August 08, 2005 — 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 abreast
of this technology and receive their Master of Science
degrees via the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s innovative Distance
Education Network (DEN).
“We are thrilled to add the Civil Engineering programs to our program
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 experiencing a shortage
of qualified engineers to keep up with our 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 Viterbi School department of civil and environmental 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 toll-free 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 more than 30 states and 120 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 170 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.
