There are many questions asked in the webboard about these
classes. So I guess I should just sum them up in one place.
Some of these questions are not really specific to the department.
For EE, Electrical Engineering, there are these questions:
I think I will take DSP, Prob, and Digital
Image Processing or Neural
and Fuzzy system. Don't you think this is a good idea?
P' Wit:
DIP is one of most time-comsuming class in Engineering school.
Even though it is a 3-unit class but it is equal to 9-unit
classes. I recommend take it next year after you are strong
in DSP and Linear Algebra. That means you do not need to
spend time in understanding Math and can spend more time
in programming.
Do not take DIP and Random Process at the same time because
you will have no life during that semester. Fuzzy-500 is
taught by a genius, he demands a lot of reading and researching.
Moreover, he stresses on financial applications.
If I need to choose between Linear Algebra and Prob, I will
take Linear Algebra, in addition Dr Golomb is very good
and famous. You will learn a lot from his class. The best
thing of studying at USC is you can sit in most of the classes
in OHE-100 (except EE-500). So I recommend take it easy
in your first semester at USC.
You can take only 6 units in your first semester by filing
a form at OIS (reason: uncomfortable with English). If I
were you, I would take DSP and Linear Algebra, but sit in
Prob, Transform and Random Process.
You can register all 5 classes but drop out 3 classes by
first 3 weeks of the semester to get money back. I bet that
you might not be able to sit in those 3 classes for the
whole semester (I mean read lectures and do some homework
or read solutions). Then, you can rock 'n' roll from your
second semester on because you have all substantial building
blocks.
Question:
Which professor should I talk to about choosing class?
(Related to the question above) And another thing is I don't
know which professor I should talk to. Could you suggest
me about that? I prefer to work with prof that involve in
Digital Image Processing field.
P' Wit:
Most Professors (Jenkin, Leahy, Ortega, Kuo, Mendel) in
SIPI are nice. Only Dr Ortega might not want to sign for
5 classes in your study plan sheet because he knows that
it is impossible and you show unconfident.
Professor office hours for consulting and signing your study
plan sheet is posted in front of EEB-100, I think. If not,
ask someone in EEB-100.
Question:
What is discussion class for? How long do I have to stay
in that class, 1 hour or more?
P' Wit:
The discussion classes are taught by TA's. You don't even
need to go to the classes. If you get a good TA, she/he
might guide you how to do homework.
P' Peach:
The discussion class is mainly for TA to provide homework
hints and solutions and sometimes hints on upcoming exam.
If you are not attending at least get to know what is represented
in the discussion.
I rarely attend the discussion class, though. Duh! I didn't
even attend all the main class! That's a bad practice, though.
You skip class once, you will skip it again. Now that I
have warned you... :-P
P' Oh+/Oakley:
Sometimes I missed lecture, but I tried not to miss discussions.
The TAs know who you are and they grade your papers. Not
showing up in discussion seems to hurt more than skipping
the lecture.
I agree with P'(?)Peach that the habit of skipping class
is very easy to form. Try not to skip anything is probably
the best approach. But then again sometimes I wonder what
is better: sleeping through a class, or skipping class to
sleep at home. ;-)
Question:
Could I skip the prerequisite 400-level classes ?
Could I just take the 500-level class, instead of taking
all the prerequisite 400-level classes of that 500-level
class and the 500-level class itself?
Question:
The program with thesis and the program without thesis,
which one is better?
I am going to take EE course (Master's degree) at USC this
fall semester. I would like to ask about the program with
thesis and the program without thesis. Which one is better?
The pros and cons? Do these courses (with and without thesis)
take the same among of time to complete ?
P' Wit:
If you plan for a PhD at USC, researching and writing for
the master thesis will waste your time. USC is reputed because
of the PhD programs. The good thing of non-thesis MSEE is
that you can study more classes to broaden your knowledge.
I recommend take non-thesis MSEE and take
basic classes during your first year to prepare for the
PhD screening examination.
If you crazy enough, you can finish non-thesis MSEE in
2 semester and a summer. For the thesis option, you cannot
predict, it might take you a few years to finish. It depends
on your advisors. Do not forget the fact that most of
professors advise graduate students and nearly 100 % of
them are PhD students. Moreover, to get a PhD from USC
takes much more time than average of US universities.
