What Students Say
Likes
- Strong alumni network (Trojan Family)
- Good computer architecture program with in depth Courses and labs on CPU and GPUs and expert faculty in hardware design. Research centers like ISI, Labs as sportlab, scip-lab
- Lot of Campus events and activities, min 3 events per week
Dislikes
- The surrounding area faces issues with homelessness and crime.
- Tuition, housing, and living expenses in Los Angeles are high, Even USC is a expensive Private college
- No RA and TA for Graduate students in Viterbi, Only PhD students.
Course Curriculum
- Difficulty level of your course curriculum: Hard, mix of both theoretical and practical
- Positive aspects : Industry-aligned coursework: Projects like ML Hardware Accelerator and AXI Interconnect Design mirror real-world challenges in semiconductor and computing industries.
- Negative aspects : Course availability: High-demand electives have limited seats
Admission Experience
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I applied to five colleges in total. Below is a detailed breakdown of my application outcomes and reflections on the rejection:
Application Status Overview
1. University of Southern California: Admitted
2. University of Maryland, College Park: Admitted
3. Penn State University: Admitted
4. University of Colorado Boulder: Admitted
5. Purdue University: RejectedConfirmed Admissions
I received admission offers from:
1. University of Southern California
2. University of Maryland, College Park
3. Penn State University
4. University of Colorado BoulderRejection
1. Purdue University: Rejected -
Reasons for Rejection at Purdue University
While Purdue’s prestige and competitiveness likely played a role, other factors may include: -
Program-specific competition: Purdue’s engineering and computer science programs are highly selective, which may have raised the bar for academic credentials or extracurricular alignment.
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Good computer architecture program with in depth Courses like Digital System Design and Computer Architecture and labs on CPU and GPUs and expert faculty in hardware design. Research centers like ISI, Labs as sportlab, scip-lab.
professors like Gandhi Puvvada, Massoud Pedram and Murali annavaram made me choose USC.
1. I applied for the Fall intake.
2. I completed and submitted my application for the Fall intake by mid-December.
3. In the third week of December, I had my Letters of Recommendation (LOR) and IELTS scores sent to USC to support my application.
4. After submitting all the necessary documents, I had to wait for the admission decision. During this time, I kept checking in with the admissions office for any updates, but there was no immediate response.
5. I finally received my acceptance letter in the first week of April, marking the end of the waiting period and the official confirmation of my admission.
Class Schedule
- Max 2 classes in day. Depends on what course you take.
- Student in class vary from 20-120
- 30-50% of class is Indian students
Faculty
- Faculty-to-student ratio in my course : 20:1
- Yes its influence the quality of education. Courses and Teaching assistant and course producers to interact.
- No, faculty members doesn't assist students in finding part-time or full-time jobs through their personal networks.
- Faculty members are professionals.
- Gandhi Puvvada I admire the most, His courses are Industry-aligned
Campus Life
- The University of Southern California (USC) has 2 primary campuses: University Park Campus (main campus) and Health Sciences Campus.
- Libraries: 23 campus libraries with tech-enhanced study spaces
- Sports: Lyon Center (fitness, group exercise), Galen Center, Dalands Swim Stadium,
- Medical: Engemann Student Health Center (primary/specialty care, pharmacy), Keck Hospital
Part Time Jobs
- Graduate students are not typically accepted for Teaching Assistant (TA), Research Assistant (RA).
- Typical pay range is 20$/hour
- Other on-campus jobs are Student worker and USC bookstore, Lab assistant, ITS worker, USC auxiliary worker, Grader.
- Maximum hours of work allowed per week is 20hours/week. During Holiday 40H/week
- Very hard to find on campus part time job. Due to lot of international grad students
- Students typically earn 18$/hour in their part-time jobs. Very hard to find on campus part time job. Due to lot of international grad students. Search for job openings Use Handshake or ConnectSC. Attend on-campus job fairs. Apply directly through Handshake or ConnectSC . Prepare a resume and any required documents. If selected, attend interviews with department supervisors.
Placement
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Graduates of the University of Southern California’s Master’s in Computer Engineering program benefit from strong employment outcomes, with 95% job placement rates.
$100,000–$150,000 is the typical starting salary for USC computer engineering graduates.
Since the job market is down. Hard to find job.
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Recent graduates report placements at leading companies in diverse roles:
Apple: Digital Design Engineer
NVIDIA: GPU Architecture Engineer
Intel: Design Verification Engineer, CPU engineer
Accommodation
- Found my accommodation via WhatsApp groups.
- Monthly rents vary from 700-1600 based on no. of sharing in a room
- Challenge was to find a good roommates, since we are moving to new country
- Search for accommodation with friends on university WhatsApp groups
- Accommodation is 10 min walk from campus. 0.5 miles. Most of the students stay in the same area as I'm
Exams
- For the Master's in Computer Engineering program at USC, the only required exam was the IELTS. GRE optional
- Documents required: Statement of Purpose, LOR, CV, IELTS Scorecard, Degree Certificate and Transcript.
- No, there was no interview as part of my application process for USC. The admission decision was based on the documents I submitted, including my Statement of Purpose, LORs, CV, IELTS score, and academic transcripts.
Fees
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Full Fee Breakdown
1. TuitionGraduate Engineering Tuition: $2,543 per unit1
Total Units: 28 units
Total Tuition: ~$71,204 (28 units × $2,543)
2. Mandatory Fees
Per Semester: $873 (includes programming, transportation, and student aid fees)1
Total for 4 Semesters:$3,492
3. Health Insurance
Annual Cost: $6,080 (Fall: $1,063; Spring/Summer: $1,977)1
4. Housing
Estimated Annual Cost: $9,600 (off-campus)24 month*800/per
Housing (2 years): $38,4005. Additional Costs
Personal Expenses: ~$2,700 annually
Personal Expenses (2 years): $5,400 -
Total Estimated Program Cost: ~ $105,376 (including tuition, fees, insurance, housing, and ancillary expenses)159
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Fee Charging Structure
Tuition: Credit-based/International wire (charged per semester)1
Mandatory Fees: Semester-wise (fixed per term)1
Housing/Insurance: off campus, Monthly
Scholarship
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No i didn't receive any scholarship during the course.
USC Viterbi offers several competitive scholarships for graduate students, though availability is limited due to high demand. -
Challenges
Competitiveness: Merit-based scholarships are rare for on-campus graduate students due to USC’s focus on undergraduate financial aid (20% of undergraduates receive aid vs. <1% of International graduates). -
External Funding: Many students rely on external scholarships (Domestic)
International just on On campus jobs
