Graduate Student Resources

Advising

Advisement

The BME Student Affairs Team supports the holistic development of students and fosters academic success.

Course requirements for BME Master's Degrees are available via the academic section on this page. Students should enroll in the classes as advised by their BME Academic Advisor. Diverging from the specific guidance provided can result in delayed graduation and/or additional units to graduate.

If you need to speak with your advisor, please reach out to them via the Advise USC platform.

For non-BME students with general inquiries, you may contact: vasems@usc.edu

How to Connect with an Advisor: AdviseUSC Support Cases: Students can connect with their assigned advisor by opening a case with them on AdviseUSC (AdviseUSC > Advisor Connect > Create A New Case). Please allow 1-3 business days to receive a response; your patience is greatly appreciated.

Registration Processes

All Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering graduate students have a MANDATORY ADVISEMENT HOLD. The hold will be lifted once you have completed your academic advisement. You will then be able to register by following the D-Clearance process outlined below.

BME D-Clearance Requests

BME MS D-Clearance @ myViterbi:

All BME MS D-clearance requests must be submitted on myViterbi > D-clearance Request Manager. Students will be able to start requesting D-Clearance on Wednesday, March 25th, 2026. D-clearance is usually processed within 2-3 business days.

Please follow the instructions below to request d-clearance on myViterbi:

Login to MyViterbi
Select D-Clearance Manager
Select Request D-Clearance
Select the department you are requesting D-Clearance from: Biomedical Engineering
Complete the form.
Please ignore the text box. No justification is required.

RSCI D-Clearance:

Students can submit their d-clearance via the following links and contact the RSCI department (regsci@usc.edu) for more information.

Summer 2026 RSCI D-Clearance Request

Fall 2026 RSCI D-Clearance Request: Coming Soon

Other non-BME D-clearance:

If you want D-Clearance for a non-Viterbi course, you must contact the department that offers that course. Information can be found at the top of the Schedule of Classes.

DEN@Viterbi Process

DEN@Viterbi section clearances are managed by the DEN Team. To learn more about D-Clearance for DEN courses, please visit: https://viterbigrad.usc.edu/den-current-students/

Are you interested in doing research for credit?

Students can apply up to 4 units of BME 590 Directed Research toward their degree (technical elective credit). The number of units for Directed Research is determined between you and your chosen instructor.

As a reminder, for each unit of directed research, you should spend 3-4 hours per week. For example, a 4-unit directed research project would translate to an average of 12-16 hours of research per week over the course of the semester.

You must personally contact the biomedical engineering faculty member with whom you wish to do directed research and discuss how many units of research you plan to take and then request d-clearance. Use the BME Faculty Directory and Research Page to find faculty members whose research matches your interests.

After gaining permission from a BME faculty member, you will need to fill out the online application at: http://myviterbi.usc.edu under "Directed Research" to request clearance to enroll in the course. Do not fill out the online application until you have received permission to do so from a BME faculty member.

To request D-Clearance for Directed Research:

Login to MyViterbi
Select Directed Research
Select Submit Direct Research Request
Select Biomedical Engineering
Complete the form

Once you complete the application, your selected research supervisor will receive an automated email, and they must approve your project via the online application system. After the BME faculty member approves your application, the department will approve the project and issue d-clearance within one week.

REGISTRATION

All Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering graduate students have a MANDATORY ADVISEMENT HOLD. The hold will be lifted once you have contacted the BME Graduate Advisor for academic advisement. You will be able to register by following the D-Clearance process outlined below.

ADVISEMENT HOLD

All graduate students should check my.usc.edu for appointment time or holds, contact their BME Graduate Advisor for advisement, then follow the D-Clearance process.

• Schedule a meeting or email your academic advisor (William Yang for PhD Students) to discuss classes and to LIFT the department’s MANDATORY ADVISEMENT HOLD.

BME D-CLEARANCE REQUESTS

• Request D-Clearance by email, phone or in-person

For D-Clearance in RSCI courses, send an e-mail request to regsci@usc.edu with the information below:

• Name, USC 10-digit ID, e-mail
• Course # (ie. MPTX 513) and Graduate Program (ie. MS BME or MDDE)
• On-Campus or Distance

Graduate Student Groups

Graduate Students of Biomedical Engineering (GSBME)

The goals of this organization are:

To actively promote interdisciplinary studies between Engineering, Biology and Medicine.
To serve as an interface between the students, engineering departments and Viterbi SOEt o help improve student life as well as quality of biomedical engineering education at USC.
To supplement our academic training with professional skills, industry knowledge and sociopolitical aspects of Biomedical Engineering.
To serve as an interface with our Alumni and our Undergraduates.
To act as an agent for our National Biomedical Engineering Society Student Chapter

Membership in GSBME is open to all registered graduate students whom have paid the membership dues and are currently enrolled in classes at the University of Southern California. Only such persons shall be considered voting members of the organization. All other USC students and USC staff, faculty, alumni, and alumnae are eligible to be non-voting members. Check out GSBME on Facebook

Viterbi Graduate Student Association (VGSA)

The VGSA seeks to promote interaction among the graduate students of the Viterbi School of Engineering and, whenever possible, to address their needs and concerns.

Grodins Graduate Research Symposium

Fred S. Grodins Graduate Research Symposium

The Fred S. Grodins Graduate Research Symposium began in 1997 as a forum for BME graduate students to present their current research work and future plans. This student-organized and student-run symposium provides an opportunity for the faculty and current graduate students to exchange ideas on the various areas of on-going research activity within the Department.

Click here to visit the Grodins website.