Undergraduate Programs

This undergraduate program incorporates most of the core curricula in both electrical engineering and computer science so that students will be well prepared to work in the area of computer engineering, which substantially overlaps both fields. Both hardware and software aspects of computer science are included, and, in electrical engineering, students receive a solid grounding in circuit theory and in electronic circuits. The program includes several electrical engineering laboratory courses as well as the Computer Science Department’s advanced programming course. Detailed lists of requirements can be found at compeng.columbia.edu.

Students will be prepared to work on all aspects of the design of digital hardware, as well as on the associated software that is now often an integral part of computer architecture. They will also be well equipped to work in the growing field of telecommunications. Students will have the prerequisites to delve more deeply into either hardware or software areas, and enter graduate programs in computer science, electrical engineering, or computer engineering. For example, they could take more advanced courses in VLSI, communications theory, computer architecture, electronic circuit theory, software engineering, or digital design.

Minors in electrical engineering and computer science are not open to computer engineering majors, due to excessive overlap.