AN IMPORTANT NOTE TO STUDENTS ABOUT THE FIELD OF "COMPUTING"

Students interested in "computing" should understand that the overall computing field - which includes computer science - is wide ranging in scope. On the undergraduate level, degree programs are offered primarily in five disciplines, namely:

--- Computer engineering
--- Computer science
--  Information systems
--- Information technology
--- Software engineering

A convenient summary of those academic disciplines is provided here. The most common degree program is in Computer Science, which is the basic - and most flexible - field of study, and the focus of this website. Students interested strictly in either computer engineering or software engineering should visit our sister website - The Online Guide to Engineering Colleges - to identify appropriate schools.

For purposes of this website, degrees in "Computer Science" include those reported by schools as being either in "Computer and Information Science" or "Computer Science and Engineering," as well as in "Computer Science." Such dual-discipline programs are intended to provide students with significant exposure to information science (the study of how information is acquired, organized, communicated and used by both people and  computers) or computer engineering (the study of the design and construction of computers and computer-based systems/devices) as well as to basic computer science. The individual school profiles specify such alternative degree names; the profiles also list other degree programs offered by the academic unit housing the computer science program at the school (typically a Department of Computer Science).