<p>Very, very broadly generalizing, computer science is usually more focused on computing technology itself, and information science — to the extent they overlap — on the uses and impacts of that technology.</p>
<p>Information science departments often grew out of library sciences, and spend significant time on how people use, organize, create, and access information, and study computing in the context of how it supports and affects those activities. You won't (usually) find computing theory or systems work (e.g. operating systems, database implementation, compiler optimization, etc.) in information science departments; likewise, you are less likely to find metadata and archival research in a computer science department.  For one example, a database researcher in an information science department, for example, is more likely to be focusing on effective use of databases, query support for novel use cases, data integration, etc.; someone focused on making database query engines faster is more likely to be in a computer science departments.</p>
<p>In universities that have both computer science and information science departments, the information science department often has most — but often not all — of the human-computer interaction research.  Universities without an information science department may have that work elsewhere, including in the computer science department.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-11T18:01:36.040Z
"Computing technology" may be misleading as it can refer to hardware development, which isn't typically studied in CS.
Buffy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-10T23:11:51.437Z
2024-10-10T23:11:51.437Z
Michael Ekstrand
<p>Not completely true, but CS tends to be (a bit) more theoretical than IS (Information Systems). There are certainly exceptions to that, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computability_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Computability Theory</a> (core to CS) is quite different from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Information Theory</a>, the basis of IS. But each of those theories is used in both of those fields, just to a different extent and in different ways.</p>
<p>Many IS programs are more focused on management of information and the jobs can be academic or in management of information intensive industries. Most CS programs are focused on theory, and students can wind up in academia or in problem solving industries.</p>
<p>At the beginning, there can be a lot of overlap in the programs but they diverge at the upper level. Programming can be important in both, but is the essence of neither. CS tends to be more (much more) mathematical than IS, which tends to be more practical/applied.</p>
<p>If two people, one in CS and one in IS wind up at Google (or IBM...) it is more likely that the CS person will do the essential tasks of the business and the IS person will manage the CS person (though that reveals my bias about &quot;essential tasks&quot;). (Side note: a History major - or other non-STEM liberal arts major - might wind up as the manager of both, actually.)</p>
<hr />
<p>The two links you gave for the University of Arizona have good distinguishing information, actually. If you are near them, you might visit and ask some people in the two schools.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-12-08T16:47:20.567Z
*"a History major - or other non-STEM liberal arts major - might wind up as the manager of both"* - history is traditionally considered an analytical subject, somewhat suited to those who manage business records and data processing because firstly it deals predominantly with documents and historical evidence, secondly it predominantly communicates in natural language, and thirdly the core of the topic is about the organisation of social order and how that changes over time. I'd be very surprised to hear that the "essential business tasks" of IBM or Google are basically mathematics!
Steve
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-06T12:31:31.460Z
2024-10-06T12:51:56.020Z
Buffy
<p>What is the difference between a degree in <a href="https://www.cs.arizona.edu/undergraduate/bachelor-arts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Computer Science</a> and a degree in <a href="https://infosci.arizona.edu/bs-information-science" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Information Science</a>? What jobs can you get with each?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for any help!</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>Note</strong>: I shared a link to specific degree programs, but please consider these as examples. I'm interested in understanding the overall differences between them.</p>

<information-technology>
Whats the difference between a degree in Computer Science and Information Science? What jobs can you get with each?
# Whats the difference between a degree in Computer Science and Information Science? What jobs can you get with each?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-10-06)

What is the difference between a degree in [Computer Science](https://www.cs.arizona.edu/undergraduate/bachelor-arts) and a degree in [Information Science](https://infosci.arizona.edu/bs-information-science)? What jobs can you get with each?

Thank you so much for any help!

---

**Note**: I shared a link to specific degree programs, but please consider these as examples. I'm interested in understanding the overall differences between them.

**Tags:** information-technology


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-10-10. Score: 2

Very, very broadly generalizing, computer science is usually more focused on computing technology itself, and information science — to the extent they overlap — on the uses and impacts of that technology.

Information science departments often grew out of library sciences, and spend significant time on how people use, organize, create, and access information, and study computing in the context of how it supports and affects those activities. You won't (usually) find computing theory or systems work (e.g. operating systems, database implementation, compiler optimization, etc.) in information science departments; likewise, you are less likely to find metadata and archival research in a computer science department. For one example, a database researcher in an information science department, for example, is more likely to be focusing on effective use of databases, query support for novel use cases, data integration, etc.; someone focused on making database query engines faster is more likely to be in a computer science departments.

In universities that have both computer science and information science departments, the information science department often has most — but often not all — of the human-computer interaction research. Universities without an information science department may have that work elsewhere, including in the computer science department.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: "Computing technology" may be misleading as it can refer to hardware development, which isn't typically studied in CS.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-10-06. Score: 2

Not completely true, but CS tends to be (a bit) more theoretical than IS (Information Systems). There are certainly exceptions to that, but [Computability Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computability_theory) (core to CS) is quite different from [Information Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theory), the basis of IS. But each of those theories is used in both of those fields, just to a different extent and in different ways.

Many IS programs are more focused on management of information and the jobs can be academic or in management of information intensive industries. Most CS programs are focused on theory, and students can wind up in academia or in problem solving industries.

At the beginning, there can be a lot of overlap in the programs but they diverge at the upper level. Programming can be important in both, but is the essence of neither. CS tends to be more (much more) mathematical than IS, which tends to be more practical/applied.

If two people, one in CS and one in IS wind up at Google (or IBM...) it is more likely that the CS person will do the essential tasks of the business and the IS person will manage the CS person (though that reveals my bias about "essential tasks"). (Side note: a History major - or other non-STEM liberal arts major - might wind up as the manager of both, actually.)

---

The two links you gave for the University of Arizona have good distinguishing information, actually. If you are near them, you might visit and ask some people in the two schools.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: *"a History major - or other non-STEM liberal arts major - might wind up as the manager of both"* - history is traditionally considered an analytical subject, somewhat suited to those who manage business records and data processing because firstly it deals predominantly with documents and historical evidence, secondly it predominantly communicates in natural language, and thirdly the core of the topic is about the organisation of social order and how that changes over time. I'd be very surprised to hear that the "essential business tasks" of IBM or Google are basically mathematics!  

---

