Undergraduate Degree

E-mail: eesystem@pollux.usc.edu

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Computer Science

Students attaining the Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering and Computer Science would possess the scientific and engineering skills and knowledge that would enable them to design and implement computer systems that effectively and efficiently integrate developing hardware and software technologies. This degree is administered jointly by the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

In order to earn the Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering and Computer Science, the student must: (1) earn 132 class units as described below; (2) achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on all course work undertaken at USC; (3) attain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on all course work completed in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at USC.

The following sample four-year program is only an example of how the required courses might be scheduled. A student does not have to take the required course work in the order specified in the sample program although it would be appropriate to try and follow it as closely as possible.

Sample Four-Year Program

First Year, First Semester		Units
EE 105	Introduction to Electrical Engineering, or
CSCI 105	Introduction to Computer Science	3
MATH 125	Calculus I	4
General education*	Social Issues	4
WRIT 140*	Writing and Critical Reasoning	4
		____
		15
First Year, Second Semester		Units
CSCI 101L**	Fundamentals of Computer Programming	3
EE 101	Introduction to Digital Logic	3
MATH 126	Calculus II	4
General education		4
		____
		14
Second Year, First Semester		Units
CSCI 102L**	Data Structures	4
EE 102L	Introduction to Digital Circuits	2
MATH 226	Calculus III	4
PHYS 151L***	Fundamentals of Physics I: Mechanics and Thermodynamics	4
General education		4
		____
		18
Second Year, Second Semester		Units
CSCI 201L	Principles of Software Development	4
EE 357	Basic Organization of Computer Systems	3
MATH 225	Linear Algebra and Differential Equations	4
PHYS 152L	Fundamentals of Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism	4
Advanced writing course		3
		____
		18
Third Year, First Semester		Units
CSCI 271	Discrete Methods in Computer Science	4
EE 326L	Essentials of Electrical Engineering	4
EE 457	Computer Systems Organization	3
ISE 460	Engineering Economics	3
Science elective****		4
		____
		18
Third Year, Second Semester		Units
CSCI 301	Theory of Computation	3
CSCI 402	Operating Systems	3
EE 327	Digital Electronics	3
MATH 407	Probability Theory	4
General education		4
		____
		17
Fourth Year, First Semester		Units
CSCI 303	Analysis and Design of Algorithms	3
EE 454L	Introduction to Systems Using Microprocessors	4
General education		4
Electives *****	technical	6
		____
		17
Fourth Year, Second Semester		Units
EE 459L	Senior Design Project, or
CS 477	Design and Construction of Large Software Systems	3 or 4
A 400-level Math course******		4
Electives *****	technical	8
		____
		15 or 16

*Taken concurrently.

**CSCI 120 can substitute for CSCI 101 and CSCI 102 with permission of an advisor.

***Satisfies general education requirement for category III.

****See an advisor for a list of science courses that can satisfy this requirement.

*****See an advisor for a list of courses that can satisfy the technical elective requirement. A CECS major must take a set of courses for at least one of the following four areas of specialization as part of his or her 14 technical elective units.

a. Theory - CSCI 301, CSCI 410, CSCI 430
b. Multimedia and Graphics - EE 320, CSCI 351, CSCI 480
c. Advanced Circuit Design - EE 477, EE 478, EE 479
d. Software Systems - CSCI 351, CSCI 477, CSCI 485

******Any 400-level Mathematics course can be taken to satisfy this requirement except MATH 406 or MATH 450.

Minor in Multimedia and Creative Technologies

See listing under Multimedia and Creative Technologies.

Graduate Degrees

The graduate program in computer engineering, offered through the Department of Electrical Engineering, is designed to provide students with an intensive background in the analysis, structure, design and function of digital computers and information processing systems. In addition to giving each student a fundamental background in digital logic, computer architecture and operating systems, a wide variety of elective courses allows for study in the following specialized areas: artificial intelligence; computer architecture; computer networks; computer system performance; design automation; fault-tolerant computers; microprocessors; parallel processing; real-time systems; robotics; and VLSI design.

Master of Science in Computer Engineering

The Master of Science in Computer Engineering is earned by completing an integrated program of at least 27 units of approved course work. At most, nine units at the 400 level may be counted toward the degree, and the remaining units must be at the 500 or 600 level. At least 15 units must be taken at the 500 or 600 level in the computer engineering major. (Those courses in computer science cross-listed with electrical engineering are considered computer engineering.) All course work requires the prior approval of a computer engineering faculty member. Elective units may be chosen from a list of computer engineering, computer science, electrophysics, signal processing and mathematics courses.

These elective units will be recommended and approved by the individual computer engineering faculty advisor. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 must be earned on all course work applied toward the master's degree in computer engineering. This average must also be achieved on all 400-level and above course work attempted at USC beyond the bachelor's degree. Transfer units count as credit (CR) toward the master's degree and are not computed in the grade point average. All other School of Engineering requirements for the Master of Science apply. For the M.S., Electrical Engineering VLSI Design and M.S., Electrical Engineering Computer Network degrees section.

Required courses		Units
EE 557	Computer Systems Architecture, and	3
CSCI 402x	Operating Systems, or
CSCI 555	Advanced Operating Systems	3
and one of the following:
CSCI 545	Robotics	3
EE 549	Queueing Theory for Performance Modeling	3
EE 550	Design and Analysis of Computer Communication Networks	3
EE 552	Logic Design and Switching Theory	3
EE 554	Real-Time Computer Systems	3
EE/CSCI 561	Artificial Intelligence	3
EE 577	VLSI System Design	3
and approved electives		18
		____
		27

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering

The requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in computer engineering are in strict conformity with the requirements of the Graduate School. Program requirements for the Ph.D. in computer engineering are the same as those for the Ph.D. in electrical engineering except that the major field is computer engineering. See general requirements for graduate degrees.

Screening and qualifying examinations are administered by the computer engineering faculty. Students should contact the Electrical Engineering-Systems Department Office for further information.

Major Areas in Computer Engineering and Relevant Courses (not applicable to M.S., Computer Engineering requirements)

Computer Systems Architecture		Units
EE 457x	Computer Systems Organization	3
EE 554	Real Time Computer Systems	3
EE 557	Computer Systems Architecture	3
EE 653	Multithreaded Architectures, Data-Flow Computing and Functional Programming	3
EE 656	Fault Tolerant Computer Systems	3
EE 657	Parallel Processing	3
EE 659	Interconnection Networks	3
Artificial Intelligence		Units
CSCI 544	Natural Language Processing	3
CSCI 598	Expert Systems	3
CSCI 674	Advanced Topics in Computer Vision	3
EE 559	Mathematical Pattern Recognition	3
CSCI 561	Artificial Intelligence	3
CSCI 574	Computer Vision	3
CSCI 592	Symbolic Computation for Artificial Intelligence	3
Robotics		Units
CSCI 545	Robotics	3
EE 546L	Basic Robotics Laboratory	3
EE 547	Software Methods in Robotics	3
EE 548	Analytical Methods in Robotics	3
ME 541	Linear Control Systems II	3
Computer Networks and Distributed Systems		Units
CSCI 551	Computer Communications	3
CSCI 555	Advanced Operating Systems	3
CSCI/EE 579	Graph and Combinatorial Algorithms	3
EE 450	Introduction to Computer Networks	3
EE 549	Queueing Theory for Performance Modeling	3
EE 550	Design and Analysis of Computer Communication Networks	3
EE 555	Broadband Network Architectures	3
EE 649	Applied Performance Evaluation for Computer Systems	3
EE 650	Advanced Topics in Computer Networks	3
Digital Systems Design		Units
EE 552	Logic Design and Switching Theory	3
EE 577ab	VLSI System Design	3-2
EE 582	Technical Seminar on VLSI Design	1
EE 658	Diagnosis and Design of Reliable Digital Systems	3
EE 677	VLSI Architectures and Algorithms	3
EE 680	Computer Aided Design of Digital Systems I	3
EE 681	Computer Aided Design of Digital Systems II	3

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