Viterbi Graduate Advising
Academic advising is an opportunity to interact and learn with an advisor to support your holistic growth and success.
Advisors guide students through their degree and connect them with support and resources across campus.
Types of Graduate Advising at Viterbi
Here at Viterbi, graduate advising is conducted by two teams - your department academic advisor(s) and VGASP advisors. We collaborate to provide you advisement and support your holistic success. Both teams provide advisement for different areas, so it’s important to review the information below to understand the areas each team advises on.
Department Academic Advisors
Department Academic Advisors are specialized units that provide program-specific academic advising on the following topics:
- Degree Requirements
- Graduation Timeline
- Course Recommendations/Course Planning
- On-Campus D-Clearances
- STARS Report Updates
- Change of Major
- RA/TA Funding
- Departmental Fellowship
MS Students:
Click below to connect with your Department Advisor
Ph.D. Students:
Click below to connect with your Department Advisor
Viterbi Graduate Academic Services & Programs (VGASP) is a centralized office that manages and advises on Viterbi-wide policies and procedures such as:
- Leave of Absence (LOA)
- DEN D-clearances & Petitions
- Ph.D. Exam/Defense
- Grad School Fellowship
- MS and Ph.D. Progress Review
- General USC and/or Viterbi-wide questions
- Academic verifications* for the following processes:
- Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
- Optional Practical Training (OPT)
- Academic Difficulty & Medical Reduced Course Load (RCL)
- Program Extension (PE)
- Progressive Degree Program I-20 (PDP I-20)
*Please keep in mind that OIS has ownership of the immigration process. Questions regarding immigration should be directed to their team.
MS & Ph.D. Students:
Click below to connect with the VGASP Team
Here at Viterbi, graduate advising is a collaboration between departments and Viterbi Student Academic Services. We work together to provide you advisement and support your holistic success.
There are many opportunities for you to learn and connect with both our team and your peers! Our team offers live hybrid workshops that you can join - click on Academic Workshops to learn more. You also have access to the Viterbi Graduate Learning platform, which gives you 24/7 on-demand access to learning modules about academic requirements, policies, and more!
Resources for Advising Success
Advising Appointment Checklist
You can use this checklist to support you in preparing for and making the most of your advising appointment.
Question Starters
Here is a list of sample questions that you can connect with our team and your department for support with.
Success in Academic Advising
Here are some tips and strategies you can use to actively engage in advising.
Email Etiquette
You can learn about email etiquette and access a sample email template to use.
Your STARS Report is a comprehensive document that shows all of the requirements you need to complete for your degree. You can access your STARS Report by going to myUSC >> OASIS >> STARS Report.
Please contact your department advisor to generate a STARS Report for you.
You can find your degree requirements for your program on the USC Catalogue for your Catalogue year. You can also find your degree requirements listed on your STARS Report.
Students can request an enrollment verification from the Registrar.
