Dear Electrical Engineering Graduate Students,

 

Welcome to the graduate program in the Electrical Engineering Department at USC. We hope that your plans to join USC are going smoothly, and we would like to let you know of a few departmental policies and procedures. We welcome you to browse our website at http://ee.usc.edu to learn about the policies and procedures of our graduate programs. Please plan to arrive a few days before classes begin to meet with faculty advisors.

 

Some of our 500 level EE courses require the passing of placement exams before registration will be allowed. Placement exams in EE will be given usually a few days prior to registration and first day of classes. Please allow yourself enough time to arrive in order to take whichever exam you will need. Please see our website at http://ee.usc.edu for specific information on each exam, including the times given. Please go through other information on the ee web site about program requirements, FAQ, guidelines to take courses etc.

 

Please go through our website and the University catalogue to learn about the graduate degree requirements. It is important to make sure that you take proper sequences of courses towards your degree. Our policy on taking any non-EE course is that prior approval must be obtained from the EE department for which there is a special form.

 

Students are strongly encouraged to see faculty for academic advisement. They will be available in all areas during registration week. Feel free to see faculty in your area of interest. D-clearance permission is then granted after advisement in EEB 100. Prerequisite courses, generally 400-level courses, should be completed prior to taking 500-level courses.

 

Financial aid in terms of teaching and research assistantships are available mainly to PhD students, and all admitted PhD students are considered for such awards. The number of such awards is very limited, and therefore, the competition is very high for financial aid. Teaching assistantships are awarded by an evaluation committee to incoming students and is based on academic performance and faculty recommendations. Usually, teaching assistantships are awarded along with research assistantships. Research Assistantships are awarded by faculty members who have research projects. Please note that only a few exceptional and outstanding MS students may receive research and/or teaching assistantships. For more information on how assistants are selected and their responsibilities please visit the handbook(Click here for PDF).

 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Alexander Sawchuk
Department Chair