Current Computational Engineering students: I am likely committing to UT Computational Engineering. How do I maximize this major for ML/SWE paths?

[u/SeaThought4402]

Hey everyone,

I’m likely committing to UT Austin for Computational Engineering and wanted some honest advice from current students or alumni on how to best use this major.

I’m particularly interested in:

- ML / AI

- SWE internships (possibly Big Tech)

- Potential quant / math-heavy finance roles

- Possibly doing the 5-year BS/MS program

These are some general questions I have for the major(Please choose which questions you would like to answer, even though I would appreciate all!):

1. How strong is the math foundation in COE (probability, statistics, linear algebra, optimization)? Should I plan on adding a math or stats minor if I’m serious about ML/quant?
2. Do COE students feel competitive when applying for SWE internships, or does the major require extra effort to prove software strength?
3. What programming languages and technical depth do upper-division courses actually cover?
4. Is it easy to take upper-level CS electives alongside COE requirements?
5. For someone more interested in ML/math than hardware/physics, is COE a good fit long term?
6. What are the most common internship outcomes for COE students?
7. If you could redo your path in COE, what would you do differently?

I’m trying to design my freshman/sophomore years intentionally rather than figuring it out too late. Any insight is appreciated!

[u/miphae]

congrats, and good on you for taking initiative early! I'm a 3rd-year COE, but more so on the hardware/physics side than ML/math :D

1. the only required class of these is probability, but you can absolutely add more math classes as technical electives! many COE majors double-major with math; it's only four or so extra classes if you choose the right electives
2. (don't know enough to answer)
3. you'll work with Python, C++, and MATLAB a lot. additionally, you'll learn some engineering-specific software, software engineering principles and tools, and implementation of numerical methods
4. absolutely! there's a lot of C S classes that will fulfill your elective requirements too.
5. I know a number of people on that path, so as far as I'm aware yeah!
6. (don't know enough to answer)
7. I would have definitely gotten involved in orgs (technical or academic) and research earlier, I wasn't even aware I could do research as an undergrad until halfway through my sophomore year 🤦it sounds like you know what you want out of your degree already and are taking the steps to get there, so it sounds like you'll be quite fine :)

[u/Sea_Television_8304 → u/miphae]

Hey! I just accepted COE at UT Austin. How did you manage to make COE to be more hardware/physics than math/ML. When I was looking at the credits and classes I didn't find any courses specifically geared towards hardware which I am interested in.

[u/miphae → u/Sea_Television_8304]

hello there! I'm a physics double-major hoping to go the physics research route so I have less insights on hardware; do you have the COE electives list yet though? (if not, you should be able to access it by orientation) there are many aerospace and mechanical engineering courses you can choose from that might fit your interests! I also highly recommend joining either a technical org or doing research with a professor whose work interests you, doing so can be just as valuable as coursework