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THE DANIEL J. EPSTEIN DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL & SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Industrial & Systems Engineering

Engineer Better Businesses

Learn more about the classes you will take in your degree program
Check out the research our faculty and students are doing on and off campus
Hear how you can apply your degree in industry through internships, co-ops, and more
Find out what our current students are up to in clubs and student organizations

Hear Directly from Faculty

Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISE)

Industrial and systems engineers work to improve processes, systems, and organizations. An industrial and systems engineering education provides the skills and foundations to design, analyze, and optimize complex systems. They are productivity catalysts, managing the combination of physical, capital, and human resources needed to produce and deliver valuable goods and services.

Industrial and systems engineers are consummate economic competitors who focus on developing and controlling manufacturing, production, inventory, distribution, service, and management information systems to ensure their companies’ success in the global marketplace. On the job, these engineering professionals optimize the use of scarce resources by integrating people and technology to maximize productivity, minimize cost, improve processes, and maintain high standards of quality.

Listen while you scroll!

Entrepreneurship Podcast Playlist

Check out all of our podcast episodes related to Entrepreneurship. Whether it’s the members of LavaLab discussing product design and development in their incubator or Code the Change talking using tech for social impact, this playlist was made for you.

Viterbi Voices: The Podcast is your chance to hear stories about research, classes, student life, and more directly from our faculty, students, and other members of our engineering community. Click the link below to see the rest of our episodes!

Curriculum

Industrial & Systems Engineers engineer better businesses. They optimize processes and look into the people side of engineering. Check out the curriculum here:

Industrial & Systems Engineering

USC’s undergraduate ISE curricula prepare students for careers in a wide-range of industries, consulting, or professional engineering practice, and are also an excellent intellectual foundation for advanced degrees in fields as diverse as Engineering, Logistics, Business Administration, Finance, Medicine, Law, or Public Policy.

Course Plan

Research

Industrial and Systems Engineering focuses on creating more efficient processes that will improve overall business and engineering processes. Researchers within the ISE department at USC focus on a variety of different topics. These include: agile, flexible manufacturing and production systems, green logistics and industrial ecology, health systems improvement, human-computer interaction, management of technology, optimization and logistics,

port operations and supply chain management, renewable energy systems, transportation and logistics, collaborative engineering design, rapid prototyping, and automated construction.

We have a balance of programs - theoretical, computational, and experimental – which exemplify the Viterbi School’s approach to intensive and collaborative research.

Faculty

Faculty will be teaching all of your classes and leading research projects as well. Your opportunities to build relationships with your faculty will begin immediately in your first year, both in the classroom and the lab. Check out a few highlighted professors with whom you may work in the future:

Dr. Najm Meshkati

Combustion, Fuels, and Engine Labs

Dr. Meshkati conducts research on risk reduction and reliability enhancement of complex technological systems, including nuclear power, aviation, and petrochemical transportation industries.

Dr. Phebe Vayanos

Center for Artificial Intelligence In Society

Drawing inspiration from the Grand Challenges of Social Work and Grand Challenges of Engineering, USC Viterbi has teamed up with the School of Social Work to use AI to focus on social issues like ending homelessness.

Dr. John Carlsson

Optimization

Dr. Carlsson works on algorithms for solving problems in continuous location theory, and more generally, optimization problems that have some kind of geographic element. His research is supported by DARPA, the Navy, the Air Force, the NSF, and others.

Dr. Shinyi Wu

Health Policy Simulation

Her research involves the assessment of cost-effectiveness and the redesign of processes for delivering healthcare, analysis and evaluation of healthcare policies, and adoption and implementation of health information technology.

Don't stop here.

Learn more about the cool faculty and amazing research being done at the Industrial & Systems Engineering Department at their website:

ISE Department WebsiteISE Department Website

Careers

Your engineering undergraduate degree will prepare you for many career and academic opportunities. Whether you have always known “what you want to do when you grow up” or are hoping to find out, we are here to help you plan for your future beyond USC. We provide dedicated career services starting in your first year to help you find internships, co-ops, and full-time positions post graduation.

When you graduate with a degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering, here are just a few of the future career paths that might lay before you.
  • Implement enterprise resource planning systems
  • Consult on business practices
  • Design efficient manufacturing and service systems
  • Optimize assembly and distribution systems
  • Develop ergonomically correct systems and interfaces
  • Improve hospital operations and schedules
  • Make systems safe by reducing errors and accidents
  • Manage business operations
  • Develop quality control and assurance systems

Don't take our word for it. Ask some Viterbi alumni:

Student Life

We want students who like to work hard – both in and out of the classroom. Our students know that going to college is more than attending class and completing assignments. College is about making connections and joining a community of dedicated students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Our students want to work and play with people as interesting as they are, and we have a number of ways for you to do the same.

Your life can be designed how you like it. Join a professional organization like IISE. Continue your passion for volunteering with the Society of Women Engineers. Keep making art with Corpus Callosum. On this page, we have a few student organizations we think you might be interested in, but there are so many more you can get involved in!

Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers

Professional Organization

IISE brings its members opportunities which provide them with valuable experiences, skills and a familiarity with industrial engineering and related professions.

National Organization for Business and Engineering

Interdisciplinary Society

NOBE USC unites business, management, and engineering organizations to help develop professional skills in members that can be translated to success in the business world.

Illumin Magazine

Engineering Publication

Illumin is an online magazine dedicated to exploring the science and technology behind the things we encounter everyday. It is produces and published by the Engineering Writing Program in Viterbi.

Imagine yourself on campus.

Learn more about life at USC as an engineering student at Viterbi Voices:

Viterbi VoicesViterbi Voices

More Engineering Disciplines

You just learned so much about Industrial & Systems Engineering, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Beyond this department, Viterbi has ten academic disciplines spread across eight departments to make up more than thirty major combinations. Take some time to explore all of your interests.

Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering

Design for Movement.

Astronautical Engineering

Build for Beyond.

Biomedical Engineering

Help Others Live Better.

Chemical Engineering

Make the Stuff of Tomorrow.

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Design. Build. Improve.

Computer Science

It’s Way More Than Coding.

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Power Up.

Undeclared Engineering

It’s Okay If You’re Not Sure.

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