I know these terms mean different things at other institutions, but here's my take on the various computer-related majors at BYU. I only have direct experience with one or two, so some of this is probably oversimplified or biased.
- Computer Science - Lots of algorithms and programming, but absolutely nothing on systems or hardware - Electrical Engineering - Lots of electronics and some CS-like work (eg. real-time OS, etc.) - Computer Engineering - A mix between Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Basically EE, minus a little of the low-level electronics, and plus a lot more of the CS stuff than the EE has - Information Technology - IT system design, integration of disparate systems, service management, etc. Note that this is where my degrees come from, so I'm a little biased toward it. - Information Systems - How to be a manager of an IT team, and delude yourself into thinking you're an IT guy. Much more of a business degree than anything else. Did I miss anything? Lloyd Brown Systems Administrator Fulton Supercomputing Lab Brigham Young University http://marylou.byu.edu On 08/06/2013 09:31 AM, Bryan Murdock wrote: > This is where I probably say some things I shouldn't say. > > If you are an incoming freshman and already know that you want to > focus on computers and are already running linux on your own, don't do > CS at BYU. Go directly to Computer Engineering in the EE department. > You still take the best classes the CS department has to offer, but > you also get to learn how the hardware works, all the way down to the > device physics of the transistors. And as fun as that is, the main > advantage is that they teach you how to learn. The CS department > teaches you how to whine until they offer "extra credit." Guess which > skill serves you better throughout your life? :-) > > Sorry, that's probably a little unfair of me. There are some really > smart people that come out of the BYU CS department (in spite of the > shortcomings?) and it was 10 years ago when I finished BYU and maybe > things have changed. Ask others who spent time taking classes in both > departments. When I was there, CS classes were the relaxing, > take-a-breath classes for the Computer Engineering majors. > > Bryan > > On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 7:12 PM, Oliver Reed <[email protected]> wrote: >> I'm an incoming freshman, and I was wondering if any of the more experienced >> BYU students have tips or suggestions to help me (and any other freshman >> that happen to be subscribed) succeed. Study habits we should start, time >> management techniques we should practice, and activities we should attend >> could be helpful as well as any other information you can think of that you >> wish you had known on entrance. >> >> Particularly, I'm interested in the CS program. What tips and tricks do you >> have for a Linux user going to school? Specifically, for CS 142, do I need >> some way to run Windows or Windows software? >> >> Thank you for any time and effort you put in to answering my questions. I'm >> extremely excited to experience college life, and I want my first semesters >> to be the best possible experience. >> >> -Oliver Reed >> >> -------------------- >> BYU Unix Users Group >> http://uug.byu.edu/ >> >> The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their >> author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> List Info (unsubscribe here): http://uug.byu.edu/mailman/listinfo/uug-list > -------------------- > BYU Unix Users Group > http://uug.byu.edu/ > > The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their > author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. > ___________________________________________________________________ > List Info (unsubscribe here): http://uug.byu.edu/mailman/listinfo/uug-list > -------------------- BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. ___________________________________________________________________ List Info (unsubscribe here): http://uug.byu.edu/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
