Frequently Asked Questions
You may talk to departmental faculty if you would like advice on career paths and electives. Students are strongly encouraged to meet or otherwise communicate with the student services advisor for program questions, academic concerns, or any deviation from program requirements.
SAE Ph.D. students meet with Luis Saballos:
OHE 500Q
(213) 821-4234
lsaballo@usc.edu
SAE master's and graduate certificate students contact Prisila Cisneros Vasquez:
OHE 500U/V
213-764-7919
prisilac@usc.edu
A program condition of admission, or ADM 20 hold, is placed by the graduate admissions office when a student is recently admitted into a program. There are various reasons this hold can be placed on a student record, such as a lower than 3.0 GPA when applying to the program, lack of a prerequisite course or academic background, or others. An ADM20 hold will not prevent you from registering. Reach out to the graduate admissions office to learn about the specific reason. Unless specified, you are expected to meet a condition within the first 1-2 semesters. After fulfilling the condition, the ADM 20 hold will automatically turn into an ADM 21 hold, which can then be lifted by reaching out to the program advisor with ample time. If you cannot meet the condition, the SAE advisor will review the records to determine continuance in the program.
Conditionally admitted based on prerequisite: A student who has not satisfied the program's prerequisites, such as the fundamental knowledge needed to start the degree. Upon a student's arrival at USC, we will conduct a review to determine which, if any, prerequisite courses a student will need to take at USC as part of the degree program. While these prerequisites may reduce flexibility when choosing electives, they usually do not require a longer-than-normal program.
Conditionally admitted based on GPA or GRE scores: Adding an ADM20 hold based on the undergraduate GPA or GRE scores below the program’s minimum standards. Aside from these numbers, admissions sees the student as showing promise, and offers a form of admissions. However, admission is conditional on performance in the first 6 units completed at USC. If, for some reason, you are unable to attain a GPA in excess of 3.0 in the first 6 units, the program will reach out to the student to discuss program status, and potential remedies.
Admitted students sign up for courses through myUSC > WebReg. When facing an issue with registering, the system will show a notification with details about the restriction, hold, or other issue.
Prerequisite: Some courses have prerequisite requirements that need to be satisfied. A student needs to reach out to the desired course's department (ie ISE department for ISE courses) and ask for a prerequisite waiver. Typically, some experience and/or knowledge equivalent to the prerequisite course is needed in order to receive the waiver. Have supporting documents (syllabus, course description, etc) ready for the department.
Holds/restrictions: Students can see any active holds or restrictions on their myUSC > OASIS > Holds/Restrictions. Detail of the hold, action required, and office information is given. Some holds, such as STU50, prevent registration access until settled.
D-clearance: If a course has a "D" designated after the 5-digit section number (such as 35100D), departmental clearance ("d-clearance") is required prior to registration.
- On-campus sections: Contact your designated advisor to receive d-clearance for SAE and ASTE on-campus courses. For other engineering courses, visit their website to find out their process for their courses, or contact their designated advisor. AME, BME, CE, CSCI, EE, ENE, and ISE require students to complete on-campus d-clearance requests via the d-clearance request manager on myViterbi. Please pay special attention to the departmental announcements on the myViterbi system indicating when non-major students are eligible to request D-Clearance.
- DEN@Viterbi sections: All DEN@Viterbi sections require d-clearance. DEN students must use the online d-clearance request tool via myViterbi. Additional information can be found on the DEN@Viterbi Student Services website.
To officially enroll into a DEN section as an on-campus student, fill out the DEN petition on myViterbi. Note that undergraduate students in PDP programs or undergraduate students taking graduate courses for undergraduate credit cannot petition for the DEN section and must take the course in-person. International students must also take all courses in-person to comply with visa statuses and not risk their degree validity in their home country.
On-campus students also have access to the course via DEN's course management system, including webcasts, course documents, and access to other interactive tools to communicate with your professor and other students.
A master student may transfer a maximum of 4 units of graduate course work taken elsewhere before your admission to USC. The graduate coursework cannot apply to previous graduate degree. Before a transfer course can be applied towards your degree program, the course will need to be evaluated for transfer credit. You need to contact the Degree Progress in the Office Academic of Records and Registrar at (213) 740-7070 or degreeprogress@usc.edu to request a graduate transfer credit evaluation. The Degree Progress Office will determine whether the course is available for transfer credit. More information on the process can be found on the Office of Academic Records and Registrar website.
After determining its availability for transfer on a university level, then Dr. Madni will determine whether the course is applicable towards your degree program, as he has the final say.
DEN “Limited Status” students: The DEN program will send an email (USC email account) with registration information. Registering for classes go through the DEN team.
DEN “Admitted” students: The Registration Office and the DEN program will sent an email (to your USC email account) with registration information. Advisors will also send information about open registration dates before the beginning of each semester.
The USC Schedule of Classes Registration Calendar lists important registration dates as well. Can find by clicking the desired semester, and looking through the side tabs on the lefthand side.