Computer Science vs Software Engineering Degree Courses at Top Private Universities in Malaysia

How to Choose Between a Computer Science and Software Engineering Degree Programme at Private Universities in Malaysia

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The popularity of computers & technology has resulted in greater interest in computer-based courses in Malaysia. These include dividing the computer into hardware, software, programming and many other fields. These courses divide the many different aspects that make a computer. Software Engineering (SE) and Computer Science (CS) are two different fields that are used in computing. Many people that even perform jobs in Software Engineering field often possess Computer Science degrees. Because of such instances, many students are confused about Computer Science and Software Engineering. Find out the differences between Computer Science and Software Engineering so that you are able to choose the right one to study at a top private university in Malaysia.

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• Computer Science vs Software Engineering Degree Courses at Top Private Universities in Malaysia

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What is the Difference Between Studying Computer Science and Software Engineering in Malaysia?

Software Engineering is the field of studying, devising and building a practical solution to a problem. The objective of a software engineer is to understand a problem within a computer and create software that eases the problem. Computer Science is a field that deals with the scientific and practical approach to computing and all of its applications. A computer scientist focuses on the theory of computation and its applications.

The popularity of computers & technology has resulted in greater interest in computer-based courses in Malaysia. These include dividing the computer into hardware, software, programming and many other fields. These courses divide the many different aspects that make a computer. Software Engineering (SE) and Computer Science (CS) are two different fields that are used in computing. Many people that even perform jobs in Software Engineering field often possess Computer Science degrees. Because of such instances, many students are confused about Computer Science and Software Engineering.

Software Engineering is the field of studying, devising and building a practical solution to a problem. The objective of a software engineer is to understand a problem within a computer and create software that eases the problem. This could include either manipulating existing software or creating a new one from scratch. Software is required to make computer function. This job is mostly a team effort. Engineers group together with programmers in order to build a software that works with the system at hand.

Computing consists of several fields, and many respected colleges and universities offer undergraduate
degree programs in several of them such as computer science, computer engineering, information systems, information technology, software engineering, and more. These computing fields are related but also quite different from each other. The programs represent a number of computing disciplines.

Software engineering had emerged as an area within computer science. As computing is used to attack
a wider range of complex problems, creating reliable software becomes more difficult. With large,
complex programs, no one person can understand the entire program, and various parts of the program
can interact in unpredictable ways. (For example, fixing a bug in one part of a program can create new
bugs elsewhere.)

While computer science (like other sciences) focuses on creating new knowledge, software engineering (like other engineering disciplines) focuses on rigorous methods for designing and building things that reliably do what they’re supposed to do.

Universities in Malaysia typically offer two computing majors: Computer Science and Software Engineering. There is a huge overlap between the subjects offered in these two majors. Even the career paths of these degrees overlap.

Programmers, software developers and computer scientists all serve different roles in the technology industry, but there is much similarity regarding skill sets, and overall there is a lot of crossover between the various fields.

The difference between the three roles really comes down to focus. All of these professionals can program computers, but programmers are focused on writing perfect, elegant code, whereas computer scientists are often more focused on theory, and software developers tend to be jacks of all trades with leadership skills who get placed in charge of software projects.

Computer Science Degree vs. Software Engineering Degree in Malaysia

Can a Computer Science Graduate Work as a Software Engineer in Malaysia?

Companies hire based on skill set. They do not specifically look for degrees in software engineering. Once hired, most companies start with the title of Software Engineer regardless of your major. It is also common place for computer science graduates to move into software engineering roles as they gain experience.

A typical career path of a computer science graduate involves application development and innovation. In the industry, this translates to software product development. For this reason, programming and networking jobs is the domain of computer science graduates. In academia, computer science graduates work on innovations in computer science theory and algorithms. This involves advanced graduate work that typically leads to a Ph.D. degree.

When a position requires development of large software systems, both computer science and software engineering graduates are potential candidates. Skill set and the amount of software engineering coursework undertaken during the program determines the suitability of the candidate. It is interesting to note that most of the software engineers today are computer science graduates and not software engineers. This is partly because software engineering is a relatively new degree compared to the computer science degrees that are available for more than 30 years.

Computer Science is the study of computer systems including algorithmic processes and the principles involved in the design of hardware and software.

Computer scientists are primarily concerned with the design of algorithms, languages, hardware architecture, systems software, applications software and tools. Applications range from simple game playing to the control of space vehicles, power plants and factories, from banking machines to intelligent fault and medical diagnosis. Computer professionals, in short, are concerned with the creation of computer and information systems for the benefit of society.

Computer science spans a wide range, from its theoretical and algorithmic foundations to cutting-edge
developments in robotics, computer vision, intelligent systems, bioinformatics, and other exciting areas.
We can think of the work of computer scientists as falling into three categories.

1. They design and implement software. Computer scientists take on challenging programming jobs. They also supervise other programmers, keeping them aware of new approaches.
2. They devise new ways to use computers. Progress in the CS areas of networking, database, and
   human-computer-interface enabled the development of the World Wide Web. Now CS researchers are working with scientists from other fields to make robots become practical and intelligent aides, to use databases to create new knowledge, and to use computers to help decipher the secrets of our DNA.
3. They develop effective ways to solve computing problems. For example, computer scientists develop
   the best possible ways to store information in databases, send data over networks, and display complex images. Their theoretical background allows them to determine the best performance possible, and their study of algorithms helps them to develop new approaches that provide better performance.

Computer science spans the range from theory through programming. Curricula that reflect this breadth produce graduates with more immediately relevant job-related skills, computer science offers a comprehensive foundation that permits graduates to adapt to new technologies and new ideas.

Computer Science (CS or CompSci) is a field that deals with the scientific and practical approach to computing and all of its applications. Believe it or not, computer science came long before the development of computers. Computing was done since the time of the abacus. A computer scientist focuses on the theory of computation and its applications.

The study of computer science began even before the development of the first computer; it started with the development of machines for calculations such as the abacus. When it was clear that the computer were being designed for more purposes than just normal mathematical calculations, the field of computer science was broadened to study the computer systems that we have today. The first accredited degree for computer science was offered by the University of Cambridge in 1953 in the UK and by Purdue University in 1962 in the US.

Computer science has more to do with theory of the computer and its computing abilites rather than hands-on applications. Computer science is basically the ability to solve a problem or getting the computer to do something without the help of a human. This field of data is not directly affected by the humans. Computing can also be done by hand and is used by many fields that are not related to primarily developing computers.

Scientists focus on developing algorithms that can create, alter and change the data depending on what they would like. The commands that the computer follows are done by certain algorithm that tells it what to do. Computer science can also be divided into two specializations: theoretical computer science and applied computer sciences.  The theoretical science focuses on the classical theory of computation, along with other more abstract, logical, and mathematical aspects of computing. The applied computer sciences cover topics such as artificial intelligence, computer architecture and engineering, graphic designing, computing science, etc. It deals with mainly applications or additional programs.

Computer science requires a strong mathematical and scientific background. Depending on colleges, the courses may vary in teaching subjects. While some collages prefer teaching theoretical aspect of computer science, others focus on advanced programming. Courses include Theoretical computer science, Theory of computation, Information and coding theory, Algorithms and data structures, Programming language theory, Formal methods, Concurrent, parallel and distributed systems, Databases and information retrieval, Artificial intelligence, Computer architecture and engineering, Computer graphics and visualization, Computer security and cryptography, etc.

Study Software Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology or Computing at Top Private Universities in Malaysia