# Computer Engineering- Double major with Computer Science or Software Engineering



## prime97 (Feb 6, 2011)

I want to get a MS in Computer Engineering, but I would also like a BS in something else. Which would match up better with computer engineering--Computer Science or Software engineering? Any info would help, thank you!!!!


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## Peele1 (Feb 7, 2011)

It depends on your school. People generally do double majors or minors for these reasons:

It's free or easy to pick up - many engineering majors will grab a minor (or even a major) in math, physics or chemistry. Check to see which of these you can get with no additional classes, or very few.

It compliments what you want to do with what degree you want - Chemical Engineering and Biology for med school, management and engineering, etc.

A job requires a degree in field x, but you really want to do y. Do both.

In many schools, you may find that CS or SE are the same, or there's only one. Looking at recent job descriptions, CS and SE are the same.

I'd suggest that get a major or minor in whatever you can get for free or little effort. The CE is the top degree, the others are 2nd.

Consider a major in something else like math or physics to compliment - do you want to work for the NSA? Then CE and Math would get you in fairly well. Do you want to work on the Large Hadron Collider or Tokamak? Then physics would probably help.


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## prime97 (Feb 7, 2011)

I'm thinking about going to drexel.


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## speedyox (Feb 7, 2011)

It does very greatly by school, but computer engineering and software engineering/computer science are vastly different. If I was was asked to define software engineering, I'd say it is "computer science with a focus on project management". To compare, computer engineering is electrical engineering with a focus on computer architecture.

Master's degrees are generally much more specific than bachelors degrees. What specific focus are you planning for your masters degree? Some topics will be better supported by computer science or software engineering while others might be better supported by electronics engineering, or physics.


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## rjmaster19 (Feb 7, 2011)

Peele has good advice, but it only applies if you know what you want to do. If you have no idea (like I did), save the money, put it in a good mutual fund, then use it when you really know what you want out of your career.

Btw, I got two degrees, Electrical eng, and computer science with a minor in math. Now I do control systems. I'm glad I did what I did, but I can't say that it has helped me get ahead.


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## prime97 (Feb 10, 2011)

I know I want to do computer engineering. That is my main, but I don't know which one would fit better with it. Computer science or software engineering.


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## prime97 (Feb 13, 2011)

Or would it be better with informational technology


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