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Why Choose CSE?

Computer scientists and computer engineers change the world by designing, building and deploying innovative solutions to real-world problems. They design and build hardware and software systems; develop effective ways to solve problems (such as extracting knowledge from massive amounts of data, deploying robots in the real world, or devising new approaches to security and privacy); and invent new and better ways to use computers to address challenges such as decoding the human genome, making transportation more efficient, revolutionizing health care, empowering people in the developing world, transforming education, and building videogames. Computer Science & Engineering students come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and typically enjoy math, science and English.

Why do students choose computer science and computer engineering as their field? What are some of the diverse career paths that they pursue with their CSE degrees? For those who enter the software industry, what's a day in their life like?

Three videos from University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering address these questions. Take a look! Get a taste of what CSE holds in store for you! Learn more about this exciting field!

Pathways in Computer Science

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This video illustrates the diverse pathways that students pursue after receiving Bachelors degrees in computer science or computer engineering. Its goals are:

  1. To demonstrate that computer scientists work in a broad range of interesting fields -- a computer science or computer engineering degree is terrific preparation for almost any imaginable future!
  2. To profile several of these careers:

Power to Change the World

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This video presents clips from interviews with roughly a dozen University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, and faculty, explaining why they chose computer science or computer engineering as their field. Its goals are:

  1. To provide first person accounts of why Computer Science & Engineering students, alumni and faculty chose computer science as their field, in order to expose high school students to the field and show that it is exciting, diverse (not just programming!), and full of opportunities.
  2. To break computer science stereotypes and thereby encourage high school students of all kinds to consider computer science as a career.

A Day in the Life

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This video describes the lives of recent bachelors graduates from University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering, in several 2-minute profiles. Its goals are:

  1. To present an accurate portrayal of the nature of employment in the software industry. Bright Computer Science & Engineering majors typically secure highly collaborative, creative, diverse, challenging, well compensated positions that provide a flexible, fun lifestyle and appeal to a diverse population.
  2. To show that the computer science field is much more than just programming or video games.
  3. To provide near-future role models for high school aged females -- people with whom high school students can identify, and who they can see themselves becoming in a few years. These role models will resonate with people who might not otherwise consider computer science as a field, or who might be discouraged from entering the field because of perceived stereotypes.

More Reasons to choose CSE

Additional material:

"Pathways in Computer Science" individual profiles

"A Day in the Life" individual profiles

Erin   (lower bandwidth version) Kiera   (lower bandwidth version) Crystal   (lower bandwidth version)
Tessa   (lower bandwidth version) Siobhan   (lower bandwidth version)

"A Day in the Life" additional three-profile versions

Erin, Kiera, Crystal   (lower bandwidth version)          Siobhan, Kiera, Crystal   (lower bandwidth version)

Other options

Return to the UW CSE Prospective Student home page


This page: http://www.cs.washington.edu/WhyCSE

CSE logo Computer Science & Engineering
University of Washington
Box 352350
Seattle, WA  98195-2350
(206) 543-1695 voice, (206) 543-2969 FAX
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