<p>Another thread comparing engineering between two schools, but I don't see much posted on the differences between USC and UCLA engineering in the last 12 months and results are rolling out of schools in next two weeks. Not looking for location, price or generic stuff, but more the meat of the programs. S is likely in UCLA for EE and waiting on USC. Is one better preparation for the job market following undergrad versus graduate school? Is one more research based versus hands on? In industry, does one school get better recruiters and opportunities? Do you get into engineering classes in the first year or two, or waiting till jr/sr year to really get into it? Specifically looking at EE and CS, but obviously open to all engineering discussion comparing USC with UCLA. Thanks for any comments in advance.</p>
<p>It is pretty clear who is the better contender… UCLA is where engineering history is made. For USC… pretty minimal in comparison. However, if you have the option to go to UC Berkeley for engineering, than that is even better than both UCLA and USC. But if youre left with both options of UCLA and USC, than it is clear that you want to go to UCLA for CS or EE. Every major employer knows that UCLA is the birthplace of the foundations of the internet. Also last time I checked, UCLA ranked higher in every category for engineering for USNEWS, and USC people love to use USNEWS as their source of arguments… Government data also shows that USC does not show up in the rankings for engineering job prospects around the world, but UCLA makes the list (of course, since they are more prestigious internationally). </p>
<p>All in all, if you do have the choice, ditch UCLA and USC, and go for UC Berkeley if you can. Stanford is even better.</p>
<p>Hello, I’m a current senior studying engineering at USC (BME with an
Electrical Emphasis), and I can’t speak to UCLA’s program, but I can
definitely provide a USC perspective!</p>
<p>Every engineering student at USC takes engineering classes right away
their first year. This let me hit the ground running and also let me
test out my major right away and ensure I was in the right one for me. I
stuck with BME, but some of my classmates switched to other engineering
majors and none of us ended up behind at all and will graduate in 4
years. You pretty much keep a steady stream of engineering classes all
four years here, and it creates a very well-paced program.</p>
<p>As far as jobs, USC has two career fairs and the Viterbi School of
Engineering has two of it’s own as well each year. This is on top of
countless other recruiting events. Check out this list of
companies which came just this spring to recruit Viterbi students:
<a href=“http://viterbi.usc.edu/assets/150/84005.pdf[/url]”>http://viterbi.usc.edu/assets/150/84005.pdf</a>
I personally know CS and EE majors who have worked with Microsoft,
Boeing, JPL, Intel, Disney, Qualcomm, just to name a few. I feel like
Viterbi and USC do a great job preparing students for industry and also
helping us find jobs. The Viterbi Career Center also provides lots of
workshops and one on one help with the job hunt. Some of my friends even
got internships for the summer after freshman year, which is fantastic
preparation for industry! I studied abroad one summer, interned last summer, and already have an internship lined up for this summer before I come back and finish my Masters. I had multiple offers both summers, and my experience is not atypical.</p>
<p>All my friends who have decided to go to grad school instead of jumping into industry have also had great success and also have multiple acceptances to choose between.</p>
<p>For both classes and job hunting, it’s worth considering that USC has a much smaller undergrad student body, and I’ve definitely felt well-supported as a result. There are just over 400 incoming freshmen in Viterbi each year, so it’s a very close community that I love being a part of.</p>
<p>USC also has played host to its fair share of engineering landmarks, and
I think it’s important to note that right now we are on the cutting edge
in many areas including quantum computing, cyber-security, and BioMEMS. As far as
USNEWS, UCLA and USC are actually tied in the 2012 overall rankings, and
both are on the Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs list for
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. At the grad level, USC is a
top 10 Engineering School. I know we are considered very
prestigious internationally as well.</p>
<p>Steve
University of Southern California
BS Biomedical Engineering (Electrical Engineering), 2013</p>
<p>When was the last time you checked the USNews rankings? Unfortunately, free access to undergrad rankings is limited, and based on a quick glance, neither UCLA nor USC showed up in the top (freely viewable) spots.</p>
<p>FWIW, the 2014 grad rankings list USC engineering at #9 and UCLA at #17. But spot checking departmental rankings (limited free access) also resulted in no hits for UCLA or USC.</p>
<p>I spoke not too long ago with a recruiter for one of these Silicon Beach companies founded by former Googlers. I asked him what schools they target. That particular company has a strong bias in favor of MIT because that’s where the founder studied. Neither UCLA nor USC made his top 10. CMU did…</p>
<p>USNews ranking has an East Coast bias. I would check out Times Higher Education rankings and the ARWU rankings. I believe they are much more accurate.</p>
<p>Just want to throw a couple other links into here. I linked to a list of companies which came to just the most recent career expo, but some companies come only in fall, and the companies do vary slightly year to year, so here is the Viterbi careers website: [USC</a> - Viterbi School of Engineering - Career Services](<a href=“http://viterbi.usc.edu/careers]USC”>http://viterbi.usc.edu/careers)</p>
<p>Also, I suggest you check out [Viterbi</a> Voices - Student Voices of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.](<a href=“http://viterbivoices.usc.edu%5DViterbi”>http://viterbivoices.usc.edu) for other student perspectives on undergrad life at USC (from a variety of majors)</p>
<p>Hey Steve, thanks for your posts. Like to hear that a student gets into engineering in first year as I know they have all the diversity requirements in their GEs. Here’s an important factor in son’s decision…100% engineering kid, no question of that, brain is wired for it. But, he wasn’t sure between EE and CS and applied to EE (cause at a lot of schools you have to pick one) after talking to some industry folks we know (we are not engineers). However, I think his heart may belong to CS but as you prob know, he may not have the easiest time changing at places like the UCs and Cal Poly. Ponders an EE major CS minor, but again, maybe not possible everywhere. Berkeley of course is an EECS program, but no news on that yet and getting in there can be random, plus he loves LA. After all this rambling my question is, can he select between EE and CS or whatever engineering discipline pretty easy at SC if he is accepted into Viterbi? I believe for SC he just applied to Viterbi, so I may know the answer to that, but would like your perspective on the ability to find your true passion within engineering, being that most 17 year olds haven’t had the experience to truly know. Thanks Viterbistudent Steve.</p>
<p>No problem! Funny you should ask - the flexibility in changing majors is actually one of the main reasons I chose USC.</p>
<p>It couldn’t be easier to switch between engineering majors in Viterbi. Like you said, you’re admitted to Viterbi as a whole, including every single major and emphasis. To change your major, all it takes is a quick appointment with your adviser! Before you change, you can even take classes in both majors to try them out (he could start first semester with the EE or CS intro course and evaluate after that!). I have plenty of friends who have changed their majors (some multiple times), and lots of students come in as undeclared engineering. You don’t even have to figure it out freshman year. The advisers are great at helping you find a course plan where you can change even later and still graduate in 4 years. Same for minors. I literally came in knowing I wanted to minor in something but had no idea what, so I told my adviser and she helped me make a schedule where I didn’t have to choose until sophomore spring (when I ended up choosing Video Game Design and Management)</p>
<p>I totally understand where your Son is coming from. In high school I knew I wanted to be an engineer but definitely wasn’t sure about what major to actually choose. Most high schoolers feel the same way, and so do a lot of freshman engineers, so your son would not be alone here!</p>
<p>USC also provides tons of resources for helping students find their major. We have the freshman academy class (which all Viterbi freshmen take) where they will meet students from every major and upperclassmen mentors can guide them in their choice. There are also spotlight series events where alumni and professors talk about each field, and student clubs for each major also serve as great resources for finding your passion.</p>
<p>Thanks ViterbiStudent, appreciate your time and thoughtful answers. Yes, the ability to discover and change is an important factor and if we choose USC will be one of the primary reasons besides the obvious others. Last question, do they do housing at all by major? I know they have you fill out a “common interest/behavior” form, but are there some dorms more engineeringish than others? If not, any recommendations? I am familiar with the campus.</p>
<p>Based on my 30 years (gaaack!) of working in high-tech, when it comes to engineering degrees, no employer is going to make a big distinction between USC and UCLA.</p>
<p>Hi, sorry for the delayed response, I got sidetracked by spring break!</p>
<p>Housing is not done at all by major. Sometimes engineers end up choosing to live with each other if they meet on a campus visit or in the admitted students facebook group (<a href=“https://www.facebook.com/groups/130541610441934/[/url]”>https://www.facebook.com/groups/130541610441934/</a>), but there’s no official reason to live together, and no dorm which is more engineering than others. </p>
<p>I encourage you to check out the housing video we recently published which addresses exactly these questions (we get them a lot!). One thing we cut for brevity was the listing of everyone’s roommates’ majors, but I’d say it was 25% engineers, 75% non-engineers. [A</a> Look at USC Housing! - YouTube](<a href=“A Look at USC Housing! - YouTube”>A Look at USC Housing! - YouTube)</p>
<p>Personally, I loved living in Birnkrant and I love the traditional dorm-style living, so anything like Birnkrant, Marks Tower, Pardee Tower, or New North would be my personal recommendation, but honestly I think people tend to like where they live and are biased towards that, haha. Suite or apartment are a different atmosphere where you get a lot of interaction with a smaller group of 8ish roommates (in 4 bedrooms with a common area) and people tend to like that too.</p>
<p>@ViterbiStudent: My kid is thinking of switching from BioChemistry to BioMedical engineering after the first year at USC, do you have any advice on it?</p>
<p>I’m not personally sure what the process is for transferring into Viterbi, but I have multiple friends who have done it successfully so I know it’s possible. </p>
<p>Personally I love BME, so I’d be in favor of it, but his adviser might be more helpful?</p>
<p>Thanks ViterbiStudent. Do your friends find it hard to catch up?</p>
<p>They are all on track to graduate on time, so I think they did ok!</p>
<p>To clarify, is your student a current freshman (aka they’d be hoping to transfer to Viterbi for their 3rd semester?)</p>
<p>I asked around a little bit to get more information, and regardless (whether students have already completed several semesters or haven’t even gone to freshman orientation yet), they should contact Viterbi as soon as possible to learn about and start the pre-engineering process and enroll in courses towards an engineering degree. Contact the Viterbi admissions staff at: <a href=“mailto:viterbi.admission@usc.edu”>viterbi.admission@usc.edu</a>, PH: 213.740.4530</p>
<p>
USC and UCLA are both on the west coast, so I’m not sure why this would matter…</p>
<p>Thanks ViterbiStudent for your help, and yes, he is a freshman this year at USC going to finish up his 2nd semester and looking to transfer the coming fall.</p>
Hi Steve! So I’m just thinking about USC as a potential choice for BME. My main concern is the structure of the program; I heard someone at UCB say it wasn’t very structured and overall hard to complete and graduate on time. I was wondering how much structure the USC program has.