UCF rated 8 in Top Ten Research Universities (Orlando, Gainesville: schools, professionals)

[pianogal]

UCF schools of engineering and SC are tops as the recent rating shows. Read more at We think: UCF's patents have placed it among elite universities -- OrlandoSentinel.com

My son is a recent graduate of the UCF CS program. Through his work with area professionals and professors at UCF, he has been given exceptional opportunities to grow and excel in his field. Certainly he works hard - but it's the outstanding programs at UCF that gave him the opportunity and preparation for achievement.

[ucfjtm]

Originally Posted by pianogal

My son is a recent graduate of the UCF CS program. Through his work with area professionals and professors at UCF, he has been given exceptional opportunities to grow and excel in his field. Certainly he works hard - but it's the outstanding programs at UCF that gave him the opportunity and preparation for achievement.

I was a community college and UF student in Gainesville, and I tutored many CS students up there. I finished my CS degree at UCF. Without a doubt, UCF's CS program is years ahead of UF's in terms of actual software engineering skills taught to help a student transition into the workforce with immediate impact.

Don't get me wrong - UF is a fantastic school and I know many brilliant CS alumni there. However, UCF focuses more on software engineering and far more projects (both in difficulty and number) than UF. UF's CS in Engineering major is more for dual-hardware/software people, but comes up short on actual software engineering and leans more toward being mostly theory. The sad aspect of UF's CS program is that only about half of the students in a class are strong software programmers when they graduate. They just haven't been exposed to the amount of problems that needed to be solved in comparison to UCF's program. The UCF grads have already written programs that apply the theory they've learned in class into practical applications. Many UF students haven't done this as much, unless they've spent quite a bit of extra time outside class working on their own programs.

Another thing to note though - UF was a far better "college experience" for me outside of class. The town revolves around the school, sports (school team & intramural) were far more involved, and the school spirit definitely competes with the best in the country - USC, OSU, ND, etc. You really can't go wrong with either school.

Another bonus for UCF is the Research Park. I work there now and the mass amount of internships and part-time work right next to the school is a valuable part of the education and post-graduation career options.

If a student is heavily involved in writing code outside of school for personal projects, go for UF for the entire school experience and very well-respected degree. If a student is not writing code outside of school or hasn't been exposed to it much before entering college, UCF is a better school to prepare them for a career in software engineering.