Study Abroad For Computer Science Majors?

sbilstein writes "I'm currently a sophomore studying computer science with a penchant for international travel. While I do realize that the internet precludes the need for us geeks to travel farther than our desks, I'd still like to take a few courses taught in English or Spanish (the two languages I'm fluent in) somewhere outside of the country. The trouble is I can't go to just any school, because like any other engineering degree, I have to take technical courses every semester. So I need a school with a something at least similar to a computer science program in the states. Has anybody here from the US studied abroad while doing computer science? Was it worthwhile? Or anyone from outside the United States recommend a university program?"

Spanish and English

[jawtheshark]

Come on? Isn't is obvious? Go for a semester in Spain. In Europe we do have real computer science courses. Northern America doesn't have a monopoly on that (And never had, if you think that you need to learn a bit history). Remember, Dijkstra was Dutch, Linus was Finnish and Alan Turing was British.

Study Abroad FTW

[Khakionion]

I went to Australia and Japan for grad school, can't recommend it highly enough. Not only was my program great, but the international experience is invaluable. You owe it to yourself to spend at least a year studying abroad, whether it adds to your technical degree or not.

Re:Studying Abroad, or studying Computer Science?

[pjt33]

Nothing in the english/spanish world has the same opportunities in CS as the US, with few exceptions.

Which leads into my question: where is he currently studying? If the answer is MIT then your exceptions, the big names in Europe, - Oxbridge; Imperial College, London; Complutense de Madrid - are options. If it's somewhere no-one outside his state has heard of, the suitable suggestions are considerably different.

Re:India

[frovingslosh]

India was my first thought also. Not only is turnabout fair play, but you're going to need the culture exposure and contacts if you hope to get a job in computer science.

Just do it. Go abroad, whatever you have to do.

[trainsnpep]

I'm a senior CS student at Rice University who studied abroad the first semester of my sophomore year. The hoops you have to jump through to study abroad are worth it.

You probably don't really need to take technical courses every semester: there may be a light one with courses you can put off. I had to take a 3 week summer course and adjust my schedule a bit, but I made it to Florence, Italy for a semester. If you absolutely cannot go abroad for a full semester, do a summer program or go after you graduate (I knew a kid who graduated, then still went abroad for the experience).

Decide what school you want to go to based on whether you want to experience the culture or drink. A lot of the schools built for studying abroad have people who just go abroad to drink. I was at one of those schools although I would've liked more cultural things and less drinking. It's up to you.

I took no technical courses while abroad. I actually fulfilled a number of university requirements (arts and social sciences).

Make sure you clear all the courses you're going to take with your advisor: they should know you might be taking a semester off of CS. Make sure that you also get any classes you want to transfer approved beforehand. Get signatures.

(It may actually be cheaper to go abroad if you're currently going to a private school. If you have scholarships, some of them may pay for you to go abroad)

If you can't find some time to go, you don't want it bad enough. Feel free to contact me if you have any more specific questions.

Re:Abroad?

[pcgabe]

you lot get hopelessly confused when you hear the slightest pronunciation difference.

What? Have you even BEEN to America? You'll find more pronunciation differences ABOUND here. America is a melting pot; people from all over the globe come here and put their own spin on English. (I myself was asked as a teenager where I was from, due to my apparently odd accent. I had at that time never even been outside of the country, my family had just moved around a lot inside America. I didn't think I had an accent at all.) Natural Americans have pronunciation differences even from other natural Americans, but no one is getting hopelessly confused here.

Re:Spanish and English

[laddiebuck]

von Neumann was Hungarian. I should know, as I'm Hungarian. Want proof? I spelled his name right. ;)

Take a break from CS.

[ZPWeeks]

Seriously. Studying abroad is all about expanding your horizons, and anywhere you go you'll be immersing yourself in stuff that you aren't getting at home. Expect to learn more outside of the classroom than in. Take the time that you normally don't have in your CS/Engineering program to expose yourself to different courses... Language, culture, history, the arts. Would you rather tell a potential employer, "I have a CS degree and I got to go to $foriegnCountry," or would you like to say "I studied CS here, went to $foreignCountry, and learned some European economics and business Spanish while I was there?" (Employers love anything that will jump for those extra skills and knowledge - $diversity++.) Obviously the tradeoffs of any study abroad program are money and time. You will likely have to take a bit longer to graduate, and you might have to take on a bit more debt to get there (depending on where you go... and when I decided to study abroad I got several "surprise checks" to help out from people who I would never have expected anything from). But if you think about it, what's the rush? Those jobs will still be there after graduation. The benefits of doing it will most likely exceed the time and money cost of doing it.

We still need to leave our desks

[anothy]

While I do realize that the internet precludes the need for us geeks to travel farther than our desks...

international travel would be a great way to realize how incredibly false this is. more likely than not, at some point you're going to end up doing something other than simply coding widgets from a spec (or from imagination). as soon as that happens, you need the experience that comes from getting away from your desk; preferably far away from your desk. on the mundane level, you'll almost certainly have to do something like turn customer requirements into specs and/or code; understanding the mindset of the person you're talking to is crucial there. or you might find yourself working with engineers in, or educated in, another country; again, understanding their mindset will make that go much better.
beyond that, there's lots of good suggestions here. personally, i like the ones that take you outside your standard course work, even if it costs you an extra semester or two, but if you're bound and determined to do it all in an academic context, just ask your school; any sizable US school will have administration folks who can tell you what your best options are.

Re:India

[Anonymous Coward]

Do yourself a favor and DON'T come to India for technical education. Apart from the IIT's, India has a very poor and incompetent educational system.
Anyone who can afford it tries to get his college outside India (if she can't get into any IIT)
I made the biggest mistake of my life coming back to this country to continue my education.

Re:Studying Abroad, or studying Computer Science?

[mjbkinx]

When you look for a job, I doubt that studying in a foreign country is likely to add much, if any. It may even raise questions as to your diligence and motivation toward your career rather than fun.

How odd. Over here, having spent one or two semesters in a foreign country is almost mandatory. It shows you can rely on yourself, are open for new experiences and culturally curious. Typically, it also improves your foreign language skills.
But that might be a cultural difference right there.