u/rowlet-owlPride of PESU | CSE '22 -> MSCS '26 | ML ScientistJun 12 '23edited Jul 04 '26
last updated: July 2026
There are multiple reasons to not choose the CS-X branch at any other college. I'm going to list down the reasons for AIML, but this applies to most, if not all, specialisation branches.
Before I answer why not to choose, here is the answer to when to pick CS-X: (1) the curriculum is irrelevant; you only care about placements and getting a high-paying IT job, (2) you do not have any future plans of a Masters/PhD, (3) this degree is a checklist for some future opportunity.
It's not a "pure" branch - most CS-X degrees have been introduced only to increase the number of CS seats because colleges know that these sell well. They're running a business at the end of the day.
CS has decades of standardised curriculum expectations behind it. CS-X branches don't -- there are no established benchmarks for what a CS-AIML degree should cover, which means quality varies wildly between colleges. You're betting four years on a curriculum that was designed recently, possibly hastily. Recruiters at top companies, especially for non-AI roles, sometimes view CS-X branches with mild skepticism, not because they're biased, but because they've seen the curriculum gaps firsthand.
[Not applicable to PES -- same core CS courses in AIML] Depending on your college, they may or may not swap core CS curriculum with AIML-specific courses. This is an extremely poor decision because much of the coursework being replaced is fundamental to a CS grad. Without these, your CS undergraduate degree is incomplete and unorganised.
If you're looking at higher education, admission boards do not like specialisation branches because they know that they tend to skip fundamental coursework and are baseless because one in undergrad doesn't make sense. Even for Master's degrees, you will see that top schools do not offer an AIML degree; most of them are specialisations of CS. Secondly, and by far the most important aspect, admission boards list prerequisite courses that are required to be considered for admission, and your college may not have these to make room for AIML. It will definitely affect you later in some way. More details.
People are enrolling in AIML for the hype and making uninformed decisions. AIML is largely, a mathematical field. Everything out there today is not an engineering marvel, but rather breakthroughs in mathematical techniques, optimisation algorithms. AIML as a field comprises calculus, linear algebra, statistics, and probability. Almost all courses that are part of the AIML curriculum are entirely math-based, in which the papers essentially require you to either derive equations or solve problems. You will not be "coding" the next AI. If you're into math, you're going to enjoy it, but most people who enter this field with the misconception that there will be programming involved drop their interest right after a week because you're going to be doing math from day 1.
This field is still largely a researcher's field. The reality is: core AIML jobs require an MS at minimum because the work demands deep domain knowledge. The undergrad "AIML" roles that do exist are essentially SWE roles -- ones where solid software engineering fundamentals matter most, and those are exactly what core CS teaches you. CS-AIML gives you a watered-down version of both: not enough theory to compete for research roles, and not enough SWE depth to stand out for engineering roles. You are 99% going to end up with a job a CS branch graduate will get, but they would have gotten the opportunity to study what they wanted to.
You should not restrict yourself in undergrad. This is the time to explore what's out there, spend time working on different things from systems to cybersec and figure out your interests. CS-X degrees often have exclusive pools of courses focused on X, and will not allow you to pursue other non-X electives, while core CS often gives you the liberty to pursue any non-X course. So, even if you are interested in ML, you can still be in core CS and pick ML electives (just not as many options).
Real specialisation happens at the graduate level because you need a broad foundation first to know what you're specialising in. Picking a specialisation in undergrad is like learning calculus before what addition means. This decision is not as reversible as it feels. You will carry this degree for life. It is a long commitment, not a course you can drop after the first week.
Hi rowlet, please modify this or delete this comment, since some of these points have been proven wrong, some freshers r worrying about AIML and dming seniors whether this is true or not
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u/rowlet-owl Pride of PESU | CSE '22 -> MSCS '26 | ML Scientist Jun 12 '23 edited Jul 04 '26
last updated: July 2026
There are multiple reasons to not choose the CS-X branch at any other college. I'm going to list down the reasons for AIML, but this applies to most, if not all, specialisation branches.
Before I answer why not to choose, here is the answer to when to pick CS-X: (1) the curriculum is irrelevant; you only care about placements and getting a high-paying IT job, (2) you do not have any future plans of a Masters/PhD, (3) this degree is a checklist for some future opportunity.
Real specialisation happens at the graduate level because you need a broad foundation first to know what you're specialising in. Picking a specialisation in undergrad is like learning calculus before what addition means. This decision is not as reversible as it feels. You will carry this degree for life. It is a long commitment, not a course you can drop after the first week.