Current Students

Different majors within Viterbi have different options when it comes to studying abroad. The USC Office of Overseas Studies’ Engineering Overseas page provides a guide of semester-long programs that are recommended for different engineering majors. 

For a slightly longer abroad experience, check out the Viterbi International Exchange Program which collaborates with universities in Hong Kong and Singapore!

Viterbi’s iPodia: Classrooms without Borders is a project-based class where USC students collaborate with students from universities across India, Germany, South Korea, and Brazil among other countries to pursue targets for global innovation. 

Check out the Viterbi Study Abroad resource for more opportunities as they become available!

There are lots of opportunities to explore the world and build on your professional engineering expertise during the summer!

The Tsinghua Undergraduate Research Program allows undergraduate students to conduct research in Beijing, China while immersing themselves in a city rich with historic culture. 

Additional research abroad experiences focusing on transnational issues such as global climate change, pandemics, and peace-building are also available through USC’s Problems Without Passports program.

For non-research work experiences, USC Global Fellows is a ten-week internship abroad program where USC students are placed in an internship in an industry of their choice in a cosmopolitan Asian city; past locations have included Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong!

School ends in early May, but you can still take classes throughout the month! Many students opt to take a Maymester, a month-long course that often ends with a trip abroad where the concepts of the class can be put into action. 

If you are looking for shorter trips abroad, Alternative Break allows students to participate in service learning trips over winter or spring break! Past trips have included locations in Asia and South America, and issues such as healthcare accessibility, environmental conservation, and social entrepreneurship. 

Also be sure to check out student organizations and design teams such as Engineers without Borders, which are yet another avenue to get involved in service work abroad while growing your engineering skills! 

Housing for continuing undergraduates is processed through the application portal, which opens in February for the Fall and Septemeber for the Spring. USC provides guaranteed on-campus housing for all sophomores if they lived in on-campus housing their freshman year.

You are eligible to live in on-campus housing with a provided meal plan if you decide to work as a Resident Assistant (RA). RAs are student workers who reside in freshman or upperclassman USC housing and act as mentors, role models, and resources for the residents in their building. To learn more about what being an RA is like visit ResEd!

When looking for off-campus options, start early! Leases for houses typically begin to be signed in late October or early November, and leases for apartments are typically signed by late December or early January. Always tour locations before signing any leasing agreements. Reach out to upperclassmen you know through student organizations and classes for support – often times they will be looking for younger students to recommend their current housing location to!