Computing Sciences - An Art or a Science?

[cybernerd]

Hello!

I'm a few weeks away from being a high school senior, and I'm looking at going into Computing Sciences after high school. But when I checked out the website of the University I plan to attend, it listed Computing Science as both an Arts and a Sciences course. Why is this? Are there two different courses?

 

[chroot]

Did the university list the class as being within its "College of Arts and Sciences?"

- Warren

 

[cybernerd]

No, it listed it as a specialization under "Bachelor of Arts" and again as a specialization under "Bachelor of Science".

http://www.registrar.uAlberta.ca/ro.cfm?id=306

 

[Ben Espen]

The typical difference between a B.A. and a B.S. is that the B.A. has a language requirement and the B.S. does not.

 

[vociferous]

The typical difference between a B.A. and a B.S. is that the B.A. has a language requirement and the B.S. does not.

I am pretty sure that this is not the general case. If a university is offering a BA and a BS in the same subject, it is probably for a very specific reason, which varies with the university and department. For example, here, the difference between a BA and BS at the university level is typically the BS requires more credits, and the difference between a BA and BS in physics is that the BA has a few less classes required, and is geared toward physics/science teachers and similar disciplines (science writers?) while the BS in physics is geared more toward people who are looking to get a Masters or PhD in physics. Overall though, they are pretty similar.

 

[symbolipoint]

Art or Science? How about a technical craft or an analytical development skill! Art could be for the different individualized way that a programmer may arrange to take input from the user and the way the output be arranged for the user.

As for Bachelor ARTS or of SCIENCE degree, you can best be guided by the specific descriptions for those two Computer Science Degree programs at your school/college. As stated in other threads, your actual choice of courses which you study and finish is much more important than the appended ARTS or SCIENCE in the name of your degree.

 

[Pythagorean]

Science vs. art is a false dichotomy.

There's plenty of creativity in science and plenty of reason in art so that the two (science and art) can travel in the same circles without confrontation. I think this is especially true of programming.

In my physics program, the BS was pretty much more math and physics courses.

 

[mXSCNT]

Yeah, as others mentioned, the BS is usually more technical and focused than the BA.

If you want to know the answer to your title question, whether CS is an art or a science: it's not an experimental science. Theoretical CS is basically mathematics, and applied CS is more like art or engineering.