how's computer science in Canada for an International student?

[Lana]

Hii
I'm frustrated with the labguage & i think I undersand what they say during calss but I can't interact with the teacher & my class very well..
I'm doing Computing and Business @ Brock next term , but seems hard for me becasue i have beent told that there's only 6 girls in the whole college of computer science.
this is the outline for the program do you think i can finish it in 4 years? im starting in the winter though
http://www.brocku.ca/webcal/current/undergrad/csbu.html

I'm thinking about moving to Hamilton & Study at Mcmaster University.. the same program but they call it "Business Informatic",, they almost study the same ideas
but maybe with different textbooks and i don't know if anyone here has tried ti study Computer science or Computing for Business in Mcmaster

what do you think?

[syntax_error]

The fact that your reproductive organs are internalized and while most of your peers have them hanging on the outside of their bodies, shouldn't play in the level of difficultly you would face in the program.

[Dan]

For my undergrad I took Computer Science with a business option (kind of like a minor). As part of the option I took systems design and management information courses offered by the business department and was very disappointed with them.

They where not even close to being on the same level as the computer science courses, contained no real theory and there software engineering ideas where outdated and backward. Admittedly I am some what biased being on the science/math side of things and i guess they could be useful if you where to get in to management and knew nothing about information systems.

Which program you should be in largely depends on the type of job you would want to have after university. Business Informatics, Computing and Business, Computing for Business and Management Information Systems are normally aimed at students who wish to go in to management that deal with or mange people who make information systems.

Computer Science on the other hand is "the study of information: its structure, its representation, and its utilization. This includes the theory, analysis, design, efficiency, implementation, and application of computer programs (software) and computer equipment (hardware) for developing computerized information processing systems in response to users' needs."1 Most students who study it get jobs developing, programing or maintaining information systems (i.e. programmers) however there are also research and academic jobs in the field.

Some what in between the two is Software Engineering which is more about the practices used in software development and how you go from a set of requirements from management to a specification for an information system to give to the programmers. You can find out more about the programs related to computer science here: http://compsci.ca/blog/6-degrees-of-computer-science/

Understanding the language of instruction is a big issue. Simple put, if you can't understand the professor, notes or assignments you can't learn (which is why most Universities have English course/test requirements/prerequisites). I don't mean to sound xenophobic but if you are going to study in Canada you going to have to have a good understanding of English (or French or Quebec) to succeed.

As syntax_error has pointed out, the female/male ratio should not relay effect your studies tho it could make fitting in a bit harder. Sadly in North America most IT or Computer related jobs are male dominated.

_____
1 http://www.njit.edu/v2/archivecatalog/undergraduate/91/19-und.html

[Prabhakar Ragde]

Dan @ Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:59 pm wrote:

As syntax_error has pointed out, the female/male ratio should not relay effect your studies tho it could make fitting in a bit harder. Sadly in North America most IT or Computer related jobs are male dominated.

I think being one of the few women in a program can have a considerable negative effect, and it is not right to blame the women if they feel awkward about it. We need to make them feel welcome, without being creepy. That involves more than simply saying "there isn't a problem".

Percentages of women in CS majors are down to around 10-15% across the continent. CS/Business programs may do a bit better. Language is going to be an issue everywhere, also. --PR

[jbking]

Lana @ Fri Jan 01, 2010 6:42 pm wrote:

Hii
I'm frustrated with the labguage & i think I undersand what they say during calss but I can't interact with the teacher & my class very well..

Lana @ Fri Jan 01, 2010 6:42 pm wrote:

what do you think?

Was it intentional for you to have a few typos within the first line there? That's something that I noticed almost immediately and that may be something that can get on some people's nerves as if they can't read what you mean, you'll lose marks and have a difficult time trying to get through the courses of any program. This is regardless of your gender, but I'd wonder if you often swap sounds when pronouncing words,e.g. use "axe" instead of "ask" or other more ghetto slang. Why are you thinking one program would be better than another? How much confidence do you have in that as well as what kind of backup plans do you have if things don't work out like you hope they would? Those are some questions I'd have for you.