Computer Science and Engineering

The Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department spans multiple areas of research including theory, systems, AI/ML, architectures, and software.

CSE’s areas of research are computer hardware, including architecture, VLSI (chip design), FPGAs, and design automation; computer security and privacy; cyber-physical systems; distributed systems; database systems; machine learning and artificial intelligence; natural language processing; networks; pervasive computing and human-computer interaction; programming languages; robotics; social computing; storage systems; and visual computing, including computer vision, visualization, and graphics.

In cooperation with other departments on campus, CSE also offers a strong research group in bioinformatics, computational biology, biomolecular engineering, and human genome mapping. The CSE department enjoys a close relationship with the Electrical and Computer Engineering, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics departments. Faculty members carry out joint research projects, supervise students, and teach courses for these departments. The M.S. degree requires either a master’s thesis or an approved project and is usually completed in two years, although it is possible to complete the program in one year. The Ph.D. degree is usually completed in five years.

Research

Learn about the research being conducted within our department.

People

Meet people in Computer Science and Engineering.

Degrees

Learn about the Graduate and Undergraduate programs in Computer Science and Engineering.

20%

of the UCSC fall 2022 class are computer science majors

#5

of the top 50 Institutions by Total Bachelors Degrees awarded in Computer Science in Engineering (ASEE, 2020)

3

2022 National Science Foundation CAREER awards won by faculty

6th

Distinguished Professor David Haussler ranked sixth among top scientists in computer science (Top Scientists Ranking for Computer Science and Electronics, 2021)

Connectivity for Conservation

A Google-funded research project applies computer science to aid bird conservation. Baskin Engineers aim to produce a new open-source habitat connectivity algorithm that will power a decision-support tool for bird conservationists.

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CSE Research News

• UCSC team wins third place in first-ever Amazon SimBot challenge
• UC Santa Cruz engineers join major transportation cybersecurity project
• UCSC ranked number two on Wall Street Journal list for top public colleges for high-paying jobs in engineering
• Excellence in Action: Celebrating UCSC’s 2023 Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award Recipients
• Banana Slugs seek to advance conversational AI in all three Amazon Alexa Prize challenges

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We’re Hiring!

Open positions include: lecturer, teaching professor, research professor. Find out more.

Upcoming Events

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Career Opportunities with a Computer Science and Engineering Degree

• Software Engineer/Developer
• Hardware Engineer/Developer
• Network Engineer
• Web Developer
• Mobile App Developer
• AI/ML Engineer
• UX Designer
• Systems Architect
• Cybersecurity Engineer

Computer engineering faculty and students are researching and developing secure, efficient, and effective networking applications that support the internets of the future.

The Natural Language Processing (NLP) master's degree program provides students the in-depth NLP skills and experience needed for successful careers in this fast-growing field.

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