As you can guess by the title, my major is Computer Science. I am also going for a minor in Japanese which will be added 12-15 units on top of the major. Not too bad, and I really want to get that. After that, head into the gaming industry and work towards Developer. Not a mild goal by any means. Now, I''m aware Computer Science isn''t an easy major. Nothing worthwhile is easy either! However, I look on the college sites for unit requirement, and this is what I see. Psychology BS = 52 Units required. Business BS = 66 Units required. Mechanical Engineering = 56 Units required. Mathmatics = 49 Units required. Computer Science 89 Units required. WTF? As I said, I have no problem with difficulty, but this is a bit silly. Almost 90 units for a major, almost a year and a half more of time than some majors, when there are numerous classes that could be removed is absurd. Add to this the fact I am having to study C++ on the side as they have changed to Java for most classes, and top it off with a minor and 3+ years already of general education and you have a "Major" over kill of time just to work toward a desired job in a field which is very specialized in many areas. Don''t tell me some courses could be dropped and made optional, or some general education requirements could be cut down. As the amount of time I''m putting into this major could easily get me a masters in another field. I''m sure I share this frustrating with a large number of you here, and this is nothing new. Still I find this very disapointing, when I know there could be some real improvement. I''m not changing my major, nor am I about to let this stop me from "going for my dream." But I could get to my dream a bit faster, if less of my time was wasted meeting general education requirement options, or optional more specialized focused additions. Maybe there are options I''m not aware of that would cut my time down? I could be jumping the gun. If so please let me know. Hard work doesn''t bother me. Hard work that isn''t promising me a job, and will be quickly irrelivent when I get a job and find it was a waste of a year talking 30% of the classes does bother me.

Look into Digipen or fullsail. Game-centric college education, a bit pricey though. There are also quite a few other schools beginning to offer game-related education.

www.digipen.edu

Ravyne, NYN Interactive Entertainment
[My Site][My School][My Group]

Is that 89 units of Computer Science courses or 89 units total for a Computer Science degree? At my school we had to have 185 units to graduate with an engineering degree, of course my school is on the quarter system instead of the semester system. Even then, if you removed one quarter from each year and assumed you took a full load(16 units) it would be
185-(16*4)=121 units

So if it is 89 units of CS courses then that leaves 30 units of general education classes which sounds reasonable, if it is 89 units for a CS degree then it is a steal compared to my school.

So in conclusion,
quit your bitchin and get your education

Clippy:"OMG, A NUMBAR! Let me format it for you"
Unsuspecting Student: "Ahhhhh! Damn you paperclip you ruined my paper. A thousand deaths upon you!"

"Game Programming: Without programming you''ve just got game"

This is a CSU so the units might be seem lower than if you went to a UC. Yes, this is just for the Computer Science related courses, not the total amount needed.

As for Digipen and Full Sail. I''ve cut out Full Sail permanantly, as I don''t quite trust the results of that school nor getting what you pay for out of it. Digipen, I give a lot of credit, but it is just too costy for something I can learn myself through books and time. I have a somewhat limited budget. A state college seems to be the best way to go followed by maybe an internship or self teaching afterwards. Trust me, I''ve checked into quite a bit when it comes to the specialty schools, and they don''t seem to be worth it at all unless you have thousands to blow.

"So in conclusion,
quit your bitchin and get your education"

Ya, that''s just about what I have to do But doesn''t mean I can''t scream a bit. Sometimes makes you feel better, if you know others are just as frustrated as you.

Nothing is going to stop me, but it is still damn annoying!

Could I get a link for Depaul and UT from you guys?