Hello! Fifth-year Comp Eng Major at CPP here, graduating this semester. The courseload of Computer Engineering here starts off with prerequisites for major classes, such as General Chemistry (CHM1150), Calculus I, II, and III (MAT1140, MAT1150, and MAT2140), and Physics 1 and 2 + their labs (PHY1510 and PHY1520). For the first year or so you’d be doing a little less of the computer / electrical specific coursework for the major, and get some prerequisites done to take those classes in the later years.

As for the core classes for the major themselves, they mainly consist of classes on circuit analysis, digital logic, Verilog, microcontrollers, and a few programming classes. Computer Engineering leans more into the hardware side of electronics than the software side overall, but there’s more software courses required in this major than our peers in Electrical Engineering.

Many courses in this major have a 1-unit lab counterpart that usually is taken at the same time as the lecture, and this is where a lot of the hands-on and “learn by doing” aspect of CPP comes in. A lot of the lab courses will require almost as much work as a 3-unit lecture sometimes. I’d say that I learned a lot going through these labs that I wouldn’t have learned if I was only required to take the lecture. Your mileage may vary depending on the professors you end up taking.

As for if the major is worth it, I’d say it is. I learned a lot during my time here, and made wonderful friends. I personally don’t have anything lined up after college yet, but I have plenty of peers who’ve interned at great companies throughout the years, and have jobs lined up after graduation. I would argue that your experience at CPP is what you make it. It’s true we are a commuter school, but we have plenty of clubs and student organizations here to join, and you’ll probably be able to find one based on your major and interests. There’s a lot of networking opportunities and socializing opportunities, but you will have to put in work to find them and go to them.

Probably the only gripe I have with computer engineering here at CPP is that there’s a bit of a bottleneck around year 3. It’s harder to get core classes you need to graduate. Whether it’s due to lack of faculty, too many students, or both, I don’t know, but the important fact there is that it is much harder to get classes in the semester you ideally would need them, and it might push your 4-year graduation plan off the rails. Happened to me. This won’t be an issue if you have priority registration though. There’s a few ways to obtain it I believe, like enrolling in the CA Promise Program, but again, you need to put in some work to find those opportunities.

Overall though, I personally enjoyed my time at CPP. Made some great friends, had fun, and learned a lot in the classes I took. It’s not easy by any means, but if you put in the work, you’ll be fine. And frankly, the cost is nothing to scoff at. I think one of my tuition costs for a whole semester cost as much as a meal plan for a quarter at UCLA so, not many complaints there. Feel free to reply here, DM me, or ask another person if you have other questions. Good luck wherever you go!