GSU, KSU, or SPSU for computer science?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hey everyone, I’m planning to study computer science in college and I’ve narrowed my choices to these three schools (I’m in georgia). I’m just not sure how to evaluate them because I have no idea which courses are important and which aren’t. >_> So if someone could take a look and let me know, that’s be great. Also, how are research opportunities at the schools?</p>

<p>[GSU</a> degree requirements](<a href=“http://cs.gsu.edu/?q=BS_requirements]GSU”>http://cs.gsu.edu/?q=BS_requirements)</p>

<p>[ga</a> southern degree requirements](<a href=“http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/registrar/2011-2012%20Undergraduate%20&%20Graduate%20Catalogs/6463.htm]ga”>http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/registrar/2011-2012%20Undergraduate%20&%20Graduate%20Catalogs/6463.htm)</p>

<p>[KSU</a> degree requirements](<a href=“Program: Computer Science B.S. - Kennesaw State University - Acalog ACMS™”>Program: Computer Science B.S. - Kennesaw State University - Acalog ACMS™)</p>

2

<p>Try to include the following upper level CS courses in your degree program, as the concepts contained in these courses will be useful in industry software jobs:</p>

<p>Algorithms and complexity
Operating systems
Computer networks
Software engineering
Databases
Security</p>

<p>Additional potentially useful courses (* = a good idea if you want to go to graduate school in CS):</p>

<p>Compilers *
Computer architecture *
User interfaces
Graphics</p>

3

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<p>Of the schools listed, only GSU is a research university, as classified by the State of Georgia. The four research schools are GT, UGA, GSU, and the Georgia Medical College.</p>

4

<p>I would recommend that you try to take courses in the following areas:</p>

<p>Algorithms & Data Structures
Computer architecture
Computer networks
Operating systems
Theory/foundations/languages/automata</p>

<p>One way or another, before graduation, I’d recommend you know at least Java and C/C++, as well as a few scripting/markup/web languages/notations. Whether you get this in class, at a job, or in your free time is up to you. I’d recommend you take at least the following math courses:</p>

<p>Calculus I and II
Linear Algebra
Discrete Math
Probability & Statistics</p>

<p>Taking some sort of science sequence is advisable; Physics is the most quantitative at the introductory level. Other than that, public speaking, public speaking or other communication courses are generally pretty useful.</p>

<p>You’ll probably want to take a few CS courses in an elective/concentration area that interests you. Some courses you might consider include…</p>

<p>Security, cryptography, abstract algebra, number theory, etc.
User interfaces, human-computer interaction, psychology, etc.
Software engineering, systems engineering, etc.
High performance computing, parallel computing, distributed computing, etc.
Embedded computing, real-time computing, computer organization, etc.
Databases and DBMSs, data intensive computing, etc.
Web, mobile, pervasive, etc.
Scientific computing, computational science, numerical analysis, etc.</p>

<p>Of the three schools you listed, the only one that didn’t jump out at me as being well-aligned with my recommendations was Kennesaw State. I might have just missed something, though.</p>

5

<p>Oops, just realized I posted the degree requirements for ga Southern instead of SPSU ([url="&lt;a href="Kennesaw State University in Georgia]here[/url</a>] if anyone cares to look).
But yeah from your replies it looks like GSU would be the best option considering the greater variety of classes, their location in the city, and their proximity to Tech so it would be easier to cross enroll.
Thanks for your help everybody.</p>