Undergraduate Degrees
Degree Requirements
Educational Program Objectives
The electrical engineering program objectives are designed to promote technical competence, professional development and citizenship in the global community.Technical Competence
Graduates will have the proficiency in mathematics, science and engineering necessary to apply these disciplines to the solution of problems encountered in modern electrical engineering practice.Graduates will have the ability to model, analyze, design and experimentally evaluate components or systems that achieve desired technical specifications subject to the reality of economic constraints.
Professional Development
Graduates will have the professional skills necessary to compete effectively in a world of rapid technological change as well as to assume leadership roles within industrial, entrepreneurial, academic or governmental environments in the broad context of electrical engineering.Graduates who have chosen an appropriate plan of study will be capable of professional redirection into such diverse fields as medicine, business, law, computer science, multimedia and music through graduate-level studies and the process of lifelong learning.
Citizenship in the Global Community
Graduates will have the capabilities and communication skills necessary to function effectively either as individuals or as members of multidisciplinary teams in a diverse global economy.Graduates will have an understanding of the importance of high ethical and professional standards as well as the significance of engineering decisions and solutions in a global, environmental and societal context.
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
The requirement for the degree is 131 units. A cumulative scholarship average of C (2.0) is required for: (a) all courses taken at USC; (b) all courses taken within the Department of Electrical Engineering; (c) all upper division courses taken within the Department of Electrical Engineering. See also the common requirements for undergraduate degrees section.
| First Year, First Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 105aL | General Chemistry, or | |
| CHEM 115aL | Advanced General Chemistry, or | |
| MASC 110L | Materials Science | 4 |
| MATH 125 | Calculus I | 4 |
| EE 105 | Introduction to Electrical Engineering | 3 |
| General education | 4 | |
| 15 | ||
| First Year, Second Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 126 | Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 151L** | Fundamentals of Physics I: Mechanics and Thermodynamics | 4 |
| WRIT 140* | Writing and Critical Reasoning | 4 |
| General education* | Social Issues | 4 |
| 16 | ||
| Second Year, First Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| CSCI 101L | Fundamentals of Computer Programming | 3 |
| EE 101 | Introduction to Digital Logic | 3 |
| MATH 226 | Calculus III | 4 |
| PHYS 152L | Fundamentals of Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 |
| General education | 4 | |
| 18 | ||
| Second Year, Second Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| EE 202L | Linear Circuits | 4 |
| MATH 245 | Mathematics of Physics and Engineering I | 4 |
| PHYS 153L | Fundamentals of Physics III: Optics and Modern Physics | 4 |
| Electives | See requirements for graduation | 5 |
| 17 | ||
| Third Year, First Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| EE 301 | Introduction to Linear Systems | 3 |
| EE 364 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Electrical Engineering | 3 |
| MATH 445 | Mathematics of Physics and Engineering II | 4 |
| WRIT 340 | Advanced writing | 3 |
| Electives | See requirements for graduation | 3 |
| 16 | ||
| Third Year, Second Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| EE 330 | Electromagnetics I | 3 |
| ISE 460 | Engineering Economy, or | |
| BUAD 301 | Technical Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| Electives | See requirements for graduation following | 7 |
| General education | 4 | |
| 17 | ||
| Fourth Year, First Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| Electives | See requirements for graduation following | 12 |
| General education | 4 | |
| 16 | ||
| Fourth Year, Second Semester | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| Electives | See requirements for graduation following | 16 |
| 16 | ||
**Satisfies general education Category III.
Requirements for Graduation:
Engineering Electives
Engineering electives are to be chosen from the courses listed under entry-level electives, areas of specialization, non-EE engineering science elective and EE design electives.
Entry-Level Electives
The entry-level courses listed under three of the four following topical areas are required:Communication, Control and Signal Processing: EE 241 (3)
Computer Engineering: EE 102L (2), EE 357 (3)
Electromagnetics and Energy Conversion: EE 370 (3), EE 470 (3)
Electronic Devices and Circuits: EE 338 (3), EE 348L (4)
Areas of Specialization
Courses in at least one of the 10 areas of specialization listed below are required:Communication, Control and Signal Processing
Communications and Networks: EE 401 (3), CSCI 455x (4), (take at least one): EE 450 (3), EE 447L (4/CD*), EE 467x (3)Signal Processing, Communication and Control Systems (take at least three): EE 434L (4/CD*), EE 467x (3), EE 469 (3), EE 475 (3/D**), EE 482 (3), EE 483 (3), EE 484 (3/CD*)
Controls and Robotics: EE 482 (3) or CSCI 445 (4); (take at least two): EE 401 (3), EE 454L (4/D**), EE 459L (3/CD*)
Computer Engineering
Computer Architecture and Organization: EE 454L (4/D**), EE 457Lx (3), EE 459L (3/CD*)Hardware/Software (take 3 of 4): CSCI 402x (3D**), CSCI 455x (4), EE 454L (4/D**), EE 457Lx (3)
Computer Networks (take 3 of 4): CSCI 402x (3), CSCI 455x (4), EE 450 (3), EE 457Lx (3).
Electromagnetics and Energy Conversion
Energy Conversion: EE 440 (3), EE 442 (3), EE 443 (3)Lasers: EE 471 (3), EE 472 (3), EE 473L (3/D**).
Electronic Devices and Circuits
Electronic Circuits (take 3 of 4): EE 447L (4/CD*), EE 448 (3/D**), EE 478L (4/CD*), EE 479L (4/D**)Integrated Circuits: EE 438L (3/D**), EE 448 (3/D**), EE 477L (4/D**).
Non-EE Engineering Science Elective
At least one elective must be a non-EE engineering science elective, either from the list below: CE 205, 225, CE 309, CE 325; CHE 472; AME 201, AME 310, AME 452, AME 453; or others by special advisor approval.EE Design Electives
At least three courses must be taken from the following list of design courses: EE 434L*, EE 438L, EE 447L*, EE 448, EE 454L, EE 459L*, EE 473L, EE 475, EE 477L, EE 478L*, EE 479L, EE 484*, including one of the asterisked capstone design courses.**D -- Design Elective
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (Computers)
The Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (Computers) is earned by successfully completing the normal requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with the following courses chosen as EE electives: EE 454L; CSCI 455x; EE 457Lx; EE 478L.Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Computer Science
See the listing under Computer Engineering.Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (Integrated Media Systems)
This 131-unit program will expose students to the creative technology side of multimedia. To obtain the BSEE (IMS), the student must successfully complete the normal requirements for the Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering with the following restrictions: (1) students must take the listed entry-level electives in the topical areas of Computer Engineering and Electronic Devices and Circuits and must also take EE 241, which will be the entry-level elective for the topical area of Communication, Control and Signal Processing; (2) students must take the following courses within the Communication, Control and Signal Processing area of specialization: EE 434L (4/CD*) (satisfies the capstone design course requirement), EE 469 (3) and EE 483 (3); (3) students must take at least two courses from the following list of design courses: EE 402, EE 438L, EE 444L, EE 447L, EE 448L, EE 454L, EE 459L, EE 477L, EE 478L and EE 479L; and, (4) students must take CSCI 351 (3), CSCI 480 (3) and EE 450 (3), as technical electives.It is highly recommended that the student take EE 483 before the start of the fourth year, because EE 434L is only taught in the fall semester.
Industry recommends that students also be exposed to the creative-artistic side of multimedia. This can be accomplished (but is not required) by BSEE (IMS) students taking the Multimedia and Creative Technologies. Because all of the technical required and elective courses of that minor will have been taken as part of the BSEE (IMS), BSEE (IMS) students can complete this minor by focusing on the minor's creative artistic courses -- required and elective. Up to six units from the BSEE (IMS) can be counted toward this minor.