Ph.D. Student Resources

Welcome!

Congratulations on your admission to graduate study at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. The information below is intended to assist you with the transition to graduate school at USC.

First and foremost please complete the Intent to Enroll form and submit it. It is important for you to reserve your space in the entering class.

For registration dates and deadlines, click here.

International Student Test of English (ISE test)

****Required of all new international students unless formally waived. ***

International students who have to take the International Student Test of English must do so before registering for classes. They can receive departmental advisement before taking the test. For important information, please visit The American Language Institute.

Maps and Directions

To be sure you arrive here safely and can find the important locations on the University campus. For directions to USC and campus maps, click here.

Advising

If you have any specific questions, you may contact your assigned advisor, Christine Hsieh (CEE Graduate Advisor) at christine.hsieh@usc.edu or via phone at 213-740-0573.

Orientation

Please refer to the following link: Orientation for all information on orientations.

Ph.D. Screening Exam

Students entering the Ph.D. program in Civil and Environmental Engineering are required to pass the Ph.D. Screening Exam:

The exam is composed of a written part, which is administered the week before classes start in each January, and an oral part that is scheduled later in January or in February.
The exam is only for those students admitted to or enrolled in the Ph.D. program and in regular graduate standing.
Ph.D. students with no prior master's degree must take the Screening Exam before the end of their fourth semester; Ph.D. students with a prior master's degree must take the Screening Exam at the beginning of the second or third semester (depending on when they started their Ph.D. studies).
The screening exam questions are written by a committee of three faculty, including the student's Ph.D. advisor, normally composed of faculty from within the CEE Department.
The result of the exam is either "pass", "conditional" (conditioned on some further outcome) or "fail".

Frequently Asked Questions

After you have chosen your classes and checked for pre-requisites and placement exams, you can obtain departmental clearance (D-clearance) by submitting an online D-clearance form Under the Current Students section. You need D-clearance for courses that end in “D” (Example: 34123D). For courses that end in “R” (Example: 34123R) you may register directly if you have passed the pre-requisites. Once you have D-clearance you can register on-line or in person at the registration office.

D-Clearance stands for Departmental Clearance and it is required for courses at the university designated in the Schedule of Classes as “D.” You must obtain CEE D-Clearance by submitting an online request form BEFORE you register for classes. Other courses requiring D-Clearance must be obtained in each home department as indicated in the Schedule of Classes. D-Clearance gives you permission to register; it does NOT reserve a seat for you in a class. If a class requires D-Clearance, remember to include the discussion or lab section in your request and remember to register before the D-Clearance expires (usually one week).

Financial aid in the department comes in the form of research (RA) and teaching (TA) assistantships and is reserved primarily for PhD students. All new applicants to the PhD program are automatically considered for financial aid. RAs are chosen by faculty. Check for financial aid opportunities posted by faculty members and discuss it with them during technical advisement. The staff in KAP 214 can explain in more detail should you have questions.

Master's students may transfer a total of 4 units from another university with an advisor's approval, as long as the courses were completed before enrolling at USC. You must go to the Office of Degree Progress in the basement of JHH and request a printout of the courses that are transferable from your previous school. Fill out a Transfer Course Credit Request Form (available in KAP 214 or on www.usc.edu/cee), and take both forms to a faculty advisor.

The ability to communicate effectively in English — to read, write and speak the language fluently — is vital to your success as a university student. USC graduate applicants are therefore expected to demonstrate their proficiency in English as part of the application process.

English-Language Proficiency Requirements

IMPORTANT: USC does not set minimum scores for admission purposes. The scores listed below are used for placement purposes only to determine if an admitted student will need to take the International Student English (ISE) Examination upon arrival at USC.

USC accepts the following English Proficiency Exams:

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
USC accepts only Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT) test scores. Admitted students are exempt from taking the ISE Exam with the following scores:

PhD	100 or above, with 20 or above in each section.
Master’s	90 or above, with 20 or above in each section.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
USC only accepts the IELTS Academic scores. Admitted students are exempt from taking the ISE Exam with the following scores:

PhD	7 or above, with 6 or above on each band.
Master’s	6.5 or above, with 6 or above on each band.

PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic
USC accepts only PTE Academic scores. Admitted students are exempt from taking the ISE Exam with the following scores:

PhD	68 or above, with 53 or above on each band.
Master’s	61 or above, with 53 or above on each band.

Visit : gradadm.usc.edu/lightboxes/international-students-english-proficiency/ for more information.

International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) account for a large percentage of graduate assistants at the USC. The University is pleased to have such a large number of ITAs. Opportunities to interact with teaching assistants from other cultures can be a great benefit to students. In order to ensure the highest quality of instruction at the undergraduate level, USC requires a high level of English proficiency for all those involved in teaching.

The American Language Institute is responsible for evaluating English proficiency, and for providing the necessary training to help ITAs obtain the language skills necessary to fulfill their responsibilities. This training may include enrollment in courses which focus on the communication skills needed for teaching.

English Language Requirements for Teaching Assistants

Graduate students who are planning to accept a position as an international teaching assistant (ITA), must demonstrate English-language proficiency by completing the ITA Exam. The exam consists of a 10 to 15 minute interview. The score will determine whether or not the ITA will be cleared to teach and/or required to take ALI courses.

The department requires all ITAs to take the ITA Exam.

Guidelines for requesting Directed Research

CEE students are required to follow the steps outlined below if interested in taking Directed Research CE 490 (Undergraduate students), CE 590 (Masters students) or CE 790 (Ph.D. students).

STEP 1 — Students get verbal approval from faculty for a directed research course
STEP 2 — Students fill out the online form, found at: myViterbi
STEP 3 — Faculty are automatically sent an email directing them to the admin site where they can log in and approve or deny students requests as well as view all previous semesters.
STEP 4 — Students receive a confirmation email that their course has been approved or denied by the faculty member.
STEP 5 — Students receive d-clearance within 1-3 business days for the course.
STEP 6 — Student registers for the course via web registration.

Please contact the Student Affairs Office at ceedept@usc.edu if you have any questions.

DEN is the Distance Education Network. Most 400 & 500-level EE courses are webcast by a special office in the School of Engineering called DEN. Each course offered by DEN has two sections with different class numbers, indicated as OHE 100 (for on-campus students) and OFF CAMPUS (for off campus students). There is a $500 service charge associated with every off campus section of the class. This service charge provides for administrative support for students not in the Los Angeles area. If you are an on campus student please be sure to register for the on campus section (OHE 100) so as not to be charged the additional fee. Visit DEN@Viterbi.