Carnegie Mellon University was founded in 1900 as the Carnegie Technical Schools. The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research was founded in 1913 as a research organization. Carnegie Institute of Technology merged with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to become Carnegie Mellon University in 1967.
The school of computer science offers B.S in artificial intelligence, B.S. in Computer Science, B.S in music and technology, M.S. in Computer Science, M.S. in Computer Science – Foundational Studies, M.S. in Computer Science – Research, B.S. in Computational Biology, M.S. in Machine Learning, M.S. in Computer Vision, and M.S. in Robotics among others.
The college of engineering offers courses such as MS in Energy Science, Technology and Policy, MS in Biomedical Engineering and Integrated Study in Computer Science, M.S. in Chemical Engineering and Integrated Study in Computer Science, B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, M.S. in Software Engineering, M.S. in Information Technology, and M.S. in Information Technology – Software Management among others.
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) was established in 1868. Ranked number one in the world among public universities, UC Berkeley has 184 academic departments and offers more than 350 degree programmes. Berkeley hosts many leading research institutes, including the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and the Space Sciences Laboratory. It has also produced alumni that have established notable companies such as Apple, Tesla, Intel and Morgan Stanley. Berkeley has played vital roles in the discoveries of nuclear medicine, CPU design, flu vaccine, and the atomic bomb.
Berkeley offers many undergraduate and graduate programs in the field of computer science. The university also offers a joint major, double major, simultaneous degree, and Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology (M.E.T.) program. Undergraduate degrees are available in multiple disciplines including electrical engineering and computer sciences.
Research areas in electrical engineering and computer science include artificial intelligence, database management systems, scientific computing, human-computer interaction, biosystems and computational biology, information, data, network and communication sciences, computer vision and artificial intelligence, and signal processing among others.
The University of Oxford is the second oldest university that still operates. It was established in 1096. The university does not have a central campus, but consists of over thirty colleges and halls with multiple departments functioning under these constituent colleges. The prestigious alumni list of Oxford boasts of several prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Nobel laureates, many heads of state of different countries, and Olympians. Every student belongs to a college, apart from being a member of their course department and the university. That is, all Oxford students have the benefits of belonging to both a large, world-class university and to a small and friendly academic community.
The university offers many graduate and undergraduate programs for computer science program (BA and MCompSci), Mathematics and Computer Science (BA and MMathComSci), MSc in Advanced Computer Science, MSc in Software and Systems Security, MSc in Software Engineering, Autonomous Intelligent Machines and Systems (EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training), Health Data Science (EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training).
Highly specialized courses can be found in other institutions across the world. In order to apply to programs at these institutions, one must focus on improving their basics in subjects such as mathematics, statistics, and computer software programming.
Students who graduate in computer science and information systems can expect to land opportunities in the technology industry in various roles that include jobs such as software developers, system analysts, network architects, technical support engineers, web developers, researchers, cloud engineers, data scientists, cyber-security engineers and many more. A few of the highest-paid jobs among these are discussed below.
Software developers design, develop and maintain software that is either used by the parent company or is sold to other organizations.
Network architects design the layout of the networks that are used within an organisation and are responsible for maintaining the communication links of the company. The architects are also responsible for planning ahead in terms of the hardware and software for the networks used in the organization in order to accommodate additional users in the future.
Cyber-security engineers design and develop measures that can protect the organization from external entities. They develop network solutions to thwart hacking and other cyberattacks. The engineers are also responsible for identifying cyber threats and using their technical expertise to limit their effect on protected data etc.
Researchers strive to develop state-of-the-art technology that adapts to the constantly evolving requirements. They create software, invent top-level hardware, improve existing technology and most importantly, indulge in academics so that there is knowledge permeation.
These are only a few. Watch this space for our next article where we detail the best career options for computer science and information systems graduates.