Student FAQ

FAQ categories:

• 1. About me
  2. Contacting / meeting me
  3. How to get noticed
  4. Seeking a GRA position
  5. Seeking Directed Research
  6. Seeking Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
  7. Seeking a Ph.D.
  8. Seeking an M.S.
  9. Seeking an M.S. leading to a Ph.D.
  10. Seeking post-graduate positions
  11. Seeking admission to USC

About me:

• I am a Research Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Departments at USC.
• As Research Faculty, my primary job is Director of the Postel Center and Project Leader at ISI.
• Due to the number of projects I participate in and students I advise, I do not teach a regular USC class. I sometimes run a summer program (SGREP) for Directed Research credit.

Contacting / meeting me:

• Interviews, meetings, and calls are by invitation only. Do not contact me unless replying to a request-for-applictions (see GRAs below).
• I do not have office hours.
• I do not reply to unsolicited emails.
• I do not accept phone calls.

How to get noticed:

• I never reply to student solicitations.
• The only way to "get noticed":
  1. Be recommended by another faculty member
     • Take their class - at USC or elsewhere - and do very well.
     • Ask them to send me mail.
  2. Be recommended by a recognized network researcher
     • Work with them and do very well.
     • Ask them to send me email.
     • FYI, 'recognized' means 'publishes in international IEEE or ACM conferences or journals'.
  3. Reply to a job announcement
     • see below (GRAs)
  4. Apply to the Ph.D. program with outstanding credentials
     • e.g., a network-related publication at a recognized (see above) conference/journal, outstanding references from recognized network researchers, etc.

For students seeking GRAs:

• When postitions are available, a request-for-applications is posted to mailing lists in CS, CE, and EE. Do not contact me unless replying to one of these requests.
• Potential GRAs must satisfy ALL of the following:
  1. already attend USC
  2. be CS, CE, or EE students
  3. have been admitted as a Ph.D. student
     (USC policy no longer allows M.S. students to be funded as GRAs)

For students seeking Directed Research (DR):

• Individual DRs are available only to students employed as GRAs on my projects.
• DRs are available to students in the SGREP program. See those pages for details.

For students seeking DR credit for Curricular Practical Training (CPT):

• I will not provide DRs for CPTs.

For students seeking a Ph.D. in my group:

• I advise only students employed as GRAs on my projects.

For students seeking an M.S. in my group:

• I do not advise M.S. students.

For students seeking an M.S. leading to a Ph.D. in my group:

• As per M.S. students (above), I do not advise M.S. students.
• M.S. students generally need a faculty endorsement to be accepted to the Ph.D. program. Since I do not advise M.S. students, I will not provide such endorsements.
• It should be noted that the number of USC CS M.S. students who are admitted to the Ph.D. program is very small (1-2 per year). If you intend to pursue a Ph.D., I suggest you enter by being admitted to the Ph.D. program.

For students seeking postgraduate positions :

• I do not accept postgraduate researchers - regardless of whether they have financial support. In computer networking, these are not necessary as a career path.

For students seeking admission to USC :

• USC has a fine admissions committee, whose decisions I trust. I do not replicate their work. Do not send admissions material to me; I will neither read nor retain it.

FYI: The above are my individual policies. They do not represent the policy of the USC Computer Science or Electrical Engineering Departments except where noted, where they represent my understanding of USC policy.