Computer Science vs Software Engineering
If you want to learn more about Computer Science and Software Engineering, we have good news, you're in the right place. This article aims to get our readers more familiar with these two study fields by providing descriptions, real life examples and our honest opinions.
1) What is Computer Science?
Wikipedia describes Computer Science as “the study of algorithmic processes and computational machines”. This definition itself suggests that Computer Science is a broad scientific discipline which encapsulates a number of different study fields. Computer Science stands at the theoretical and mathematical side of the field and it focuses on aspects like:
- Computation
- Data Science
- Programming Languages
- Algorithms
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Databases
- Networking
- Security
- Human Computer Interaction
- Graphics
- Software
- Hardware
In other words, it is a collective study field which aims to solve a given technical problem using theories, computational techniques, algorithms and other available knowledge. If you would like to learn more about Computer Science and other related fields we suggest you to read book by Glenn Brookshear.
2) What is Software Engineering?
According to Wikipedia, Software Engineering is “the systematic application of engineering approaches to the development of software”. In contrast to Computer Science, Software Engineering stands more on the technical side of the field. Software Engineers excel in learning engineering principals which are then used to design, develop, test, maintain and evaluate a given computer software. In other words, Software Engineering is a study field which solves a given technical problem by analysing user requirements and combining engineering principles with technical skills and knowledge (programming languages, application security, databases and many more). If you would like to learn more about Software Engineering and other related engineering principles, we suggest you to read book by Ian Sommerville.
3) Which One Should you Choose?
This purely depends on your personal preference. The important thing here to remember is that there will be a great deal of overlap from both subjects. If you are into theory and would like to learn more about algorithms, artificial intelligence or any other study field mentioned in the first paragraph, you should probably choose Computer Science. However, if you are more into learning engineering aspects of computing and want to get more hands on experience with development, users requirements, and developing user-oriented software and applications from beginning till the end (the software development life cycle), then Software Engineering might be best for you. In order to make this decision process easier for you, we would like to compare Software Engineering and Computer Science Courses in different universities.
University of Brighton (UoB)
UoB offers a number of different courses related to Computer Science and Software Engineering. Let’s investigate two of these courses in a more detailed manner:
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | Introduction to Programming, Introduction to Cyber Security, Computing Technologies, Introduction Artificial Intelligence, Introduction to Web Development, Working in the Computing Industry Other Optional Modules (if any) | Intelligent Systems, Object Oriented Development and Testing, Data Structure and Operating Systems, Integrated Group Project Other Optional Modules (if any) | Computing Project, Object Oriented Design and Architecture, Programming Languages Concurrency and Client Server, Computing Other Optional Modules (if any) |
| Software Engineering | Fundamentals of Computer Systems, Introduction to Programming, Introduction to Databases, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, Introduction to Web Development, Working in the Computing Industry, Other Optional Modules (if any) | Large-scale Data Processing, Integrated Group Project, Object Oriented Development and Testing, Data Structure and Operating Systems, Other Optional Modules (if any) | Computing Project, Project Management, Programming Languages Concurrency and Client Server Computing, Other Optional Modules (if any) |
(Please checkout UoB website for more detailed information (Computer Science, Software Engineering). These are believed to be the core modules at the given time. This figure may not represent all of the modules accurately which may change over time)
University of Reading (UoR)
UoR offers a slightly different approach when it comes to Software Engineering and Computer Science. Rather than having two different courses, UoR offers Software Engineering as a module in the 1st year. Let’s look at the module structure of UoR with the following table [3]:
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals of CS | Computer Architecture and Networking | Social, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Computing |
| Applications of CS | Algorithms and Operating Systems | Distributed Systems and Parallel Computing |
| Programming | Databases and Information Security | Artificial Intelligence |
| Software Engineering | Compilers | Data Science Algorithms and Tools |
| Mathematics for CS | Further Programming | Image Analysis |
| Other Optional Modules (if any) | Systems Design | Programming in Python for Data Science |
| Other Optional Modules (if any) | Software Engineering: Requirements, Domain and Soft Systems | |
| Visual Intelligence | ||
| Virtual Reality | ||
| Multivariate Data Analysis | ||
| Other Optional Modules (if any) |
(Please checkout UoR website for more detailed information. These are believed to be the core modules at the given time. This figure may not represent all of the modules accurately which may change over time)
As it can be seen from the tables above, universities have their own approaches for teaching Computer Science and Software Engineering. Loosely speaking, there are two different approaches. The first approach teaches Software Engineering and Computer Science as two different courses while the second approach teaches Software Engineering as a part of Computer Science course.
It is also important to take course contents into account when it comes to choosing either Computer Science or Software Engineering. If we take UoB as an example, there aren’t any significant differences between the course content of Computer Science and Software Engineering. So, picking any of them wouldn’t have a significant difference. However, some universities may have a completely different structure. Therefore, make sure to check course structures before making your decision. At this point, your decision should match your areas of interest and your future career aspirations.
4) Job Prospects
As Software Engineering and Computer Science have lots of things in common, their job prospects are also very similar. Here are the summary of jobs that a Computer Scientist and a Software Engineer may end up having:
- Application Developer / Analyst
- Cyber Security Analyst
- Software Engineer / Software Developer
- Web Developer / Designer
- Mobile Developer
- UI UX
- IT Consultant
- Team Leader
These are just few of the jobs that a Software Engineer and a Computer Scientist may have. Depending on your areas of interest you can also move into areas like Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Security, Networking and so on. But it is very unlikely that the choice you make between the two subjects will have a major impact on your future job prospects.
5) Conclusion
Although these two study fields have different names, they have tons of similarities. In practice, a person with a Software Engineering Degree should have most of the skills a person with a Computer Science Degree may have and vice versa. However, this does not mean they are completely same. In theory, they are two different disciplines and there are differences in underlying theories and principles. Loosely speaking, Computer Science is about algorithms and theories while Software Engineering is more about engineering principles and software development. When it comes to choosing either Computer Science or Software Engineering, use this article as a guide but, do not forget to do your own research as well. It is very important to take your areas of interest and future career expectations into account while making your decision.
Disclaimer
We get small commissions for purchases made through links in this post. The generated money is going to be used to support this website and make sure we produce new contents for our readers each week. We are not affiliated with the mentioned universities. They are chosen randomly to be used as examples in order to enrich content of our article. The course content of the mentioned study fields may change time to time and may not be accurate. Make sure to check with university’s website to get more accurate and up to date information.