What is the difference between Computer Science and Software Engineering?

Engineering is about building things, while science is about discovering how things work. Software Engineering is a discipline based in building actual software systems, sometimes very large ones, that can be used in industry. Software engineering is a fairly new disciplinary program, and for many years (and still today) computer scientists did software engineering. Computer science is a broader field, involving conceptual ideas and theory that are necessary for solving computing problems and developing new ideas in computer technologies. Software engineering focuses more on development of software systems.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is an excellent resource for finding information about different computing majors and careers.

 

Also check out the Sloan Career Cornerstone for information about how to prepare for a Computer Science career, what the career/job prospects look like for the near future, earnings potential, and profiles of current computer scientists and what they do.

How do I know which program I should choose?

Computer Science and Software Engineering are similar, and for your first year at ISU, you would be taking almost the exact same courses, making it pretty easy to switch from one to the other if you found that you were more interested in CS rather than SE, or vice versa. A good strategy is to start out in Computer Science, and during your first year, talk to professors and other students to find out whether you are more suited towards one program or the other.

Why Computer Science at ISU rather than another university?

Computer Science at ISU offers students a wide variety of support networks to help students achieve their dreams. We have an outstanding Learning Community in Computer Science, with regular study sessions, attentive peer mentors, and customized tutoring where it is needed. The Computer Science program at ISU is the only ABET accredited programs in the state of Iowa, which means that industries that hire our graduates know that their education was high quality and they understand concepts necessary to be successful and competitive in the workplace.

Aside from the quality of the programs offered in computer science at ISU, the campus is a beautiful environment to live and work. ISU has a student club for nearly any activity you can think of. Like unicycling? There is a club for that. Interested in learning glassblowing? Join the Gaffers Guild. Browse the pages for current undergraduate students in Computer Science for more information about Learning Communities, Computer Science Club, the ACM Programming Competition, and more!

What courses should I be taking in high school to prepare myself for the Computer Science program at Iowa State?

High school students interested in Computer Science should be taking math courses. Upon entering ISU, students will be evaluated for math competency, through ACT scores and the Math Placement Test. These two scores will determine which math course you will start out in at ISU. Information about transitioning from high school math to university level math can be found at this site: http://www.math.iastate.edu/For/MathTransitionGuide.pdf

Most high schools do not offer computer programming courses, but if yours does, take them! Any exposure to programming before you enter the CS program at ISU will be a great way to prepare yourself and get a head start. Programming courses at community colleges are another option if you are geographically close enough to enroll in them. These courses will also prepare you well to start out in the CS program at ISU, however, they will not necessarily transfer as ISU credits. See the information below about transfer credits.

Information about Transfer Credits

Please see the transfer credit evaluation guide.

Students who transfer from community colleges in Iowa and elsewhere often assume that their programming courses will count for CS227 and/or 228. Unless your programming course at community college meets these criteria, then our faculty will not consider a course for transfer credit:

1) Object-oriented programming (preferrably Java)

2) Must cover recursion

3) Must cover polymorphism

Courses that do include all of these criteria will still have to be evaluated by our faculty for transfer credit. Community colleges are not scientific universities, and therefore their classes are often not equivalent to the classes offered in a scientific department at Iowa State. A programming course that does not meet the equivalency requirement for Com Sci 227 may still qualify for Com Sci 207 or another lower level programming course. These lower level courses may count as a general education credit at ISU, but will not count towards CS program credit.

Physics is a required course for the Computer Science curriculum. Most physics courses at accredited community colleges will transfer to ISU.

Math courses: Upon entering ISU, you will have to take the Math Placement Test. Regardless of how many courses you have taken in math, your Math Placement Test score will determine which course you start out taking. Computer Science is a mathematical science. We recommend you take as much math preparation as possible. Our curriculum requires students to finish Calculus II or its equivalent.

Com Sci Coursework
See our Course Descriptions page.