Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Engineering
Departments: Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science (offered jointly by the two departments)
Enrollment: 274, Fall 2022
Degrees Awarded: 72, June 2022
Research areas: Bioinspired Computing; Circuit and System Design; Computer Architecture; Electronic Design Automation & Testing; Emerging Technologies for Computing; Energy-efficient Computing; Nanotechnology; Networking; Operating and Distributed Systems; Software and Language
Program Overview
The undergraduate computer engineering program is offered jointly by the departments of computer science and electrical and computer engineering at UCSB. The multi-disciplinary program of study promotes the integration of computer hardware through a combination of these curricula. The curriculum provides a broad education in the fundamentals of computer engineering, as well as a solid foundation in basic science, including mathematics. Students can specialize in areas such as computer networks; computer systems design; distributed systems; multimedia; programming languages; real-time computing and control; very large scale integration (VLSI); robotics; signals and systems; design and test automation; machine learning; and system software architecture.
Subjects & Careers
Ever wonder how your mobile devices really work? The technology is a combination of specialized audio decompression circuits, delicate touch sensors, nonvolatile flash memory, tiny embedded processors, and layers of complex software that is carefully choreographed. Computer engineers build these systems at a discipline that intersects both computer science and electrical engineering. UCSB’s computer engineering program focuses on the design of computer systems. Students learn a mixture of hardware design and software concepts and gain unique capabilities in the creation and interfacing of computer systems in the real world, including robotics, circuit design, and networking. Computer engineers gain more software-based training than electrical engineers, and differ from computer science majors in that the curriculum focuses more on lowest-level interactions between software and hardware, digital hardware design, and peripheral systems interfacing.
Senior Year Projects
Computer Engineering majors are required to complete a two-quarter course in their senior year, culminating in a Senior Capstone Project presented prior to graduation.
Specialized Student Organizations
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Robotics Club
Women in Software and Hardware
+ View all engineering student organizations