DEN@Viterbi Congratulates 2013 Graduates From The Best Online Engineering Graduate Program In The Nation

LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This graduation season, the University of Southern California (USC) and the Viterbi School of Engineering are proud to announce the graduation of 249 engineers from USC's online engineering graduate program – DEN@Viterbi. These students, most of whom continued their professional employment and managed the same course load as their on campus counterparts, walk away with both a top-tier education and their professional careers enhanced.

"Not only is the DEN@Viterbi online engineering graduate program flexible enough for professional working students, but it also meets the rigorous standards of the top defense, technology and biomedical companies as it is the same education that full-time, on-campus students receive," said Viterbi School of Engineering Dean, Yannis C. Yortsos. "We consider DEN@Viterbi part of the fabric of the classroom and the campus, just supported by advanced delivery systems. Students learn from each other, interact with world-class faculty, and ultimately master the material to advance their careers."

Take for example Stephen Presutti, a Florida native who graduated in 2012 with a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Last May was his first visit to campus and despite the distance, Presutti was closely connected with fellow students, working on collaborative class assignments. "The most challenging thing was group projects," Stephen said when reflecting on his experience. "But surprisingly it worked out well. Everyone connected very nicely on email or online via Skype. It was really easy to get together with people and work together."

Like Stephen's class, the class of 2013 is made up of both local and global students, hailing from across the United States to countries like India, China and Brazil. Despite their diverse background, they all share a common thread: these DEN@Viterbi students, now graduates, are working professionals who pursued an advanced education remotely, without any disruption to their professional careers.

The DEN@Viterbi program was recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the number one online engineering graduate program in the country. With more than 40 online engineering graduate programs taught by the school's world-class faculty, DEN@Viterbi attributes this honor to its unique blended classroom model, engaging the same faculty for both on-campus and off-campus programs. Celebrating 40 years of innovation with thousands of graduates, these online engineering programs have graduated working professionals from top-tier companies such as The Boeing Corporation,  Chevron, Apple, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm, Korean Air, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Kuwait Oil Company, the Department of Defense and more.

About USC
Located in Los Angeles, a global center for the arts, technology, and international trade, the University of Southern California is one of the world's leading private research universities. USC has one of the most diverse student populations of any U.S. university, with students throughout the United States and from over 100 countries worldwide. With a strong tradition of integrating liberal and professional education, USC fosters a vibrant culture of public service and encourages students to cross academic as well as geographic boundaries in their pursuit of knowledge. USC is the home of state-of-the-art facilities and was recently named one of the nation's most wired campuses by PC Magazine.

About the Viterbi School & DEN@Viterbi
A groundbreaking professional school in one of the world's leading private research universities, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering was recently ranked as a top ten graduate engineering program by the U.S. News and World Report, and is consistently ranked between 10^th and 12^th in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. As the oldest professional school on the USC campus, the Viterbi School celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2005.

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering earned the #1 top honor in the 2013 U.S. News and World Report rankings, for both its Online Graduate Engineering Programs and its Online Computer Information Technology Programs, recognizing excellence in peer reputation, student engagement, faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, and admissions selectivity.

The Viterbi Distance Education Network (DEN@Viterbi), one of the first of its kind, was created in 1972 to address the continuing education needs of Southern California's aerospace industry. After four decades of growth and investment, Viterbi currently offers more than 40 online engineering graduate programs and professional courses from custom studio classrooms on the USC campus.

More information about DEN@Viterbi can be found online at viterbi.usc.edu/den.

SOURCE USC Viterbi School of Engineering