May 12, 2005 —
The USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Distance Education Network (DEN) granted
Master of Science degrees to 171 distance learning students, most of whom earned
their degrees while working full-time.
“We’re proud of their achievement,” said Kelly Goulis, executive director of
DEN. “This is the first chance we get to meet many of our students face to face.
Our program works because DEN enables students to balance a full workload with
a challenging education.”
DEN students receiving degrees come from New Mexico, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts,
Alabama, Iowa, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Hawaii, though most were from California.
“This year,” said Goulis, “we signed agreements with both Qualcomm and Chevron
to educate their overseas employees, so we expect increased geographical diversity
in the future."
This year’s graduates represent a modest increase from last year's total of 166.
While most of this year's class are full-time employees with tuition assistance
from employers, 39 of the students, or more than one-fifth were independent students,
studying on their own, a marked increase from last year, when only 27, or approximately
one sixth were in this category.
As in 2004, The Boeing Corporation was most heavily represented in the class
of 2004, with 36 employees receiving degrees through DEN. Again in second place
was Northrop Grumman, with 29 employees graduating. The most remote distance student
was an employee of NTU Electronics in Largo, Florida. .
Other companies and institutions with DEN graduates include Aerospace Corporation,
JPL, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Port Hueneme Naval Base, the Los Angeles
Department of Transportation, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Motorola, Qualcomm,
Raytheon, Skyworks and Sandia Laboratories.
The distance scholars earned M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering (8), AE Astronautics
(10), Computer Engineering (2) Computer Science (13), CS Networks (1), CS Multimedia
& Creative Technologies (2), Software Engineering (5), Electrical Engineering
(79), EE VSLI Design (7), Engineering Management (3); Industrial and Systems Engineering
(2) Mechanical Engineering (4); Systems Architecture Engineering (27), plus five
special degrees.
For over 30 years, DEN has been a pioneer in distance learning, providing thousands
of working professionals the opportunity to obtain their M.S. degrees in over
20 disciplines. DEN’s cutting-edge Internet technology allows students to view
lectures being given to on-campus students, transmit homework assignments, and
interact with professors via chat capabilities, all from the comfort of their
homes and offices. Currently, DEN students from over 30 states and 100 cities
are pursuing engineering graduate degrees from a distance. DEN offers the widest
selection of engineering graduate degrees – more than any other leading research
university.
With more than 250 tenure track and research faculty, the USC Viterbi School
of Engineering generates more than $145 million in funded research annually. The
graduate program is ranked 7th in the nation and 3rd among private institutions,
according to U.S. News & World Report.
