Waterloo

After Napoleon Bonaparte’s daring escape from Elba, the European powers banded together once again, forming the Seventh Coalition to end the Napoleon threat once and for all. At war with the rest of Europe, Napoleon’s forces gather near Waterloo, a town in what was the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is here where Napoleon will give battle against Arthur Wellesley, the United Kingdom’s 1st Duke of Wellington, in what will be known as the historic Battle of Waterloo.

“What is the difference between Software Engineering and Computer Science at Waterloo? Which one should I pick?”

This is one of the most common questions for prospective undergrad students considering a CS related degree at Waterloo. There are a few¹²³ answers out there already, but I’m going to add my own here. I graduated from SE in 2025, my insight is perhaps more up to date than the answers that came before. For example, it is no longer the case that transferring from SE to CS is easy. On the flip side, if you are reading this far into the future, more recent perspectives might be more relevant to you.