Admission requirements follow the general admission rules for aerospace and mechanical engineering graduate programs. For admission requirements, refer to Viterbi Graduate Degrees and Requirements at USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Depending on the academic background and career interests of students, the program offers two areas of specialization, Product Development Engineering: Technology and Product Development Engineering: Systems. The Product Development Engineering Technology specialization will prepare students for a career as future product development engineers, while the Product Development Engineering Systems specialization will prepare students for a career as future product development managers. Students entering this program must declare their choice of specialization and follow the requirements of each area of specialization to graduate.

The AME Department advises students in the M.S. in Product Development Engineering – Technology specialization, while the ISE Department advises students in the M.S. in Product Development Engineering – Systems specialization.

*Please contact the ISE Department with any questions related to the Systems Specialization.

M.S. Product Development Engineering, Technology Specialization

The M.S. in Product Development Engineering, Technology Specialization requires completion of a minimum 28 units, with at least 19 units at the 500-level from the AME and ISE Departments, and a 3.0 GPA overall. See details below.

• 15 units of Core Requirement courses (see below)
• 6-8 units of Core Technical Elective courses (see below)
• Remaining units to add to 28 can be from approved 400- or 500-level General Elective courses
• No more than 9 units at the 400 level
• No more than 3 units of 590 Directed Research can be taken as elective credit

**Courses listed are either 3 or 4 units each.**

Core Requirements (4 courses = 15 units):
ISE 501 Innovative Conceptual Design for New Product Development (4 units) 
ISE 445 Principles and Practices of Global Innovation (4 units)
AME 503 Advanced Mechanical Design (3 units)
AME 525 Engineering Analysis (4 units)

Core Technical Electives (select 2 courses = 6-8 units):
AME 408 Computer-Aided Design of Mechanical Systems (3 units)
AME 410 Engineering Design Theory and Methodology (3 units)
AME 502 Modern Topics in Aerospace Design (3 units)
AME 505 Machine Learning for Engineering Applications (3 units)
AME 510 Advanced Computational Design and Manufacturing (4 units) (Cross-listed with ISE 510; students enroll in ISE 510)
AME 525 Linear Algebra in Engineering Science (4 units)
AME 526 Partial Differential Equations for Engineering (4 units)
AME 527 Elements of Vehicle and Energy Systems Design (3 units)
AME 544 Computer Control of Mechanical Systems (3 units)
AME 546 Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (4 units)
AME 547 Foundations for Manufacturing Automation (4 units)
AME 549 Systems Architecting (3 units) (Cross-listed with SAE 549; students enroll in SAE 549)
AME 551/MASC 551 Mechanical Behavior of Engineering Materials (4 units) (Cross-listed with MASC 551; students enroll in MASC 551)
AME 567 Collaborative Engineering Principles and Practice (4 units) (Cross-listed with ISE 567; students enroll in ISE 567)
AME 578 Modern Alternative Energy Conversion Device (3 units)
AME 588/MASC 583 Materials Selection (4 units)(Cross-listed with MASC 583; students enroll in MASC 583)
ASTE 523 Design of Low-Cost Space Missions (3 units)
CE 576 Invention and Technology Development (3 units)
ISE 576 Industrial Ecology: Technology-Environment Interaction (4 units)
ISE 585 Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation (4 units)

General Electives (to get to 28 units):
General electives can be chosen from the list found here, under "Technology Specialization General Electives Suggested" or any 400-500 level AME, ISE, or SAE course.