<p>does anyone know much about this? it seems interesting and im curious what the major really entails and what it prepares you for and what the coursework is like. any help is appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>Its basically the equivalent of EECS at Cal, with the exception that the EE portion is very focused on computers. Essentially, its electrical engineering for computers tied with computer science. This is not an easy major. Not easy at all.</p>
<p>Is it hard to maintain a 3.0 in this program?</p>
<p>It's difficult to say. In the beginning, the courses aren't too bad. Once you get into your soph year though, thats when it starts getting difficult (especially for CS). Maintaining a 3.0 is highly dependent on the amount of effort you input. If you're just average, expect to get a 2.7 - 3.0 in your CS courses, and 3.0-3.3 in your EE. Your GEs will serve as buffers for what would otherwise be a cataclysmic drop in GPA. Just kidding. </p>
<p>Like I said though, your GPA is predicated on your effort. </p>
<p>Here's a quick, anecdotal, summary of the average scores in each course that I have taken:</p>
<p>CS101: Intro to Programming (Object Oriented)
Class Average: C/C+</p>
<p>CS102: Data Structures
Class Average: B-/B</p>
<p>CS201: Software Engineering
Class Average: C+/B-</p>
<p>CS271: Discrete Methods
Class Average: B-</p>
<p>EE101: Digital Logic
Class Average: B+</p>
<p>EE201: Digital Systems
Class Average: B+</p>
<p>Now that I look back, it seems that the EE courses are subject to high grade inflation. Though in my mind the material is tougher than CS (or maybe I'm just more concentrated in CS since I'm not even a freaking EE major and have no clue as to why I have to take EE classes), EE profs are generally more lenient with grading curves.</p>
<p>Im a comp sci/business admin major. Getting a 3.0 in a major like comp sci isn't very difficult as long as you're willing to put in the work. Comp sci, i think, requires you to have the ability to see the big picture and be able to break it down to the smallest piece, and get those small pieces to work with each other (i hope this makes sense). Also, you have to be willing to spend sometimes large amounts of time figuring out why your project doesn't work, when the problem might be you left out a single character in your code. All in all, a 3.0 in comp sci is very possible with some effort and patience.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Here's a quick, anecdotal, summary of the average scores in each course that I have taken:</p>
<p>CS101: Intro to Programming (Object Oriented)
Class Average: C/C+</p>
<p>CS102: Data Structures
Class Average: B-/B</p>
<p>CS201: Software Engineering
Class Average: C+/B-</p>
<p>CS271: Discrete Methods
Class Average: B-</p>
<p>EE101: Digital Logic
Class Average: B+</p>
<p>EE201: Digital Systems
Class Average: B+
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Of the above courses, the only course that might be difficult is Data Structures, very time consuming from my experience(not from SC though).</p>
<p>USC EE grad in the news.</p>
<p>U.S</a>. Upstart Takes On TV Giants in Price War - WSJ.com</p>
<p>I wonder why no one is getting A's. Do the students have computer sci. background and experience? I could be wrong, but my impression is that people either find comp sci. easy or hard. Do the kids seek out help from their professors and TA's?</p>
<p>To busiman: How do you like the Business Admin program? I think Business is very practical when it is time to look for a job.</p>
<p>hmm, im starting to think i should stick to EE unless i find myself REALLY into CS. this degree sounds like after a year or two i will just hate it or love it with the former being a strong possibility</p>
<p>What makes you think there are no A's?</p>
<p>I wouldn't advise picking a major based on the above. For one thing, class averages tend to vary somewhat from semester to semester, i.e., most of those classes are based on absolute grading scales that are uniform across time, instead of curving to an average grade for each semester (does what I'm saying make any sense?)</p>
<p>Plus, honestly, there isn't any overall grade inflation in either department. A couple classes might have higher average grades for various reasons, but that's hardly representative of all courses.</p>
<p>i wasn't saying that based on the grade inflation comment. more based on my only CS class i have taken, while being the most interesting class i took at a program last summer, was unbelievably time consuming relative to other work. since that was a first level java course i can't imagine the workload gets lighter from there. i feel that since the programs will be closely linked that i can take a semster or two before deciding</p>
<p>I heard the goal of USC is to make Viterbi Engineering on par with Stanford, MIT and Cal Tech. My son was extremely impressed with the state of the art equipment he saw at Viterbi on Explore Day--one of the best he has ever seen.
Also, I think a lot of these top majors-cinema, CS, Annenberg, etc. have students with a passion and inner drive for these areas and reallly enjoy them.</p>
<p>It depends on the person. I know somebody that I worked with said she could do CS with one hand tied behind her back while she was weeded out of the EE program at Texas A&M. My preference was EE because I dislike programming. EE also takes time because you have to build stuff in your lab but I think CS is more useful now.</p>
<p>mdcissp- The business program here is very good. Rankings-wise, Marshall is top ten nationally. The classes are very interesting and the professors are great. Having a business background is something that is very practical when searching for jobs in engineering, and of course having an engineering background when searching for jobs in business/finance. For me, business was my first interest and i hope to get a job in business where i can utilize my engineering background as well, so this combined major was a great opportunity to get a background in both areas.</p>
<p>Light</a> Reading - Cisco - Tony Li - Telecom</p>
<p>This guy is a legend among the networking industry.</p>
<p>^thanks, but im actually wondering a lot more about the undergrad. it seem weird to me, and i know the rankings are pointless but relatively speak, that the undergrad is ranked significantly lower than the grad school. i hear about all these grade USC grad students but it just seems weird that there is such a discrepency, especially since many undergrads do the 4+1 program and go straight to getting a master</p>
<p>I believe there is always some synergy from the grad and undergrad degrees because it will be the same professors and tons of research, which should help an undergrad gets some experience. Similar to Stanford. Sorry, I'm not aware of the 4+1 program. But my guess is that the 4+1 program allows one to get a master degree in one year vs completing a master degree later on, which will take 2+ years and you still have to apply. 4+1 is shorter, possible no GRE test. That may explain why a lot of students go to 4+1 program.</p>
<p>may not have been clear, im not really wonder why people do the 4+1 (it makes sense in a lot of ways), my question more pertains the why it is that the grad school and the undergrad are so far away in rankings. it seems odd that it is 29th in undergrad but 7th in grad. maybe this is just another reason why rankings are flawed, but that just seems strange, most of the other top 10 ranked grad programs are also top 10 undergrad.</p>
<p>Oh I see. I don't know but I wouldn't worry too much about these rankings. They are not that accurate. I use it to look up schools that I have not heard about. My knowledge of these engineering schools came from years of interviewing fresh new candidates from the East Coast, Midwest, and Nor Cal. I've also worked and went to school in the East Coast,South Cal, Nor Cal. So it derives from working knowledge in the field.</p>