take_remaster

Hi guys,

I'm a prospective ECE/EECS major and am considering caltech as one of two colleges I wish to attend. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be that major offered at caltech. Is there any way for me to pursue something similar to an EECS major?

Thank you!

Antiquark

Caltech has both CS and EE majors, but not a combined major. What side of EECS do you like more? Our CS program is very theoretical and math heavy. Most of the required classes for the CS major don't require much programming, but most CS majors know a lot of programming before they come to Caltech. The main curriculum for CS majors is CS 21 (Decidability and Tractability), CS 24 (Introduction to Computing Systems), and CS 38 (Introduction to Algorithms.) While these don't focus on programming, a strong theoretical background is necessary if you want to program really interesting things or push the frontiers of academic computer science. EE probably requires more programming and a lot more lab work. The math required for EE is more applied instead of proof-focused. There are a lot of courses that are EE/CS (co-departmental) that would be easy to take from either major. These include the EE/CS 5x series (microprocessor labs) and numerous graduate level classes that you're encouraged to take a lot of at Caltech. If you're into the more applied physics side of EE, there is also a lot of overlap between EE and APh courses.

I recommend taking CS 1, CS 2, and perhaps EE/CS 51/52 as a frosh and seeing which direction you drift naturally. Those courses will be useful for either major. If you're interested in CS just to learn how to program, instead of high-level theory, you can take CS 11 ("computer language shop") a whole bunch of times in quite a few languages.

lizzardfire

Antiquark's answer sounds good. I'm a EE major, btw. I wanted to be ECE until I realized that I didn't really like programming. Now I do nanofab... mmm sexy.