Computer Engineering at Purdue

After completing the necessary requirements in Purdue’s First-Year Engineering program, freshman are encouraged to declare their major as one of Purdue’s engineering disciplines. If you are a student that enjoys learning about both the software and hardware aspects of modern computer systems, Computer Engineering might be for you! 

Major Intro and Admission

To be admitted into Computer Engineering, students must complete the 30+ credits requirements of the First Year Engineering program with a GPA of at least 2.00. However, the GPA of most students applying is typically 3.2. These requirements are designed to be completed in 2 semesters. However, some credits may be fulfilled through AP credit or dual-credit high school classes. This is very common for people to do since Purdue math courses are notorious for being time-consuming and exam heavy. Two courses that you take that introduce you to the different engineering professions using multidisciplinary, socially relevant content are ENGR 131 and ENGR 132. CS 159 is the class taken as the science selective credit which many students interested in Computer Engineering take. This class is a basic introduction to programming class in C and MATLAB with a collaborative learning environment. The actual application to transition to Computer Engineering is a completely online process which is also very timely. 

Major Requirements 

The Computer Engineering Bachelor of Science Degree is about 125 credits (including the 30+ credits from the FYE program). This can be translated to be about 40 classes (averaging 3 credits each). Required Major Courses account for 49 credits and other department/program course requirements are the last 76 credits. The Required Major Course Requirements are as follows: 

• Computer Engineering Core Requirements (28 credits) 
• Required Seminars: Taken during your sophomore and junior years (2 credits) 
• Senior Design Requirement: Taken during your Senior Year (3-4 credits) 
• Computer Engineering Electives (16 credits) 
• Engineering Breadth Requirement: An engineering class from a different discipline (3 credits) 

Major Timeline 

While a large chunk of credits is done in your freshman year,  the core courses are usually fulfilled during the sophomore year which leaves the other electives and Senior Design Requirements to be the main classes taken during junior and senior year. It’s very important to finish the core courses as soon as possible as those classes serve as prerequisites for many elective courses. Most students average between 15-18 credits a semester and a generic timeline can be found below: 

2nd year fall 

• Seminar course 
• 3 core courses 
• Math course 
• Physics course 

2nd year spring 

• 3 core courses 
• Math course 
• ECE Science Selective 

3rd year fall 

• 2 core courses 
• Seminar course 
• CompE Selective 
• Math course 
• Gen Ed Elective 

3rd year spring 

• Core course 
• CompE Selective 
• 2 CompE Electives 
• Gen Ed Elective 

4th year fall 

• Senior Design Requirement 
• 2 ECE Gen Ed Electives 
• CompE Elective 
• Gen Ed Elective 

4th year spring 

• CompE Elective 
• Engineering Breadth Elective 
• ECE Gen Ed Elective 
• Gen Ed Elective 

Many students fulfill their Gen Ed requirements through the addition of a minor in a subject that they enjoy, so that is always an option! Keep in mind that Computer Science is the only minor off limits for computer engineering majors because so much content overlaps. 

If you enjoy problem-solving, math and science, and learning about the hardware and software aspects of computer systems, then Computer Engineering might be for you! 

My Experience in the Major 

I took advantage of the opportunity to take many summer and transfer credits in place of classes taken at Purdue, such as Calculus I and II classes. I also took some General Education classes at my local community college during the summer breaks. This helped me quite a lot because I struggled in many of the “weed-out” classes that you take during your freshman and sophomore year. This allowed for me to get a second chance with these classes and their content, and to focus on doing better on my later classes. 

As for specific computer engineering classes, some of the most notable classes I’ve taken this past year include Introduction to Computer Graphics (ECE 30462), Computer Security (ECE 404), Power Electronics (ECE 433), Discrete Mathematics for Computer Engineers (ECE 369), and Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (ECE 431). 

The great thing about this curriculum is that the choice and content of your classes is up to you. I had more of an interest in the Computer Engineering side of classes, so I was able to take classes that pertained to that, but I also had an interest in learning more hardware-based content which is why I took classes like Microprocessors (ECE 362) and Power Electronics (ECE 433)!

Computer Engineering has allowed me to become a better problem-solver and a better teammate. Because of the demanding coursework, many people take use of their classmates and work together on homework, projects, etc. I really recommend becoming friends with people in the major because they can help you succeed! 

Written by Insherah Neizer-Ashun, PathIvy Purdue University Ambassador