the only similarity left between computer engineering and science. “The hardware that computer science students see is at a higher abstraction. They work with digital logic and how to design a processor, but do not have to look at the electrical components underneath,” said Riedesel. “Many students can add a lot of breadth with a double major or a second minor,” said Riedesel. “Minors with computer science lead to more flexibility.” In the past, computer science majors have picked up minors in business to move into the entrepreneurial area. Some computer science majors work toward a biological sciences minor with hopes of working on human genome research. Where computer science majors can lead to experience in areas outside computing, computer engineering majors are more experienced with the hardware of a computer. Their careers are geared toward embedded systems and designing lower-level hardware. The use of design projects to understand the electrical components behind computers is highly emphasized. Computer engineering majors are usually within one semester of getting an electrical engineering degree. One recent development involves students who aspire to earn both computer and electrical engineering degrees. While the computer science and engineering department is happy with the current system, there are some possible changes that may affect 100 and 200-level courses. Beginning computer engineering students may receive more electrical engineering experience during their first year. Possibly taking Introduction to Electrical Engineering may ease what many computer engineering students refer to as “the plunge” into ELEC 215. A possible expansion to CSCE 230: Computer Organization would allow a hardware lab for computer engineers. Something that both computer engineering and computer science majors will see is the addition of the Altera Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) boards. This has been a powerful teaching tool to which many students have responded positively. In response to requests, students gain a hands-on approach to the design of computer systems. While both computer science and computer engineering majors offer many skills to be learned, students should meet with an adviser to decide where their strengths lie. |
To most people, being involved with computers equates to the different fields of information technology and technicians who are simply expert computer users. For those students who decide to attend school at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, they soon learn there are a variety of choices available to them.