HI, I've been trying to decide which degree would be better for me if I wanted to get into the game industry. I have the choice of either software engineering or Computer Science. Thanks for the help

Do whichever you personally find most interesting. That will stand you best in the long run.

Had the same thing, then randomly chose Computer Science,
well not exactly randomly, here CS is 3 years and engineering is 4 :)

Quote: Original post by startrekgrl101
I've been trying to decide which degree would be better for me if I wanted to get into the game industry. I have the choice of either software engineering or Computer Science.

Whichever one you can complete.

Nobody cares which name is attached to your undergraduate degree. So many schools have such wildly different names that we gloss over "computer science", "software engineering", "computer programming" and other such names. Even "electronic engineering", "electrical engineering", "information systems", and other programs that don't focus specifically on programming can be good if that is where your interests are. Another good combination is math with a CS minor (or the other way around).

The exact name of an undergraduate degree doesn't matter and this really applies to all software industries, not just games.

When hiring, we care if you can do the job and if you can fit in. Having a degree is evidence that you can complete large projects and that you have some experience in programming.

For example: my current project's software lead has a bachelors degree in art, not CS. Do what you enjoy.

Program names are pretty useless as others have said. What you want to look at is the difference in courses that you'll be taking as part of the course. If both programs are at the same school, its likely that 75% or more of the courses will be shared, so identify which ones are different, how many chances for electives each program offers, and what those electives are. Its likely that some electives will be shared as well, and that some electives may be required coursework for the other program. Often these courses are so close to one another that you could attain both degrees simply by spending another semester or two to pick up the classes you missed from the other.

Generally speaking, software engineering devotes some time toward the study of building and maintaining large applications, or systems of applications. Where Computer Science is typically more about the theory of computation. Oddly enough, Computer Science is about the science of computation and any programming languages you pick up along the way are merely incidental.

Just as an example, in the United States we have "Computer Science" degrees, while elsewhere in the world (and in some US institutions) they would call the same degree "Informatics."

The course matters less.

Whats on the course is what matters. Is your course modular, and does it allow you to specialise in Maths/AI/GFX (or any)? Thats whats important, if you want games.

When you come to an interview, you need to demonstrate what you've learnt, not on which course. You could pop the modules or prospectus on here, and we could help you out.