Graduate & Professional Degrees

The Master of Urban Planning/Master of Arts, Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere offers an unusually rich opportunity for students interested in developing a new knowledge base to become successful professionals working in the arena of organizing art projects in urban public space, planning and community development. Los Angeles and the facilities at USC provide a unique learning laboratory to educate a more competitive professional with a better understanding of both the administration of public art and issues of urban planning. This dual degree requires 58 units for completion, 26 in Roski and 32 in urban planning in Price.

The Master of Urban Planning/Master of Public Administration dual degree program is designed for the study of the relationships between planning and public administration. Administrative skills, budgeting and fiscal analysis, a knowledge of operations services of local governments, and formulation and conduct of planning operations within the context of municipal management are required. This dual degree program normally requires five semesters in residence.

Requirements

Requirements for completion of the dual degree program are 64 units, including 32 units in public administration (including 8 units of management and analytic electives) and 32 units in urban planning.

The Master of Urban Planning/Master of Real Estate Development dual degree program enables students to expand their skills in planning, land development, market analysis, finance and economics. Exposure to both fields becomes an educational as well as a professional asset for careers in either real estate development or urban planning. This dual degree program normally requires five semesters, including one summer, in residence.

Requirements

A total of 74 units is required for the dual degree, all from within the Price School of Public Policy.

The dual degree program between the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and the USC Price School of Public Policy offers unique opportunities for students who want to devote their professional careers to social policy, social planning or social services delivery. Students with a dual degree will have broader employment options beyond those in traditional planning or social work.

The schedule of courses allows students to experience direct service in the first year so that course work planning is supplemented by a knowledge of consumers, service delivery, etc. Courses for both schools are taken simultaneously, intermingling social work and planning content. Two years of field practicums in social work provide in-depth exposure to social service issues from both planning and direct service perspectives, thus satisfying some of the planning laboratory/workshop requirements and eliminating the need for a separate planning internship requirement.

Requirements

Requirements for completion of the MSW/MUP degree are 77 units including 45 units in social work and 32 units in urban planning. Course requirements in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work include the required courses outlined in the SOWK (Integrative Social Work) (MSW) section of the catalogue. Students will take their remaining MSW units in specialized courses in integrative social work. Students will be advised into the appropriate courses.

The Master of Science in Materials Engineering with an emphasis in Machine Learning is for students who have an interest in materials engineering that includes machine learning toward materials discovery, design and processing. U.S. industry and cybermanufacturing are rapidly moving toward data-driven materials discovery and development. Materials engineering combined with machine learning is a novel emerging field that combines materials modeling, simulations and machine learning together into a new paradigm for materials discovery and cybermanufacturing.

Students with a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil or Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Physics and Chemistry, as well as in industry employees who plan to apply machine learning to their research and development, are ideal candidates for the program.

This degree is awarded in conformity with the general requirements of the Viterbi School of Engineering. Students may elect to work for this degree in either the Materials Science or Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering departments. The specific courses that constitute an acceptable program must be approved in advance by the administering department.

A minimum of 20 of the required 28 units should be Materials Science (MASC), Materials Science electives or cross-listed courses. Any course not on the electives list will require department approval to be applied toward the degree.

Graduation requires 28 units total with 3.0 GPA overall.

For admission requirements, refer to Viterbi Graduate Degrees and Requirements.

Students with an interest in the characterization, selection and processing of engineering materials, and in materials problems related to engineering design may work toward a Master of Science in materials engineering. This degree is awarded in conformity with the general requirements of the Viterbi School of Engineering. Students may elect to work for this degree in either the Materials Science or Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering departments. The specific courses that constitute an acceptable program must be approved in advance by the administering department.

A minimum of 20 of the required 28 units should be Materials Science (MASC) or Materials Science cross-listed courses. MASC 476 Chemical Engineering Materials cannot be applied toward the degree. Approved non-Materials Science courses are listed on the department Website. Any course not on the list will require department approval to be applied toward the degree.

For admission requirements, refer to Viterbi Graduate Degrees and Requirements at USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Students with an interest in the characterization, selection and processing of engineering materials, and in materials problems related to engineering design may work toward a Master of Science in Materials Science. This degree is awarded in conformity with the general requirements of the Viterbi School of Engineering. Students may elect to work for this degree in either the Materials Science or Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering departments. The specific courses that constitute an acceptable program must be approved in advance by the administering department.

Graduation requires 28 units total with 3.0 GPA overall.

For Admission Requirements, refer to USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

The Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Materials Science is awarded in strict conformity with the general requirements of the USC Graduate School. See general requirements for graduate degrees.

Satisfactory completion of at least 60 units of approved graduate-level course work beyond the baccalaureate, with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 is required of all PhD students in engineering. The 60 units minimum include research courses (590, 690, 790) and 4 units of 794a and 794b Doctoral Dissertation. PhD students must also complete the core requirement for their major as listed below. The core courses make a part of the 60 units requirement. The number of units taken at USC can be reduced by transferring graduate credits from another institution. Transfer/Waiver units are subject to approval by the Degree Progress Department (for course work taken at institutions in the United States) or by International Admission (for course work taken at institutions outside the United States), by the faculty adviser, and by each degree's respective department directors. Faculty advisers may also request students to take additional courses outside of the core requirements including specific elective courses.

The PhD program in Material Science requires several foundational courses in materials science and enrollment in the seminar course MASC 598 each semester for two semesters or until passing the qualifying exam, whichever is earlier.

In recent years, data science has undergone dramatic growth, driven by the increasing availability of big data and the advancement of machine learning algorithms. The Mathematical Data Science program combines the theoretical background that forms the backbone of machine learning and statistical methodologies with the skillset needed for successful practical implementation. It is intended for individuals who are seeking or currently hold positions that involve statistical methodology and practice and want to understand the key mathematical principles behind them. 

By fostering a thorough and rigorous comprehension of the mathematical foundations underlying contemporary algorithms, graduates of the program will understand the current data science landscape and will be equipped with the intellectual tools necessary to pioneer future advancements and solutions in the field. In addition to a core set of required coursework that provides a solid mathematical foundation, students may orient their course of study toward a particular field of application through appropriate selections from the program electives.

Program Requirements

At least 32 units are required, including:

The objective of this Master of Science program is to produce graduates with a rigorous foundation in the economic theory and mathematical modeling of financial markets. The program creates an integrated curriculum spanning four disciplines: economics, mathematics, econometrics/statistics and computational/numerical analysis. The program is designed for recent graduates in the fields of applied mathematics, physics and engineering – or for graduates in economics, business and finance with strong mathematical backgrounds – who wish to pursue quantitatively oriented careers in financial institutions, industry or government.

Admission Requirements

Refer to the Requirements for Graduation section and the Graduate School section of this catalogue for general regulations. All applicants are recommended to take the GRE General Test. Complete transcripts of undergraduate and any graduate level courses are required, as well as a statement of purpose and three recommendation letters. A substantial undergraduate background in mathematics is required, which should include one semester of real analysis or advanced calculus, one semester of linear algebra and one semester of advanced probability/statistics. Candidates with weaker backgrounds may be required to take mathematics classes prior to admission to the program. An undergraduate knowledge of microeconomics and of macroeconomics, and partial differential equations is helpful, although it is not required for admission. Some experience in Matlab and C/C++ programming is also useful.

Course Requirements

Thirty-one units of course work are required, six core courses and four elective courses. Students are required to satisfy a summative experience for degree completion. This will be in the form of registration in 1 unit of MATH 590 Directed Research with a summative report at the end of the term. Topics of research will be determined by the program director. The program consists of: