USC [University of Southern California] Viterbi School of Engineering announces new programs for Civil Engineers

USC Offers Civil Engineering Master’s Degree program entirely online

The University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering will offer two specialized Master of Science degree programs in Civil Engineering entirely online: Construction Engineering and Structural Engineering.

Civil engineers across the nation will have the opportunity to stay on the forefront of this technology and receive their Master of Science degree via the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s innovative Distance Education Network (DEN).

“We are thrilled to add the Civil Engineering programs to our degree offerings” said
Kelly Goulis, Executive Director of the USC Distance Education Network. “DEN
always strives to be proactive in providing education to those industries that seek to
improve the credentials of their workforce.”
The Master of Science in Civil Engineering (Construction Engineering) teaches
professionals to understand and execute the broad array of technical and non-technical activities associated with construction engineering. The student is prepared for a variety of employment opportunities in the construction industry, including working for general contractors, real estate developers, and architectural engineering firms.

The Master of Science in Structural Engineering emphasizes analytical and experimental
studies of the behavior of structures (e.g., buildings, bridges, and dams) under service
loads (e.g., traffic) and environmental loads (e.g., wind and earthquake). Emphasis is placed on response predictions or computations for these structures and their constituent materials (e.g., steel, reinforced concrete, and composites).
According to Hank Koffman, USC Director of Construction Engineering, “The Civil
Engineering profession is currently experience a shortage of qualified engineers to keep up with the infrastructure demands both on the domestic and international levels. These new degrees will provide the necessary knowledge and tools for Civil Engineers to meet the new technological skills required in industry.”
The USC Viterbi School of Engineering will offer such courses as Construction
Accounting and Finance; Mechanics of Solids; and Project Cost Estimating, Control,
Planning and Scheduling.

USC DEN allows qualified engineers the opportunity to earn a Master of Science degree
in the comfort of their home or office. These remote students receive the exact same lectures, curriculum and exams as on-campus students, available via the Internet.
Professor-student interaction is encouraged during lectures via threaded chat and a tollfree number for call-in questions. Homework is submitted via email or fax, and exams are carefully monitored and proctored at approved testing centers.
Currently, students from over 30 states and 100 cities are earning their engineering
graduate degrees from a distance via DEN. 170 DEN students, mostly fully-employed
engineers, completed their M.S. degrees in numerous specializations in 2005.
The USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s civil engineering program is part of the school’s department of Civil and Environmental engineering. With 165 tenure and tenure-track and 75 research faculty, the USC Viterbi School generates more than $130 million in funded research annually. The graduate program is ranked seventh in the nation and third among private institutions in the 2006 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Note: More information about the program, and other distance learning alternatives, is
available at Construction Engineering and Structural Engineering.