Academic FAQ's

D-Clearance stands for Departmental Clearance and it is required for courses which have a class number ending with D. To obtain clearance you will need to apply online via the Viterbi D-Clearance Request Manager at: http://myviterbi.usc.edu. Once granted, the D-clearance will have an expiration date in your email notification. Please add the course before your d-clearance expires. We will not extend d-clearance. Please note: The CS department does not grant D-clearance over the phone, email or in person.

If a class number ends in “R” (ex: 000-00000R), you can register directly if you meet the pre-requisite through USC Web Registration.

If you fail to register before your d-clearance expires, you will need to request a deletion through the system. Once the deletion request has been processed, you will need to re-submit your d-clearance request, which will put you at the bottom of the queue. No exceptions.

You can change your specialization only after completing your first semester at USC. However, during your first semester you may enroll courses that will apply towards your desired specialization. Please email us after your first semester grades are released on OASIS to initiate the change of specialization. Be sure to email from your USC account and include your USC ID number.

You can transfer a maximum of 7 graduate units to USC towards your MS degree in Computer Science. You first need to have your transfer courses evaluated by the Registrar’s Office. Once approved by the Registrar’s office, you will need to email the syllabus of the course(s) to the CS department for final approval.

Students must be directly admitted to our programs when they apply to USC. We do not accept transfers into our department at the graduate level from other departments/programs.

Prior Degree Verification is a hold that is controlled by the USC Registrar (JHH Lobby). The CS department will not be able to waive this hold nor grant special requests such as extending d-clearance for students that have such a hold.

You can register for classes online at USC’s Online Registration System (WebReg). Access the system through your MyUSC Web Portal. You can also register in person at the Registration Office (JHH Lobby).

It depends. Pre-requisites for 400-level approved CS graduate courses can be waived as you have completed the pre-requisites in your undergraduate degree.

For certain 500 level CS courses faculty members may give you permission to enroll in the course without having taken the pre-requisite. In those instances you must provide an approval email from the instructor of the course to your MS advisor. Please note that you will not be able to take the pre-requisite course for unit credit or GPA credit in future semesters. (For example, if you received instructor approval to take CSCI 586 without taking 585 before you will not be able to take 585 in future semesters for unit and GPA credit. No Exceptions.)
For courses that have EE-450 as pre-requisites you must either pass the placement exam or have earned a “B-” or better in the course at USC to satisfy the pre-requisite requirement. No Exceptions.

An international MS student needs to be enrolled in a minimum of 8 units each semester to maintain a full time status. Requesting an RCL allows international students to enroll in a minimum of 4 units in a semester and still have a full time status.

You are allowed to take RCL only once in your Masters Program in the first semester. You may qualify for a second RCL in your final semester if you need less than 8 units to finish your degree. To file for an RCL, please see the GAPP office in OHE 106.

For more information on RCL(s) visit the following website.

Once you obtain permission to register for a course, on the web registration you can select your grade option to be “Audit”. Please note that audited units do not count towards the enrollment status and will not earn you degree credit. You must pay full tuition and fees when auditing.

The CS department does not offer a placement exam for CSCI 402. Please see the Prerequisite Information page for additional information about the CSCI 402 prerequisite and the EE 450 prerequisite. The EE department does offer a placement examination for EE 450.
The placement exam for EE-450 which is also a pre-requisite for a few CS courses can be taken twice.

If you are interested in working on research during your MS degree, you have an opportunity to obtain credit through CSCI-590. Students are responsible to seek Computer Science Faculty who are willing to supervise a research project. After the there is an agreement between the student a faculty member please apply online here.

Additional Directed Research information and instructions can be found here.