Turn Data into Insight. Insight into Impact.
The MS in Analytics program equips students to harness the power of data to improve decision-making, optimize business processes, and drive innovation across industries. With a strong foundation in real-world application, students gain the ability to manage large-scale data, develop predictive models, and generate actionable insights that deliver measurable impact.
Housed in the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, recently ranked among the top 10 ISE departments in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, this program blends engineering rigor with cutting-edge analytics.
After completing three required core courses, students can tailor their learning by focusing on one or more specialization paths including:
- Data Engineering / ML Engineering (build and scale data systems and deploy machine learning solutions)
- Data Science (apply advanced analytics and machine learning to complex systems)
- Data Analysis (translate complex data into business insights through visualization and modeling)
- AI Engineering (focus on building and deploying enterprise-ready AI solutions, including generative AI applications)
Among the tools and technologies you will master are:
- Programming (Python, R, SQL)
- Data Platforms (Snowflake, BigQuery)
- Visualization (Tableau)
- Cloud & MLOps (Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Vertex AI)
Graduates of USC's MS in Analytics program will enter a field marked by explosive growth and compensation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, analytics-related occupations are projected to grow at 36% over the next ten years, 6-9 times the national growth rate with a 2024 median pay of $112,590 per year.
Recent graduates have been sought by a wide array of industries — tech, finance, healthcare, entertainment, logistics, and government and have stepped into high-demand roles such as:
- Data Scientist
- ML Engineer / Data Engineer
- Business Intelligence Analyst
- Analytics Consultant
- Product or Marketing Analyst
International Students: This program is eligible for the OPT STEM extension.
- This program requires completion of 28 units of coursework
- Directed Research (research without thesis) may be requested after completing first semester. Participation is not guaranteed
- USC Catalogue
- USC Schedule of Classes
APPLICATION DEADLINES
| SEMESTER | DEADLINE |
| Spring | September 1 (extended to October 1) |
| Fall | December 15 (Scholarship consideration)
January 15 (Final deadline) |
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Applicants to the Master of Science program in Analytics must have a bachelor’s degree or be in the process of completing a bachelor's degree. Degrees in engineering or other quantitative disciplines are most common among applicants.
Applicants who demonstrate strong proficiency through relevant coursework may be considered for admission. Recommended preparation includes:
This is not an exhaustive list. Applications are reviewed holistically; simply taking these courses does not guarantee admission.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
The following materials are required to be included with your online application:
- Transcripts
- Resume/CV
- Personal Statement
- Letter of Recommendation (optional)
NOTE: The GRE is not required for 2026 applications.
The following link will take you to an overview of the tuition & fees for graduate engineering students, including payment information. Both on-campus and DEN@Viterbi students pay the same tuition
TUITION AND FEES OVERVIEW
Use the link below to download the Cost of Attendance to see a summary of tuition and fees by semester. The document is a typical example and the number of courses, and time to complete the program, will vary by student.
Estimated Cost of Attendance - 28 Unit Program
CECILIA HU
Tell us about an exciting and unforgettable experience from your time so far at USC.
The most exciting and unforgettable experience I have a USC is that I was able to represent USC and led a project team to participate in Nemesis Student Research Competition 2021 and was awarded second place. It was so challenging yet exciting and I definitely learned a lot from the actual data science cases. My team was able to apply various analyses I learned from class to conduct customer segmentation and churn analysis for a telecommunication company.
What are some personal achievements or experiences you’d like to share?
During my time at USC, I also work part-time as a student data analyst for USC Information Technology Services. This opportunity definitely was a cornerstone in my career that enables me to develop the skills needed in my future career as a data aanlyst/scientist. I applied it through Viterbi's career website and all the staff and faculty care about every students' growth and career development. I definitely recommend future Viterbi students to keep an eye on the possible career opportunities at school.
.
MARIO KOENIGSPERGER
What were the main reasons you chose to pursue this graduate program at USC?
After studying Business Administration as an undergraduate at USC, I learned about the relevance of analytics in nearly every aspect of business. I wanted to take the opportunity to develop essential quantitative skills to solve more complex and large-scale problems in finance. The MS in Analytics program offered the perfect balance between teaching fundamental theory and bringing analytical models to life through real-world applications.
What do you like most about living in Los Angeles?
The weather and the beaches are undoubtedly the best part about living in Los Angeles. It’seasy to forget how lucky we are to be studying in such a comfortable climate. Secondly, I like how connected Los Angeles is in terms of businesses and entertainment. It is difficult to get bored here!
What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
My advice to future Viterbi students is to always seek balance in life. Get involved in not only academic and professional extracurricular activities, but also in social sports teams. I am a strong believer that doing many unrelated things in life reduces the risk of burnout. USC is so much more than an academic institution - make it your goal to get involved in as many non-academic things as you can!
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ZIJUE LI
What were the main reasons you chose to pursue this graduate program at USC?
I originally wanted to get into a business analytics master program in the business school, but after taking a deep look at the curriculum here at Viterbi, I changed my mind because Viterbi offers rigorous training in data analytics and resources that business school simply can't provide. I chose the Analytic program at Viterbi because of the complete training on data interpretation and analytics, the job resources provided by Viterbi, the location, and lastly the friendly education environment here at USC.
Tell us about an exciting and unforgettable experience from your time at USC.
One of the most exciting moments I had was meeting my friends from the Viterbi Graduate Student Association. I worked as the ISE senator for a year and I absolutely enjoyed my time serving my community. We all worked together to bring a lot of memorable events to life such as the Viterbi Ball, the Period Project and the Social Entrepreneurship Workshop. We stuck together through the tough times like a family. I feel really lucky to get to know all these amazing people and become friends with them.
Students in this program have also created the ISE Analytics Student Organization (IASA), a professional network uniting Analytics students and alumni for meaningful connections and career growth.
2024 First Destinations Survey - Outcomes*
Top Employers*
F1 Hire; Genzest LLC; Mine Crypto Pro, Inc.; Miniso USA; Tencent
.Alumni Employment - 2024*
Companies & Job Titles (multiple positions may be listed)
Average Reported Salary: $110,200
- ABC Lucky Logistics - Operations Analyst
- Alibaba - Analyst I, Data Science
- Altomni Corp. - Marketing Analyst
- Amgen - Senior Associate IS Business Systems Analyst
- Apex Logistics International, Inc. - Account Payable Specialist (Analyst)
- Autodesk, Inc. - Product Analyst
- Axonne, Inc. - Digital Design Engineer
- Bowen Li - Founder
- California State University, Long Beach - GIS Data Analyst
- Calsoft Systems - ERP analyst
- Capital One - Senior Data Analyst
- CarParts.com - Sr. Analyst Online Marketplaces
- Centerfield - Data Engineer Intern
- Central Distro LLC - Marketing Analyst
- Commure, Inc. - Senior Operations Associate
- Continental Properties - Business Intelligence Analyst
- Daikin - Software Engineer
- Deloitte - Business Technology Solutions Analyst
- Didi Global - Data Analyst
- Doxamarket, Inc. - Chief Product Officer
- EcomEclipse - Data Analyst
- ENC Mobile - Marketing Analysis Specialist
- F1 Hire - Data Analyst Internship / Marketing Analyst
- Farlong Pharmaceutical - TikTok Data Analyst
- Flip - Product Intern
- Gempoll Tech - Product Specialist
- Genzest LLC - Data Analyst / E-Commerce Brand Influencer Marketing Intern
- Glint Tech Solutions - Data Engineer
- Grace & Glory Real Estate Group - Data Analyst
- GroupUltra Limited - Marketing Specialist
- Hanshow - Java Software Engineer
- Happy Distro - Logistic Data Analyst
- Houston Rockets - Digital Products and Data Specialist
- IDX Exchange - Data Scientist
- Inochem Group – None Listed
- Intuit Inc. - Fraud and Risk Analyst II
- IQVIA – None Listed
- Kaiser Permanente - Data Reporting Analyst II
- Key Code Media, Inc. - Data Analyst and Reporting
- Kiana Analytics, Inc. - Data Analyst Intern
- Korea Development Bank - Manager
- Kuaishou Technology - Data Analyst
- Latham & Watkins - Business Services Trainee
- Lenovo - Data Analytics Engineer
- Ly-USA Travel, Inc. - Data Analyst
- Master Electronics - Data Analyst
- Meituan - Business Data Analyst
- Mine Crypto Pro, Inc. - Analyst / Data Analyst
- Miniso USA - Merchandise Data Analyst / Merchandise Planner
- Morimatsu Houston Corporation - Business Analyst
- Orbit Industries, Inc. - Product Development Engineer
- Pegasus Tech Ventures - Accouting Analyst
- Pendulum - Data Scientist Intern
- Pilot – Software Development Engineer
- Ping An Insurance Center - Data Analyst
- Pingan - Data Analyst
- Predicine, Inc. - Bioinformatics Analyst
- Prestige - Accountant
- PwC - Associate Consultant
- Roundblock - Data Scientist
- Secret - Analyst
- Shenxiang Xu - Owner & Data Analyst
- Sia Engineering USA, Inc. - Financial Analyst
- Springboard - Software Engineering Fellow
- Standish Management - Senior Associate
- TCL - Product Manager
- Tencent - Data Scientist / Product Analyst
- TikTok - TikTok Shop Collectibles Seller Manager
- T-Mobile - Data Analyst
- Trendsi - Product Manager
- University of Southern California - Data Pipeline Development Researcher, Google Cloud Platform Verte / ISI Intern / Research Assistant
- USSA International LLC - Senior Analyst, Quantitative Researcher
- Versa Products, Inc. - Data Analyst
- VisionX LLC - Data Scientist
- Worldpay - Data Scientist
- Xsolla - Data Analyst
Previous Years
- Accenture - Consultant
- Adidas - Digital Management Trainee
- Amazon - Software Engineer
- American Academy of Ophthalmology - Data Analyst
- Applied Materials, Inc. - Business Intelligence Analyst
- Bank of America - Sales & Trading Analyst
- Boston Consulting Group - Consultant
- Bytedance - Software Engineer
- California Creative Solutions, Inc. - IT Intern
- Citigroup - Senior Analyst
- Comscore Inc. - Associate Data Analyst
- Deloitte - Analyst
- DHL Express - Data Analyst Intern
- Didi - Business analyst
- Disney Streaming Services - Data Analyst
- Goldman Sachs - Market Risk Analyst
- Heritage Provider Network - Software Engineer I
- Huatai United Securities - Mutual Fund Analyst
- Humana Inc. - Business Intelligence Engineer
- Intuit Inc. - Software Engineer I
- Luxen Auto - Business Analyst
- Meta Platforms, Inc. - Software Engineer
- Microsoft - Software Engineer Intern
- New Land Capital - Private Equity Analyst
- PIMCO - Data Analyst
- PingCAP - Analyst I (Data Science)
- Quinn Company - Product Support Data Analyst
- Snap Inc. - Data Scientist & Machine Learning Engineer
- STAAR Surgical Company - Quality Engineer 1
- Tencent - Data Scientist
- The Woww Group LLC - Data Analyst
- Truist Financial - Data Analyst
- ULSee Inc. - No Title Provided
- XYZies - Data Analyst
- Yesing International Inc. - Data Analyst
.Internships (Summer 2023)**
Amgen Inc.; Autodesk, Inc.; BlackRock, Inc.; Calsoft Systems; Cepheid; Cowbell Cyber, Inc.; DerbySoft; Esri; FLYR, Inc.; Global Link Distribution; Intuit, Inc.; Ler V Group Inc.; Los Angeles Capital Management; Marqeta; Orbit Industries, Inc.; Salesforce; Scorpius Global Marketing, Inc.; Seattle's Children; T-Mobile USA, Inc.; Trendsi; University of Notre Dame; Velox Technologies LLC; Viatris; Wilson Sporting Goods; Xsolla
.
* Information is based on a voluntary survey and should not be interpreted as a comprehensive view of the 2024 graduating class.
** Internship data is from CPT internships done by our international student population.
This program is also available online to professional engineers through DEN@Viterbi. Because the DEN@Viterbi program provides a fully equivalent academic experience, the degree a USC engineering student earns is the same whether they are on-campus or online.
If you are interested in beginning classes as a DEN@Viterbi student next semester, explore the requirements and steps to enrolling as a Limited Status Student.
Learn More About DEN@Viterbi
Detailed Program Curriculum and RequirementsSchedule of Classes
DEN@VITERBI ONLINE COURSE OFFERINGS
The following courses and program requirements serve as program planning for DEN@Viterbi students. Course offerings and availability are subject to change. Please consult with advisor if you have any questions.
Required Courses
|
| All Courses Required - 12 Units Total. |
| ISE 529 | Predictive Analytics (4 units) |
| ISE 530 | Optimization Methods for Analytics (4 units) |
| ISE 558 | Data Management for Analytics (4 units) |
|
| Group A Course |
| One course is required - 4 units total. |
| ISE 580 | Performance Analysis with Simulation (4 units) |
| Group B Courses |
| One course is required - 4 units total. |
| ISE 525 | Design of Experiments (4 units) |
| ISE 538 | Markov Models for Performance Analysis (4 units) |
| ISE 562 | Decision Analysis (4 units) |
| Electives |
| At least 8 units of adviser-approved electives. |
Please complete the following form for more information.
