I think my school has the best option--rather than a "Software Engineering" degree, we have an "Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences" program. In practice, this means we end up taking the intro courses for both EE and CS and then we can mix and match however we like. Somebody could specialize entirely in theoretical CS or go for a more practical engineering education. You could also focus on EE almost exclusively, if that's what you want. This program provides significant freedom and versatility--I can basically do whatever I want once I'm done with the intro series--while ensuring that even the theoretically biased CS students understand how the computer works at a lower level and the EE students understand what people will be doing with their processors.
My impression is that most "Computer Engineering" programs--I suspect that "Software Engineering" is similar as well--are less flexible. With the EECS major you're free to basically do anything related to computers; "Computer Engineering" on the other hand is more about lower-level CS and some high-level EE. You could specialize in Human-Computer Interaction, AI or Machine Learning in EECS, which are all fields that (as far as I know) do not fall under "Computer Engineering".
However, my only real experience is with my university. I only have a vague idea of how exactly this all works at other universities, but they seem to split the subject area I'm covering into two or three different majors. If EECS is what you meant by "Software Engineering"--it is computer related, and it is in the college of Engineering--then I am taking it, and don't regret my choice at all.
Comments
I think my school has the best option--rather than a "Software Engineering" degree, we have an "Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences" program. In practice, this means we end up taking the intro courses for both EE and CS and then we can mix and match however we like. Somebody could specialize entirely in theoretical CS or go for a more practical engineering education. You could also focus on EE almost exclusively, if that's what you want. This program provides significant freedom and versatility--I can basically do whatever I want once I'm done with the intro series--while ensuring that even the theoretically biased CS students understand how the computer works at a lower level and the EE students understand what people will be doing with their processors.
My impression is that most "Computer Engineering" programs--I suspect that "Software Engineering" is similar as well--are less flexible. With the EECS major you're free to basically do anything related to computers; "Computer Engineering" on the other hand is more about lower-level CS and some high-level EE. You could specialize in Human-Computer Interaction, AI or Machine Learning in EECS, which are all fields that (as far as I know) do not fall under "Computer Engineering".
However, my only real experience is with my university. I only have a vague idea of how exactly this all works at other universities, but they seem to split the subject area I'm covering into two or three different majors. If EECS is what you meant by "Software Engineering"--it is computer related, and it is in the college of Engineering--then I am taking it, and don't regret my choice at all.