Should I major in computer engineering if the program is not accredited? How important is accreditation?

Question

The university that I currently attend offers Electrical and Computer Engineering and the programs are very similar except for a few different courses. I am in my sophomore year and I changed my major from computer science to EE. I was thinking I would Major in EE and minor in CS, but my advisor feels I should just major in Comp Engineering since I already have a little knowledge. However, the CE program is relatively new so it's not accredited as of yet. I really changed my major because I didn't want to limit myself to computers. But my advisor says the same jobs an EE can get a CE can get. How true is this? And what should I do major in Electrical Eng and Minor in Computer Science or should I just major in Comp. Eng.

Answer 1

If you want to go to some really high rated grad school it is important. As long as your school has ABET accredited engineering programs, the individual department accreditation is not that important. The most important thing is passing the PE when your done. But major in EE because its in demand. With EE you can still be a computer engineer anyway.

Answer 2

I'm a EE and your adviser is quite wrong. CS is primarily programing and sometimes some VHDL logic design. I do transistor level circuit design for a pretty large company and of the 25 people in my department, there is not one CS. EE can do CS stuff but the reverse is not true. Also, stay away from something without accreditation.

Added --- The PE in the US is only needed if you want to do independent consulting. Industry doesn't care about it.

Answer 3

I would major in EE with no minor. I am a CHEG major and it seems like a better major at this time. Although having a PE will be a great career goal four years into your career passing your EIT before you graduate will put you above all of your job competition. I wish I would have taken my EIT my senior year. Some schools require it to graduate.