Computer Science

Return to: USC Viterbi School of Engineering  

Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center 104
(213) 740-4494
FAX: (213) 740-7285
Email: csdept@usc.edu
Chair: Cyrus Shahabi, PhD

Faculty

Chan Soon-Shiong Chair: Maja Matarić, PhD (Neuroscience Center)

Dean’s Chair in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science: Priya Vashishta, PhD (Computer Science, Physics)

Andrew and Erna Viterbi Early Career Chair: Nora Ayanian, PhD

Andrew and Erna Viterbi Early Career Chair: Jernej Barbic, PhD

Philip and Cayley MacDonald Endowed Early Career Chair: Yan Liu, PhD

Gordon S. Marshall Chair in Engineering: Urbashi Mitra, PhD

Jack Munishian Early Career Chair; Zohrab A. Kaprielian Fellow in Engineering: Fei Sha, PhD

Niki and Max Nikias Chair in Engineering: Shrikanth (Shri) Narayanan, PhD

Northrup Grumman Chair in Engineering: Ramesh Govindan, PhD

Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Chair in Computer Science: Gaurav Sukhatme, PhD

David Packard Chair in Manufacturing Engineering: Stephen C-Y Lu, PhD (Mechanical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering)

Charles Lee Powell Chair in Engineering: Viktor Prasanna, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Charles Lee Powell Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science: Massoud Pedram, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Henry Salvatori Chair in Computer Science: Leonard M. Adleman, PhD

Andrew and Erna Viterbi Early Career Chair: Hao Li, PhD

Dean’s Professor of Computer Science: Ramakant Nevatia, PhD

Helen N. & Emmett H. Jones Professorship in Engineering: Cyrus Shahabi, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering and Spatial Sciences)

Seeley G. Mudd Professor of Engineering: Shanghua Teng, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Computer Science; TRW Professor of Software Engineering: Barry Boehm, PhD

WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor: Heather Culbertson, PhD

WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor: Bistra Dilkina, PhD

WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor: Aleksandra Korolova, PhD

Professors: Leonard Adleman, PhD (Molecular Biology); Barry Boehm, PhD (Industrial and Systems Engineering); Leana Golubchik, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Ramesh Govindan, PhD; Ellis Horowitz, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Ming-Deh Huang, PhD; Laurent Itti, PhD (Neuroscience Center);  David Kempe, PhD; Sven Koenig, PhD; Maja Matarić, PhD (Neuroscience Center); Nenad Medvidovic, PhD; Aiichiro Nakano, PhD (Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics); Ulrich Neumann, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Ramakant Nevatia, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Paul Rosenbloom, PhD; Cyrus Shahabi, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Gaurav Sukhatme, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Shanghua Teng, PhD

Associate Professors: Jernej Barbic, PhD; Shaddin Dughmi, PhD; Shahram Ghandeharizadeh, PhD; William GJ Halfond, PhD; Fei Sha, PhD; Yan Liu, PhD, Chao Wang, PhD

Assistant Professors: Nora Ayanian, PhD; Heather Culbertson, PhD; Jyotirmony Vinay Deshmukh, PhD; Bistra Dilkina, PhD; Aleksandra Korolova, PhD; Hao Li, PhD; Joseph Lim, PhD; Haipeng Luo, PhD; Barath Raghavan, PhD; Mukund Rahtorhaman, Phd; Xiang Ren, PhD; 

Joint Professors: Murali Annavaram, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Irving Biederman, PhD (Psychology, Neuroscience); Todd Brun, Morteza Dehghani, PhD (Psychology and Computer Science); Satyandra K Gupta, PhD (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering); Rahul Jain, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Adel Javanmad PhD (Data Sciences and Operations); Rajiv Kalia, PhD (Physics); Carl Kesselman, PhD (Industrial and Systems Engineering); Bhaskar Krishnamachari, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); C-C Jay Kuo, PhD (Signal and Image Processing); Stephen Lu, PhD (Industrial and Systems Engineering); Urbashi Mitra, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Shrikanth (Shri) Narayanan, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Hamid Nazerzadeh, PhD (Data Sciences and Operations); Andrew Nealen, PhD (Cinematic Arts); Pierluigi Nuzzo, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Viktor Prasanna, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Konstantinos Psounis, PhD; Xuehai Qian, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); C.S. Raghavendra, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Meisam Razaviyayn (Industrial and Systems Engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering); Benjamin Reichardt, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Remo Rohs, PhD (Computational Biology); Nicolas Schweighofer, PhD (Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy); Mahdi Soltanolkotabi, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Tianshu Sun, PhD (Data Sciences and Operations); Francisco Valero-Cuevas, PhD (Biomedical Engineering); Priya Vashishta, PhD (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Physics); Phebe Vayanos, PhD (Industrial and System Engineering); Michael Waterman, PhD (Mathematics, Biological Sciences); Richard Weinberg, PhD (Cinematic Arts); John Wilson, PhD (Spatial Sciences, Computer Science)

Adjunct Professors: Danny Cohen, PhD; Paul Debevec, PhD; Milind Tambe, PhD

Adjunct Associate Professors: Jerry Hobbs, PhD; Larry Matthies, PhD; Chris Mattmann, PhD

Adjunct Assistant Professors: David DeVault, PhD; Marco Papa, PhD; 

Research Professors: Ewa Deelman, PhD; Yolanda Gil, PhD; Jonathan Gratch, PhD; John Heidemann, PhD; Randall Hill, PhD; Craig Knoblock, PhD; Premkumar Natarajan, PhD; David Traum, PhD; William Swartout, PhD; Richard Weinberg, PhD

Research Associate Professors: Aram Galstyan, PhD; Kallirroi Georgila, PhD; Andrew Gordon, PhD; Kristina Lerman, PhD; Robert Lucas, PhD; Pedro Szekely, PhD; Greg Ver Steeg, PhD

Research Assistant Professors: Jose Luis Ambite, PhD; Emilio Ferrara, PhD; Rafael Ferreira da Silva, PhD; Gale Lucas, PhD; Jonathan May, PhD; Jelena Mirkovic, PhD; Fred Morstatter, PhD; Nanyun Peng, PhD; Jay Pujara, PhD; Srivatsan Ravi, PhD; Stefan Scherer, PhD; Ari Shapiro, PhD; Mohamma Soleymani PhD; Satish Kumar Thittamaranahalli PhD; Ning Wang, PhD; 

Professor of Engineering Practice: Jeffrey Miller, PhD

Associate Professors of Engineering Practice: Clifford Neuman, PhD; Mark William Redekopp, PhD; Wei-Min Shen, PhD

Lecturers: Sandra Batista, PhD (Senior Lecturer); Claire Bono (Senior Lecturer); William Cheng, PhD (Senior Lecturer); Aaron Cote, PhD (Senior Lecturer); Scott Easley, BA; Andrew Goodney, PhD; Saty Raghavachary, PhD (Senior Lecturer); Tatyana Ryutov, PhD (Senior Lecturer); Shawn Shamsian, PhD (Senior Lecturer); 

Emeritus Professors: Michael A. Arbib, PhD (Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Neuroscience and Psychology); George Bekey, PhD (Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering); Gerard Medioni, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Aristides A.G. Requicha, PhD (Electrical Engineering)

Bachelor of Science

Undergraduate Program Educational Objectives

Graduates of the undergraduate program in Computer Science are expected to attain the following objectives within a few years of graduation:

1. Graduates apply the computational and analytical approaches of computer science to their chosen professions.
2. Graduates successfully engage in life-long learning to continue to be contributing members of their communities in fields within and outside the traditional scope of computer science.
3. Graduates exhibit high professional and ethical standards to become productive leaders in society.

Undergraduate Program Criteria

The program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science includes at least one and one-third years of computer science that covers the fundamentals of algorithms, data structures, software design, concepts of programming languages and computer organization and software; provides an exposure to a variety of programming languages and systems, including at least one higher-level language; and includes advanced course work that builds on the fundamental course work to provide depth.

The program includes at least one year of science and mathematics, including at least one-half year of mathematics, including discrete mathematics. Additional mathematics might consist of calculus, linear algebra, numerical methods, probability, statistics, number theory, geometry, or symbolic logic. The science component develops an understanding of the scientific method and provides an opportunity to experience this mode of inquiry in courses for science or engineering majors that provide some exposure to laboratory work.

Physics/Computer Science Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Science

This program is intended for students with dual interests in physics and computer science who wish to complete the essential courses for both majors within their normal four-year career. See the Physics and Astronomy  Department section for course requirements.

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Computer Science

See the listing under Computer Engineering Program .

Graduate Degrees

The requirements listed below are special to this department and must be read in conjunction with the general requirements  of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering for master’s degrees and the general requirements  of the USC Graduate School for PhD degrees. The graduate program in computer science provides intensive preparation in the basic concepts and techniques related to the design, programming and application of digital computers. Both the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees are offered.

A Master of Science degree with specialization in software engineering is also offered. The program seeks to prepare students for an industrial leadership career in software engineering. It also serves as an introduction to this area for students who wish to pursue advanced studies and research leading to a PhD.

A Master of Science degree with specialization in intelligent robotics is also offered. This program seeks to prepare students for an industrial career in the development of computer systems for CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing) and robotics. It also serves as an introduction to this area for students who wish to pursue advanced studies and research leading to a PhD. The emphasis is on the domain of mechanical, electromechanical and mechatronic products. (CAD for digital systems is covered by a separate program offered by the Electrical and Computer Engineering department.)

A Master of Science degree with a specialization in computer networks is offered. This specialization prepares students in the areas of computer communications, networks and distributed processing.

A Master of Science in Computer Science (Multimedia and Creative Technologies) is also offered.

A Master of Science in Computer Science (High Performance Computing and Simulations) is also offered.

A Master of Science in Computer Science (Data Science) is also offered.

A Master of Science in Computer Science (Game Development) is also offered.

A Master of Science in Computer Science (Computer Security) is also offered.

A Master of Science in Computer Science Dual Degree with Tsinghua University School of Information Science and Technology – China is also offered.

A Master of Science in Computer Science (Scientists and Engineers) is also offered for students with limited background in computer science.

Admission and Prerequisites

Admission is determined by the Office of Admission and the Viterbi School of Engineering, in consultation with the Computer Science Department. The applicant is required to have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university; satisfactory scores on the verbal and quantitative portions of the aptitude test of the Graduate Record Examinations (one advanced test from computer science, mathematics or engineering is recommended); and a substantial background in computing constitutes a minimum requirement. Foreign students must earn a satisfactory score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

• •  Computer Engineering and Computer Science (BS)
• •  Computer Science (BS)
• •  Computer Science (Games) (BS)
• •  Computer Science/Business Administration (BS)

Minor

• •  Computer Science Minor

Joint Degree

• •  Computer Science Dual Degree with Tsinghua University School of Information Science and Technology (MS)

Master’s Degree

• •  Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Computer Networks) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Computer Security) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Data Science) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Game Development) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (High Performance Computing and Simulations) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Intelligent Robotics) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Multimedia and Creative Technologies) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Scientists and Engineers) (MS)
• •  Computer Science (Software Engineering) (MS)

Graduate Certificate

• •  Software Architecture Graduate Certificate

Doctoral Degree

• •  Computer Science (PhD)

Courses

Computer Science

• •  CSCI 570 Analysis of Algorithms
• •  CSCI 571 Web Technologies
• •  CSCI 572 Information Retrieval and Web Search Engines
• •  CSCI 573 Probabilistic Reasoning
• •  CSCI 574 Computer Vision
• •  CSCI 576 Multimedia Systems Design
• •  CSCI 577a Software Engineering
• •  CSCI 577b Software Engineering
• •  CSCI 578 Software Architectures
• •  CSCI 580 3-D Graphics and Rendering
• •  CSCI 581 Logic and its Applications
• •  CSCI 582 Geometric Modeling
• •  CSCI 583 Machine Learning Theory
• •  CSCI 585 Database Systems
• •  CSCI 586 Database Systems Interoperability
• •  CSCI 587 Geospatial Information Management
• •  CSCI 589 Software Engineering for Embedded Systems
• •  CSCI 590 Directed Research
• •  CSCI 591 Computer Science Research Colloquium
• •  CSCI 593 Mathematical Foundations for System Design: Modeling, Analysis, and Synthesis
• •  CSCI 594a Master’s Thesis
• •  CSCI 594b Master’s Thesis
• •  CSCI 594z Master’s Thesis
• •  CSCI 596 Scientific Computing and Visualization
• •  CSCI 598 Professional Writing and Communication for Computer Scientists
• •  CSCI 599 Special Topics
• •  CSCI 610 Advanced Program Analysis and Verification
• •  CSCI 620 Computer Animation and Simulation
• •  CSCI 621 Digital Geometry Processing
• •  CSCI 631 Privacy in the World of Big Data
• •  CSCI 644 Natural Language Dialogue Systems
• •  CSCI 646 Coordinated Mobile Robotics
• •  CSCI 648 Advanced Information Integration
• •  CSCI 651 Advanced Computer Networking
• •  CSCI 652 Internet Measurement
• •  CSCI 653 High Performance Computing and Simulations
• •  CSCI 655 Advanced Topics in Operating Systems
• •  CSCI 656 Networked Systems in Cloud Computing
• •  CSCI 657 Advanced Distributed Systems
• •  CSCI 658 Diagnosis and Design of Reliable Digital Systems
• •  CSCI 659 Introduction to Online Optimization
• •  CSCI 662 Advanced Natural Language Processing
• •  CSCI 663 Artificial Intelligence for Social Good
• •  CSCI 668 Search and Planning
• •  CSCI 670x Advanced Analysis of Algorithms
• •  CSCI 671 Randomized Algorithms
• •  CSCI 672 Approximation Algorithms
• •  CSCI 673 Structure and Dynamics of Networked Information
• •  CSCI 674a Advanced Topics in Computer Vision
• •  CSCI 674b Advanced Topics in Computer Vision
• •  CSCI 675 Convex and Combinatorial Optimization
• •  CSCI 677 Advanced Computer Vision
• •  CSCI 678 Theoretical Machine Learning
• •  CSCI 685 Advanced Topics in Database Systems
• •  CSCI 686 Advanced Big Data Analytics
• •  CSCI 697 Seminar in Computer Science Research
• •  CSCI 698 Practicum in Teaching Computer Science
• •  CSCI 699 Special Topics
• •  CSCI 790 Research
• •  CSCI 794a Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CSCI 794b Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CSCI 794c Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CSCI 794d Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CSCI 794z Doctoral Dissertation

Robotics

• •  ROBO 601L Fundamentals of Robotics I
• •  ROBO 602L Fundamentals of Robotics II