<p>Is engineering good at USC? What is the basic workload and is it fun/enjoyable? Is it hard to get into? Is it appreciated at USC?</p>
<p>U.S.News Rankings are subjective and sometimes controversial. The Viterbi Graduate School of Engineering just received a ranking of No. 8 in the U.S. Their Petroleum Engineering Program in the graduate school was rated 9th in the nation.</p>
<p>Within the last two years milliions have been donated to the Viterbi School for the newest equipment, computers and laboratory facilities.</p>
<p>The Viterbi School of Engineering is the home of two National Science Foundation engineering research centers. They are the Integrated Media Systems Center and the Center for Biomimetic MicroElectonics Systems. It is also the home of the Informational Sciences Institute.</p>
<p>The faculty includes 30 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 7 NAS members and 8 AAAS members.</p>
<p>Some interesting minors in the school are 3D Animation, Dental Biotechnology and Video Game Design and Management.</p>
<p>A bit of trivia.....Viterbi wrote the algorithm that powers your cell phone.</p>
<p>i really like studying engineering at 'SC. the alumni are very generous and very supportive. the civil engineering department just got a $17 million donation this past year.</p>
<p>research is happening up the wazoo. you're always hearing of new initiatives, projects, and funding coming into the school. in the BME department, there are 11 research labs. each lab however has several principle investigators, each running their own project. in the lab I'm currently affiliated with, we have 5 PIs. there are several professors who also conduct research outside the scope of those main research labs too.</p>
<p>the academic advisers are amazing. I'd die without them, trying to manage my BME major, Thematic Options, my pre-med requirements, making room for a minor, making room for study abroad, and making room for potentially doing the progressive degree program, in addtion to making sure i'm doing okay.</p>
<p>and just the oppotunities avaliable as a viterbi students, from the dedicated career service center, to the career fairs, to the tutor days during finals, engineering merit research, engineering honors colloquium, and probably several other programs that i'm not aware of.</p>
<p>and on top of that, you're going to USC as well with all the benefits of football and the academic diversity to branch outside of your major.</p>
<p>so to actually answer your questions. yes. it's a lot of fundamentals at first, getting progressively more technical and specific, so depending on which way you're oriented, regardless however, it's always manageable. i know plenty of engineers with lives outside of class. i also know engineers with no lives outside of class. i should note though that those engineers still have plenty of free time, they just don't have a life. and hell yes is it fun and enjoyable. except homework, but even then sometimes.</p>
<p>(we're on hard to get in) maybe. usc is getting more selective, but it depends on the year as well. this year, they were far more selective than with my class (2011) because too many of us enrolled. so it could be easier, but regardless, usc is a highly selective university. and finally, I like to think so. there really no part of the university that is looked down upon. i like to think we're one big happy Trojan family</p>
<p>Articdragon: In your opinion what are the hardest classes in BME?</p>
<p>don't know yet, talk to me in about 2 years. i'll be a sophomore, and the only BME class I've taken is BME 101</p>
<p>Tuitionsaver... the hardest BME class is probably 402 (Control and Communication in the Nervous System with Dr. Mel). </p>
<p>But BMEs also have to take OChem, MoBio, Physics, etc...</p>
<p>Thank you CubsRule !</p>
<p>No problem... if you have any more questions just let me know. I am a rising senior in the BME program.</p>
<p>do you believe usc's undergrad computer science department is comparable to uc irvine's ?</p>
<p>it is very misleading when ppl says that USC's engineering ranked 8th. It is for grad school ranking. For undergrad it is hovering around 25th and 30th. I am an EE graduate. I am actually pretty disappointed of the quality of education that USC provide.</p>
<p>Why do you say you are disappointed with the quality of education you received at USC? I heard that USC is trying very hard to get Viterbi Engineering on par with MIT and Stanford. Did you have good job offers upon graduation?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Undergraduate engineering specialties:
Electrical / Electronic / Communications
(At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
Methodology
1 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
2 University of CaliforniaBerkeley *
3 Stanford University (CA)
4 U. of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign *
5 University of MichiganAnn Arbor *
6 Georgia Institute of Technology *
7 California Institute of Technology
8 Cornell University (NY)
9 University of TexasAustin *
10 Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
11 Princeton University (NJ)
12 Purdue Univ.West Lafayette (IN)*
13 Northwestern University (IL)
14 Univ. of CaliforniaSan Diego *
15 Univ. of CaliforniaLos Angeles *
15 Univ. of Southern California
17 Univ. of WisconsinMadison *
17 University of Washington *
17 Virginia Tech *
20 Columbia University (NY)
20 Pennsylvania State U.University Park *
20 Univ. of CaliforniaSanta Barbara *
23 Johns Hopkins University (MD)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
Undergraduate engineering specialties:
Computer Engineering
(At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
Methodology
1 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
2 Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
2 Stanford University (CA)
4 University of CaliforniaBerkeley *
5 U. of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign *
6 Georgia Institute of Technology *
7 University of MichiganAnn Arbor *
8 Cornell University (NY)
8 University of TexasAustin *
10 California Institute of Technology
11 Purdue Univ.West Lafayette (IN)*
12 University of Washington *
13 Princeton University (NJ)
14 Univ. of WisconsinMadison *
15 Univ. of CaliforniaLos Angeles *
16 Northwestern University (IL)
16 Rice University (TX)
18 Univ. of CaliforniaSan Diego *
18 Univ. of Southern California
20 Univ. of MarylandCollege Park *
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I dont care about the rankings (which arent bad, but are not great) - I have had a great undergraduate engineering education at USC. I have been heavily involved in research since my freshman year - an opportunity that is extremely valuable and open to a relatively large number of students (all you have to do is pursue it!).</p>
<p>I feel that lots of EE professors don't care about students at all. I can really get the feeling that professors just want to quickly get over lecture and go do his research. Most engineernig classes are theory-based and lack hand-on projects. The school does not really care about teaching but focus much much more on research. I did do research during undergra though. I am doing grad school for EE right now at USC. I am doing so because I will get my MS at the end of this year, since just one more semester. (4.5years for BS and MS, not a bad deal) If I go elsewhere it will take much longer.</p>
<p>"Most engineernig classes are theory-based and lack hand-on projects."</p>
<p>Almost every single one of my classes has had hands-on projects. You were just in the wrong classes, I guess.</p>
<p>it is not like I don't know what class have handon project or not.</p>
<p>I know...Im just messin. I'm not an EE... and the only EE class Ive taken was 202 and all we did was hands-on stuff in there. Most of my BME classes have been similar.</p>
<p>having too much "theory" and too little hands-on seems to be a pretty common complaint at top-25 engineering schools, with a couple exceptions.</p>
<p>Which EE area of specialization are you guys doing?</p>
<p>undergrad:IC grad: optoelectronic/solid state</p>