Both computer science (CS) and software engineering (SE) focus on programming, but for different purposes. CS students study theoretical and mathematical concepts underlying programming, writing programs to solve problems like determining winning board game strategies. SE students focus more on practical programming to achieve real-world goals, like extracting data from websites or controlling robots. While CS and SE overlap, with students taking similar core courses, SE places more emphasis on applying engineering principles to design and senior projects that simulate real-world work.