Dual Degree Program Allows Students to Simultaneously Earn Master’s Degrees from USC and Tsinghua University in Beijing
New program provides international scope to engineering education
Contact: Robert Perkins at (213) 740-9226 or perkinsr@usc.edu
June 3, 2013 — The USC Viterbi School of Engineering and Tsinghua University in Beijing have launched a program that will allow selected engineering students to simultaneously earn master’s degrees from both institutions.
“This new program highlights USC’s ongoing commitment to provide students with unique international education opportunities,” said USC Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Anthony Bailey. “Participants will have the benefit of the diverse learning environments and programs offered by these two world-class universities.”
This dual graduate degree program allows students to spend their first year at one school, their second at the other and their third at either institution while pursuing two degrees in related, but not identical, disciplines.
“Tsinghua University is among the top universities in the world, particularly in science, engineering and computer science. We are delighted to have created this unique program that allows top graduate students from THU and USC Viterbi to take the best from both institutions. This further strengthens our relationship with Tsinghua — a relationship that has benefited tremendously by our joint alumnus Feng Deng,” said USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos.
Deng, an alumnus of both universities and the founder of Northern Lights Venture Capital, helped to facilitate the dual degree, which was announced at the seventh joint THU-USC faculty forum in Beijing in May.
USC Viterbi already admits a significant number of Tsinghua graduates to its graduate programs. The new dual degree program is expected to increase this flow and attract new Tsinghua students, who will no longer have to choose between the two universities.
“Talented students from Tsinghua University can be attracted to USC to enrich their experience in both China and the U.S.,” said USC Viterbi Vice Dean and Professor Joe Qin, who organized the program with his Tsinghua counterpart, Deputy Dean Professor Zhisheng Niu.
“Likewise, the dual Master’s degree program provides unique opportunities to USC students to become associated with China’s elite institute and obtain a global real-life experience by studying in Beijing,” he said.
USC Viterbi Master’s students can opt into this program by completing a number of courses and a project thesis. Cultural immersion is considered a key feature of this program, as it takes place in two of the most vibrant metropolises in the Pacific Rim.
The first class of dual degree students will be admitted in fall 2013 and begin their coursework at USC Viterbi in 2014.
About USC Global Initiatives
The USC Viterbi-Tsinghua University dual degree program is the latest in a series of global educational programs launched by USC, which maintains eight international offices in Hong Kong, Mexico City, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Beijing, Mumbai and São Paulo. Recent successes include the World Bachelor in Business partnership between USC, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, which allows undergraduate students to study at and earn Bachelor’s degrees from all three institutions over the course of four years.