Frequently Asked Questions

Registration

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Can I take TAC classes?

Most of our classes are open to all students. You do not need a background in technology or engineering in order to enroll in our introductory classes. Over 86% of students pursuing our minor programs have majors outside of the Viterbi School of Engineering.

You can read more about our classes online.

Do I need to declare a minor or specialization in order to take TAC classes?

You do not need to declare a minor or specialization in order to take TAC classes. However, if you are considering adding a minor or specialization after taking an TAC class, be sure to complete the class on a letter-graded basis.

How do I register for a TAC class?

Most of our classes are open to all students. To register:

  1. Review the Schedule of Classes. You may read more about each class on our website.
  2. If you are completing a minor or specialization, make sure to review your requirements before selecting classes.
  3. Pay careful attention to prerequisites. You cannot earn credit for a prerequisite course after you complete a higher-level class.
  4. Register using Web Registration or at the Registration One-Stop Center.

After the first week of classes each semester, all classes require d-clearance to register. D-clearance is only granted with the instructor’s permission. This ensures that you’re able to discuss what material you’ve missed with the instructor, and the instructor will be able to advise you if you’ll be able to catch up and succeed in the class.

  • We recommend adding classes by the end of the second week of the semester at the latest.
  • Once received, d-clearance requests are processed within 2 business days, so plan ahead.
  • If there is no longer space in the classroom (or not enough computers), we may not be able to add any new students.

In order to get d-clearance:

  1. Please reach out to the instructor of the course. If applicable, discuss what material you've missed and ask if they will be able to accommodate your registration in the course.
  2. If approved, please forward the instructor's approval email to tac.advising@usc.edu.
  3. TAC Advising will send you a DocuSign form via email. Fill out and submit the form.
  4. The instructor will then receive the DocuSign form. They will sign and submit the form.
  5. Once TAC Advising has reviewed and approved the form, we'll email you when you have d-clearance to register.
  6. Your d-clearance will expire at the end of the following day. Please register ASAP and email tac.advising@usc.edu confirmation once you have done so.

Can I have a prerequisite waived?

Some students have already completed preparatory course work in CSCI, EE, or ISE or have worked on their own programming projects. In these cases, skipping a prerequisite and registering for a higher-level course may benefit the student.

  • We advise students to complete all required prerequisites.
  • After you complete a course, you cannot “go backwards” and complete its prerequisite in a later semester for credit.
  • This information applies to waiving prerequisites to register in higher-level classes only. If you are pursuing a minor or specialization program in TAC, then you may need additional units to replace the waived requirements. For information about how waiving prerequisites impacts your progress in your minor or specialization, please contact our academic advisors.

The following prerequisite waivers are approved for TAC classes:

  • CSCI-102 (2 units) satisfies the TAC-109, TAC-115, or TAC-165 requirement. (Excluding the Applied Analytics minor/specialization. Students interested in completing the Applied Analytics minor/specialization must complete TAC-115)
  • CSCI-103 (4 units) satisfies the TAC-265 requirement.
  • CSCI-104 (4 units) satisfies the TAC-365 requirement.
  • CSCI-360 (4 units) satisfies the TAC-259 requirement.
  • EE-155 (4 units) satisfies the TAC-265 requirement.
  • EE-355 (4 units) satisfies the TAC-365 requirement.

To obtain a prerequisite waiver:

  1. If the waiver is listed above, please email tac.advising@usc.edu to request the waiver.
    Please be sure to include your USC ID number.
  2. If the waiver is not listed above, you will need to obtain the written approval of the instructor of the higher-level course. If you obtain approval, please forward the instructor's approval email with your USC ID number to tac.advising@usc.edu

How do I get d-clearance?

Most classes in TAC do not require departmental clearance (“d-clearance”) in order to register during the normal registration period.

If there is d-clearance on a TAC class, it may be for the fall under the following categories:

  1. The course is an ONLINE course --  Students must request clearance for online courses by using this form. This process helps confirm that students meet university eligibility and location requirements for online instruction.
  2. There is an active waitlist of students waiting to register for the course -- This is typically the case for courses that are high-demand, full, or nearly full. Waitlists open two weeks before the beginning of each semester. If you would like to sign up for the waitlist for a course or learn more about TAC course waitlists, you can do so here.
  3. The first week of classes has passed -- Instructors will sometimes request d-clearance be added to their section after the first week of classes, and require students to reach touch base with the instructor to learn what assignments have been missed before granting d-clearance to register.
  4. The course requires instructor approval before registering -- TAC-470 "Technology and Applied Computing Practicum" and TAC-480 "Technology and Applied Computing Internship" are special courses that require a proposal and faculty approval to register. More information can be found below.

In order to get d-clearance, please reach out to tac.advising@usc.edu. Please include your 1- Digit USC ID and the section number of the course you are interested in registering for.

Please keep in mind the following:

  • We recommend adding classes by the end of the second week of the semester at the latest. It is the student's responsibility to make sure they study all material they have missed.
  • Once received, d-clearance requests are processed within 2 business days, so plan ahead.
  • If there is no longer space in the classroom (or not enough computers), we may not be able to add any new students.

How do I register for TAC-470?

In TAC-470 “Technology and Applied Computing Practicum,” exceptional students pursue individual practical or exploratory projects under the guidance of full-time faculty in TAC. To get d-clearance to register for this class, each student must submit a project proposal on MyViterbi, which the planned faculty member must approve.

How do I register for TAC-480?

TAC-480 “Technology and Applied Computing Internship” is a unique class that allows each student to earn academic credit for an approved project completed in tandem with an internship. Each student earns academic credit for an approved related project component and not solely for the work duties.

To register for TAC-480, you will need both an internship offer and a project proposal approved by a full-time faculty member in TAC. Each student must submit a d-clearance request on MyViterbi, which the faculty member guiding the internship and project must approve.

Can I be added to the waitlist?

For more information on waitlists, please check visit our registration instructions page.

Do you offer online courses?

Nearly all TAC courses are in-person, and on campus. Please email tac.advising@usc.edu for more information.

Published on June 24th, 2019Last updated on June 11th, 2025