ECSE is an abbreviation for '' Electrical Engineering and

Computer Sciences Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

and

Systems Engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking ...

.'' It is a designation used at some

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

for the major or department that blends these three fields together. One reason behind linking the areas of study is to provide students with a broad overview of each of

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

hardware Hardware may refer to: Technology Computing and electronics * Electronic hardware, interconnected electronic components which perform analog or logic operations ** Digital electronics, electronics that operate on digital signals *** Computer hard ...

and

Systems theory Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...

. However there are also reasons for not blending departments: Students who major in theoretical computer science, studying such topics as algorithm analysis and software engineering, may not have any use for extensive electrical engineering or systems theory classes. Not every university uses the ECSE designation. Several universities, for example, have separate EE/ECE and CS departments/majors. Other schools use the similar ECE (Electrical and Computer Engineering) designation. Additionally, some schools which offer an ECSE degree also offer degrees in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science separately.

Academic Citation

See also