Computer Science vs. Computational Cognitive Systems

[erinec]

Hello,

I am a first-year college student. I just wanted to know if an employer will differentiate between a person with a "Computer Science" degree and a person with "Computational Intelligence and Design" degree.
Both are offered by the Faculty of Science at UBC.
But the first one is from Computer Science department, and the degree requires computer science & heavy math courses.
And he second one is from Cognitive Systems department, and the degree requires computer science & linguistics, psychology, philosophy, cognition, and very basic calculus/stats (only 4 semesters of math courses in total).

Do you think it matters which degree I go for? Why/ why not?
Input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Tony]

Typically the job postings will say "Computer Science or related degree required". If you can do your job well, then it doesn't really matter what your degree was. Though different degrees will likely influence your learning in different manners.

In job interviews, be prepared to explain what "Computational Cognitive Systems" is, and why you choose that over CS; simply because it's different (and much less common).

[btiffin]

Off topic old guy ramble

I can't speak to current trends, but I'll opine that the Cognitive Systems Department sounds like it will make you a more "interesting" person to the majority of the population through your career and life.

Why does that matter? I'm of the belief that the best jobs come from knowing the guy that knows the guy that has the job, and interesting people have a larger potential pool to pick friends from.

Note; this is just the ramblings of an old guy.

Cheers

[Vermette]

Your second option sounds more like a interdisciplinary program, like a bioinformatics or GIS program. As long as the curriculum covers the core theory expected in a typical Bachelor CS program, your main concern should be your actual interest in the topic.

[erinec]

Thank you all for the helpful response. ^^
I think I will go for the Cognitive one.