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Bart Kosko

Bart Kosko

Bart Kosko is professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). He is famous as the leading proponent and popularizer of fuzzy logic, and is author of several books. He is an expert on mind and machine intelligence including military applications and smart weapons. Bart Kosko received bachelor's degrees in economics and philosophy from the University of Southern California, the master's degree in applied mathematics from the University of California, San Diego, and the doctorate degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, Irvine. Recently, he obtained a law degree and spent this last summer working with the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. He currently teaches probability and statistics (among other things) at the Electrical Engineering department of the University of Southern California

External links


- [http://sipi.usc.edu/~kosko/ University of Southern California - Signal and Imaging Processing Institute]

Electrical engineering

Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline that deals with the study and application of electricity and electromagnetism. Its practitioners are called electrical engineers. Electrical engineering is a broad field that encompasses many subfields including those that deal with power, control systems, electronics and telecommunications. Electrical engineering is sometimes distinguished from electronics engineering. Where this distinction is made, electrical engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with large scale electrical systems such as power transmission and motor control where as electronics engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with small scale electronic systems such as printed circuit board design and very-large-scale integration. However for the purposes of this article electronics engineering is considered to be a subfield of electrical engineering (see note).

History

Early developments in electricity

Electricity has been a subject of scientific interest since at least the seventeenth century. However it was not until the nineteenth century that research into the subject started to intensify. Notable developments in this century include the work of Georg Ohm who in 1827 quantified the relationship between the electric current and potential difference in a conductor and the work of Michael Faraday who in 1831 discovered electromagnetic induction. However during these years the study of electricity was largely considered to be a subfield of physics and hence the domain of physicists. It was not until the late nineteenth century that universities started to offer degrees in electrical engineering. The Darmstadt University of Technology established the first chair of electrical engineering worldwide in 1882 and offered a four year study course of electrical engineering in 1883. In 1882, MIT offered the first course on electrical engineering in the United States. This course was organized by Professor Charles Cross who was head of the Physics department and who later became a founder of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (which later became the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). In 1885, the University College London founded the first chair of electrical engineering in the United Kingdom and, in 1886, the University of Missouri established the first department of electrical engineering in the United States. During this period, work in the area increased dramatically. In 1882, Edison switched on the world's first large-scale electrical supply network that provided 110 volts direct current to fifty-nine customers in lower Manhattan. In 1887, Nikola Tesla filed a number of patents related to a competing form of power distribution known as alternating current. In the following years a bitter rivalry between Tesla and Edison, known as the "War of Currents", took place over the preferred method of distribution. Tesla's work on induction motors and polyphase systems influenced electrical engineering for years to come. Edison's work on telegraphy and his development of the stock ticker proved lucrative for his company (which eventually became one of the world's largest companies, General Electric). As well as the contributions of Edison and Tesla, a number of other figures played an equally important role in the progress of electrical engineering at this time.

The emergence of radio and electronics

In 1896, Guglielmo Marconi made the world's first wireless radio transmission. In 1905, John Fleming invented the first radio tube, the diode. One year later, in 1906, Robert von Lieben and Lee De Forest independently developed the amplifier tube, called the triode. In 1928, the first successful transatlantic television transmission was made from London to New York. Manfred von Ardenne then introduced the cathode ray tube and thus the electronic television in 1931. In 1942, Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the world's first functional computer. In 1946, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) of John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly followed, beginning the computing era. The arithmetic performance of these machines allowed engineers to develop completely new technologies and achieve new objectives. Early examples include the Apollo missions and the NASA moon landing. The invention of the transistor in 1947 by William B. Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain opened the door for more compact devices and led to the development of the integrated circuit in 1959 by Jack Kilby and independently in 1961 by Robert Noyce. In 1958, G.C. Devol and J. Engelberger invented and built in the USA the world's first industrial robot. Such a robot was used for the first time in 1960 in industrial production by General Motors. In 1968, Marcian Hoff at Intel invented the microprocessor and thus ignited the development of the personal computer. Hoff's invention was part of an order by a Japanese company for a desktop computer, which Hoff wanted to build as cheaply as possible. The first realization of the microprocessor was the Intel 4004, a 4-bit processor, in 1969, but only in 1973 did the Intel 8080, an 8-bit processor, make the building of the first personal computer, the Altair 8800, possible.

Education

Electrical engineers typically possess an academic degree with a major in electrical engineering. The length of study for such a degree is usually three or four years and the completed degree may be designated as a Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Applied Science depending upon the university. The degree generally includes units covering physics, mathematics, project management and specific topics in electrical and electronics engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the subfields of electrical engineering. Students then choose to specialize in one or more subfields towards the end of the degree. Some electrical engineers also choose to pursue a postgraduate degree such as a Master of Engineering, a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering or an Engineer's degree. The Master and Engineer's degree may consist of either research, coursework or a mixture of the two. The Doctor of Philosophy consists of a significant research component and is often viewed as the entry point to academia. In the United Kingdom and various other European countries, the Master of Engineering is often considered an undergraduate degree of slightly longer duration than the Bachelor of Engineering.

Training and certification

In most countries, a Bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards certification and the degree program itself is certified by a professional body. After completing a certified degree program the engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including work experience requirements) before being certified. Once certified the engineer is designated the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States and Canada), Chartered Engineer (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia) or European Engineer (in much of the European Union). The advantages of certification vary depending upon location. For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may...seal engineering work for public and private clients". This requirement is enforced by state and provincial legislation such as Quebec's Engineers Act. In other countries, such as Australia, no such legislation exists. Practically all certifying bodies maintain a code of ethics that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion. In this way these organizations play an important role in maintaining ethical standards for the profession. Even in jurisdictions where certification has little or no legal bearing on work, engineers are subject to contract law. In cases where an engineer's work fails he or she may be subject to the tort of negligence and, in extreme cases, the charge of criminal negligence. An engineer's work must also comply with numerous other rules and regulations such as building codes and legislation pertaining to environmental law. Significant professional bodies for electrical engineers include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). The IEEE claims to produce 30 percent of the world's literature on electrical engineering, has over 360,000 members worldwide and holds over 300 conferences anually. The IEE publishes 14 journals, has a worldwide membership of 120,000, certifies Chartered Engineers in the United Kingdom and claims to be the largest professional engineering society in Europe.

Tools and work

From the global positioning system to electric power generation, electrical engineers are responsible for a wide range of technologies. They design, develop, test and supervise the deployment of electrical systems and electronic devices. For example, they may work on the design of telecommunication systems, the operation of electric power stations, the lighting and wiring of buildings, the design of household appliances or the electrical control of industrial machinery. control Fundamental to the discipline are the sciences of physics and mathematics as these help to obtain both a qualitative and quantitative description of how such systems will work. Today most engineering work involves the use of computers and it is commonplace to use computer-aided design programs when designing electrical systems. Nevertheless, the ability to sketch ideas is still invaluable for quickly communicating with others. Although most electrical engineers will understand basic circuit theory, the theories employed by engineers generally depend upon the work they do. For example, quantum mechanics and solid state physics might be relevant to an engineer working on VLSI but are largely irrelevant to engineers working with macroscopic electrical systems. Even circuit theory may not be relevant to a person designing telecommunication systems that use off-the-shelf components. Perhaps the most important technical skills for electrical engineers are reflected in university programs, which emphasize strong numerical skills, computer literacy and the ability to understand the technical language and concepts that relate to electrical engineering. For most engineers technical work accounts for only a fraction of the work they do. A lot of time is also spent on tasks such as discussing proposals with clients, preparing budgets and determining project schedules. Many senior engineers manage a team of technicians or other engineers and for this reason project management skills are important. Most engineering projects involve some form of documentation and strong written communication skills are therefore very important. The workplaces of electrical engineers are just as varied as the types of work they do. Electrical engineers may be found in the pristine lab environment of a fabrication plant, the offices of a consulting firm or on site at a mine. During their working life, electrical engineers may find themselves supervising a wide range of individuals including scientists, electricians, computer programmers and other engineers. Obsolescence of technical skills is a serious concern for electrical engineers. Membership and participation in technical societies, regular reviews of periodicals in the field and a habit of continued learning are therefore essential to maintaining proficiency.

Demographics

computer programmers There are around 366,000 people working as electrical engineers in the United States constituting 0.25% of the labour force (2002). This makes electrical engineering the largest engineering discipline in the United States with the exception of software engineering. In Australia, there are around 24,000 constituting 0.23% of the labour force (2005) and in Canada, there are around 34,600 constituting 0.21% of the labour force (2001). All of these countries expect employment in the field to grow, but not rapidly, in the near future. Outside of these countries, it is difficult to gauge the demographics of the profession due to less meticulous reporting on labour statistics. One way to estimate the relative size of the profession in each country is to compare graduation statistics. In 2002, the National Science Foundation published statistics on the number of degrees granted in engineering by various countries. A summary of these statistics is shown on the right though the foundation notes that the numbers "may not be strictly comparable". In the United States and, to a lesser extent, throughout the western world there is a perception that a large number of technical jobs including those concerned with electrical engineering are being outsourced to countries such as India and China. To illustrate this claim statistics are often misrepresented (see note). Overall probably one of the best summaries of the effect of outsourcing on the United States is given by the U.S. Department of Labor which notes that "increasing use of engineering services performed in other countries will act to limit employment growth" but that overall the profession "is expected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations through 2012". Other statements on the profession are less controversial. In the United States, the number of electrical engineers graduating has fallen from a peak in the mid-1980's. In 2000, engineering degrees formed less than 20% of the degrees granted in the United States and Australia, compared to just over 25% for the United Kingdom and Japan and over 30% for Germany and South Korea. Also widely accepted is that the profession is male dominated. This is illustrated by the statistical sources in the first paragraph that show 96% of electrical engineers in Australia and 89% of electrical engineers in Canada are male.

Subfields

Electrical engineering has many subfields. This section describes seven of the most popular subfields in electrical engineering. Although there are engineers who focus exclusively on one subfield, there are also many who focus on a combination of subfields. As explained in the lead, electronics engineering is not always considered to be a subfield of electrical engineering.

Related disciplines

One discipline related to electrical engineering is that of mechatronics. Mechatronics is an engineering discipline, which deals with the convergence of electrical and mechanical systems. Such combined systems are known as electromechanical systems and have widespread adoption. Examples include automated manufacturing systems, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and various subsystems of aircrafts and automobiles. The term mechatronics is typically used to refer to macroscopic systems but futurists have predicted the emergence of very small electromechanical devices. Already such small devices, known as micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), are used in automobiles to tell airbags when to deploy, in digital projectors to create sharper images and in inkjet printers to create nozzles for high-definition printing. In the future it is hoped the devices will help build tiny implantable medical devices and improve optical communication. Another related discipline is that of biomedical engineering, which is concerned with the design of medical equipment. This includes fixed equipment such as ventilators, MRI scanners and electrocardiograph monitors as well as mobile equipment such as cochlear implants, artificial pacemakers and artificial hearts.

References

Notes :Note I - Whether or not electronics engineering is distinguished from electrical engineering must be interpreted from the context in which the term is used. Some have suggested that in places such as the United States the distinction is less common than in places such as the United Kingdom. However both usages can be found throughout the world. For example, the Institute of Electrical Engineers (which also includes electronics engineers) is a U.K. based organization but the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a U.S. based organization. Conversely the Massachusetts Institute of Technology names its electrical and electronics engineering department as the "Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering" where as the University of Sheffield refers to its deparment as the "Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering". :Note II - In October 2002, Cadence Design Systems CEO Ray Bingham announced that "China produces 600,000 engineers a year, and 200,000 are electrical engineers." The United States branch of the IEEE disputed this pointing out that it was triple the figure reported for 1999 by the National Science Foundation. Other sources draw comparisons using the number of engineering graduates reported by the All India Council for Technical Education (350,000) with that reported by the National Science Foundation (60,000) . But this comparison is dubious because the National Science Foundation excludes software engineers from its statstics. A more reasonable comparison is probably given by U.S. News who suggest the Indian figure is around 82,000. Citations # # # # # # # # # # (see here regarding copyright) # Trevelyan, James; (2005). What Do Engineers Really Do?. University of Western Australia. (seminar with [http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/jpt/Engineering%20Roles%20050503.pdf slides]) # # and # # # National Science Foundation (2002), [http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind02/append/c2/at02-18.pdf Science and Engineering Indicators 2002], Appendix 2-18. # # # Department of Education, Science and Training (2004), [http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/science_innovation/publications_resources/other_publications/documents/7_x7_pdf.htm Australian Australian Science and Technology at a glance 2004 - Human Resources in Science and Technology], slide 10. # # IEEE-USA, [http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/releases/2003/013003pr.html IEEE-USA Seeks to Substantiate Information in the H-1B Guest Worker Visa Policy Debate], January 30, 2003. # # #

See also


- List of electrical engineering topics (alphabetical)
- List of electrical engineering topics (thematic)
- List of electrical engineers
- Subfields of electrical engineering
- Electronic design automation
- Computer engineering
- IEEE Nikola Tesla Award

External links


- [http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/mainsite/menuitem.818c0c39e85ef176fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=corp_level1&path=about/whatis&file=index.xml&xsl=generic.xsl History of the IEEE Electrical Engineering Professional Society at its website]
- [http://www.allaboutcircuits.com All About Circuits] Learn the nuts and bolts about building electrical circuits, and to build appliances based on electrical circuits
- [http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org/ IEEE Virtual Museum] A virtual museum that illustrates many of the basic electrical engineering and electricity concepts through examples, figures, and interviews.
- [http://www.careercornerstone.org/eleceng/eleceng.htm Sloan Career Center: Electrical Engineering] This is an excellent resource for anyone that is interested in electrical engineering as a career. Learn what electrical engineers do on a daily basis, where they work, how much they earn, and much more. Category:Engineering
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- Category:Electronics ja:電気工学 th:วิศวกรรมไฟฟ้า

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California (also known as USC, 'SC, and Southern California), California's oldest private research university, is located in the urban center of Los Angeles, California.

Overview

Founded in 1880 as a Methodist University, on land donated by three wealthy Los Angeles residents, it has grown to international prominence. The university opened with an enrollment of 53 students and a faculty of 10. Its first graduating class in 1884 was a class of three - two males and a female valedictorian. The University is no longer a Methodist institution, having ended formal ties with the church several decades ago; it is currently not religiously affiliated. USC has grown substantially since its founding. Besides its main campus ("University Park Campus"), which lies about 2 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, the university also operates the Health Sciences Campus about 2 miles northeast of downtown; an Orange County center in Irvine for business, pharmacy, social work and education; and the Information Sciences Institute, with centers in Arlington, Virginia and Marina del Rey. The School of Policy, Planning, and Development also runs a satellite campus in Sacramento. In 2005, USC established a federal relations office in Washington, D.C.. There is also a Health Sciences Alhambra campus which holds The Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR) and the Masters in Public Health Program. USC went international in 2004, when it collaborated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to offer the USC (Executive) EMBA program in Shanghai. USC's nickname is the Trojan, epitomized in the statue of Tommy Trojan near the center of campus. Until 1912, USC students (especially athletes) were known as Methodists or Wesleyans, though neither name was approved by the university. Following a fateful track and field meet with Stanford University, which USC lost tremendously, sportswriter Owen Bird reported that the USC athletes "fought like Trojans," and the president of the university at the time, George Bovard, approved the name officially.

The University Park Campus

George Bovard The University Park campus is in the West Adams district of South Los Angeles, 2 miles southwest of Downtown Los Angeles. The campus' boundaries are Jefferson Boulevard on the north and northeast, Figueroa Street on the southeast, Exposition Boulevard on the south, and Vermont Avenue on the west. Since the 1960s, through campus vehicle traffic has been banned. The University Park campus is in close proximity to Los Angeles landmarks such as the Shrine Auditorium, Staples Center, and Los Angeles Coliseum. A popular spot for filmmakers, it has stood in for such institutions as Harvard and UC Berkeley in movies and on television. Most buildings are in the Romanesque style, although some dormitories, engineering buildings, and physical sciences labs are of various Modernist styles (especially two large Brutalist dormitories at the campus' northern edge) that sharply contrast with the predominantly red-brick campus. Beautifully landscaped courtyards and parks provide a welcome contrast from the urban environment outside the campus. USC's role in making visible and sustained improvements in the neighborhoods surrounding both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses earned it the distinction of College of the Year 2000 by the TIME/Princeton Review College Guide. Roughly half of the university's students volunteer in community-service programs in neighborhoods around campus and throughout Los Angeles. These outreach programs, as well as previous administrations' commitment to remaining in South Los Angeles amid widespread calls to move the campus following the 1965 Watts Riots, are credited for the safety of the university during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. (That the university emerged from the riots completely unscathed is all the more remarkable in light of the complete destruction of several strip malls in the area, including one just across Vermont Avenue from the campus' western entrance.) USC's most recent fund-raising drive raised nearly $2.9 billion, which is the largest total of any academic fund-raising drive in the history of higher education. (Columbia University, with $2.6 billion, placed second; Harvard University, with $2.2 billion, placed third.) USC and its partner institutions have recently completed or soon will be constructing 27 new buildings, which will provide nearly 8.1 million square feet (750,000 m²) of new space for research, teaching, patient care, and enrichment of student life.

Demographics

The following figures are accurate as of the 2004-2005 academic year. USC has a total enrollment of 32,160 students, of which 15,686 are at the postgraduate level. 350 postdoctoral fellows are supported along with 900 medical residents. There are currently 4,390 faculty and about 14,000 support staff. There are roughly 180,000 living USC alumni. The university has attracted more international students over the years than any other American university. Currently, about 10 percent of USC's students represent over 115 countries. The USC Alumni Association has more than 200,000 current members. The male:female ratio at USC is nearly 1:1, and about 45% of new students come from out of state. The ethnic breakdown of undergraduates is:
- 47% Caucasian
- 21% Asian
- 13% Hispanic
- 7% African American
- 1% Native American
- 3% Other

Academics

Native AmericanNative AmericanNative AmericanNative AmericanNative American The University of Southern California is well known for its outstanding professional schools in law, medicine, business, engineering, journalism, public policy, and architecture, as well as for its world-renowned School of Cinema-Television. Currently, USC ranks among the top 10 private universities receiving federal funds for research and development support and in the top 20 among all universities in the United States. The Center at the University of Florida ranks USC 12th in the Top American Research Universities. The incoming freshman class for the 2005 fall term had an average GPA of 4.05 out of 4 and an average SAT score of 1368 out of 1600. USC is a longtime member of the Association of American Universities and is the oldest private research university in the American West. The School of Cinema-Television, the first in the country and perhaps USC's most famous wing, confers degrees in critical studies, screenwriting, and production. In 2001, the film school added an Interactive Media Division studying video games, virtual reality, and mobile media. The school is supported by its famous alumni, whose ranks include such well-known graduates as George Lucas, Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, John Milius, Ben Burtt, and David Wolper. A Department of Architecture was established at USC within the School of Fine Arts in 1916, the first in Southern California. This small department grew rapidly with the help of the Allied Architects of Los Angeles. A separate School of Architecture was organized in September 1925. The School of Architecture is world famous for its strong focus on the design aspect of the architectural field. The school has been home to teachers such as Richard Neutra, Ralph Knowles, A. Quincy Jones, William Pereira and Pierre Koenig. The school of architecture is also home to notable alumni Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, Raphael Soriano, Gregory Ain, and Pierre Koenig. The school has two Pritzker Prize winners, the highest award in architecture (often referred to as "the Nobel of architecture"), and is tied with Yale for the most American winners. The Annenberg School for Communication is among the best in the nation, being one of the two communication programs in the country endowed by Walter Annenberg (the other is at the University of Pennsylvania). The school of journalism features a core curriculum that requires students to devote themselves equally to print, broadcast and online media for the first year of study. This approach promises a breadth of knowledge across various journalistic media. USC's Annenberg School for Communication enjoys a massive endowment. On March 02, 2004, the USC School of Engineering, headed by Dean Max Nikias, was renamed to the Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering. This was done to honor Qualcomm founder Andrew Viterbi and his wife Erna, who had recently donated $52 million to the school. The gift was the largest ever to rename an existing school of engineering. USC was ranked "most selective" [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_1328_brief.php] and 30th [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier1/t1natudoc_brief.php] overall in the country by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges in 2006. The 2006 U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools ranked the Viterbi School of Engineering as 7th, the School of Policy, Planning, and Development as 7th, the Leventhal School of Accounting as 7th, the Marshall School of Business as 26th (Undergraduate 9th, Executive MBA 9th, Professionals and Managers (part-time) MBA Program 5th, Entrepreneurship 6th, and International 10th), and the Law School as 18th. The School of Cinema-Television and the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy are ranked number 1 in the nation.

Academic Subdivisions

USC's academic departments fall either under the general liberal arts and sciences of the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences for undergraduates, or The Graduate School for graduates, or the university's 18 professional schools. A full listing of academic subdivisions follows alphabetically by subject:
- The College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
- The Graduate School
- The Professional Schools
  - School of Architecture
  - Marshall School of Business
  - Leventhal School of Accounting
  - School of Cinema-Television
  - Annenberg School for Communication
  - School of Dentistry
  - Rossier School of Education
  - Viterbi School of Engineering
  - School of Fine Arts
  - Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
  - Independent Health Professions
  - USC Gould School of Law
  - Keck School of Medicine
  - Thornton School of Music
  - School of Pharmacy
  - School of Policy, Planning, and Development
  - School of Social Work
  - School of Theatre

Athletics

Theatre USC participates in the NCAA Division I-A Pacific Ten Conference. USC's cross-town rival is UCLA, with whom there is fierce athletic and scholastic competition. However USC has a traditionally older rivalry with Notre Dame that predates that with UCLA. The Notre Dame rivalry stems mainly from the annual football game played between these two universities; this is considered the greatest cross-country rivalry of college football. The USC Football team has been voted at least a portion of the National Championship 11 times, placing the program among the top of all historical programs. The Pro Football Hall of Fame counts USC tied with Notre Dame as the university with the most Hall of Famers, 10. USC is also known for its Heisman Trophy winners. With the awarding of the 2005 Heisman to Reggie Bush (the third consecutive Heisman awarded to a USC athelete), USC is now tied with Notre Dame for the most Heisman winners - 7. There have been more Trojans in the Olympics than from any other university in the world - in fact, if USC were its own nation in the Olympics, it would rank in the top 20 in the world in gold medals earned. Trojan men's teams are tops in the nation in NCAA championships with 72 - more than any other university. Including the women's teams, USC has won 83 national team titles.

Men's NCAA National Title

Olympics
- Football (11) - 2nd to Alabama and Notre Dame, each with 12.
- Baseball (12) - Most by any university
- Gymnastics (1)
- Indoor Track & Field (2)
- Swimming & Diving (9)
- Tennis (16)
- Track & Field (26)
- Volleyball (4)
- Water Polo (2)

Women's NCAA National Title


- Basketball (2)
- Swimming & Diving (1)
- Tennis (2)
- Track & Field (1)
- Volleyball (3)
- Water Polo (2)
- Golf (1)

The Marching Band

USC is also known for its marching band, known as The Spirit of Troy, which also calls itself The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe. The band has been featured in at least 10 major movies. The band performed in the 1932 and 1984 summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in addition to their appearances in movies, television shows, and performances with other musicians. The band was notable in the late 1970's for its appearance on the title track of the 1979 Fleetwood Mac album Tusk, for which the band was awarded two platinum records. No other marching band has earned a platinum record. Recently, the band produced an instrumental version of the popular song "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "Hit That," both by The Offspring (whose lead singer is a USC alumnus), and appeared with OutKast at the 2004 Grammy Awards in their hit song "Hey Ya!".

Club sports


- University of Southern California Fencing Club

Tradition

As one of the oldest universities in California, the University of Southern California has a long and storied history resulting in a number of modern traditions, some of which are outlined here:
- The colors of USC are cardinal and gold, which were approved by USC's third president, Rev. George W. White in 1895.
- USC's official fight song is Fight On, which was composed in 1922 by USC dental student Milo Sweet (with lyrics by Sweet and Glen Grant).
- The Trojan Shrine, better known as 'Tommy Trojan', is a bronze statue located at the center of campus, and an integral figure in school pride, embodying the ideas of a Trojan: Faithful, Scholarly, Skillful, Courageous, and Ambitious.
- Traveler, a majestic white horse, has been the USC mascot since 1961. Mounted by a rider dressed as a Trojan warrior, Traveler gallops around the field at every home football game whenever USC scores.
- Prior to Traveler, making his first football game appearance in 1940, USC's mascot was a campus mutt called George Tirebiter that went around campus chasing cars.
- Spectators walking from campus to the Coliseum and back kick the base of one of the flag poles at the edge of campus on Exposition Boulevard to ensure good luck for the football team at their next game.
- The week preceding the annual football matchup with UCLA is known as "Troy Week" and features a number of traditions including Save Tommy Night, the Troy Week Bonfire, and all-night vigils by the Trojan Knights to protect the campus from Bruins.

Trophies

The University of Southern California is part-time host to two traveling trophies. The first is the Victory Bell, which goes to the winner of the UCLA-USC football game. The second is the Jeweled Shillelagh, a gaelic war club passed between the victor in the Notre Dame-USC football match, which is kept on display in Heritage Hall. The Shillelagh is adorned with Trojan heads and Shamrocks correlating to victories by both schools.

Administration

Jeweled Shillelagh USC is a private corporation, and is ultimately controlled by a Board of Trustees, with roughly 50 voting members and several Life Trustees, Honorary Trustees, and Trustees Emeritus who do not vote. Voting members of the Board of Trustees are elected for five-year terms. One fifth of the Trustees stand for re-election each year, and votes are cast only by the Trustees not standing for election. Trustees tend to be high-ranking executives of large corporations (both domestic and international), successful alumni, members of the upper echelons of university administration or some combination of the three. The university administration consists of a President, a Provost, several Vice Presidents of various departments, a treasurer, a Chief Information Officer, and an athletic director. The President is Steven B. Sample and the Provost is C.L. Max Nikias. The College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, The Graduate School, and the 18 Professional Schools are each lead by an Academic Dean. USC occasionally awards emeritus titles to former administrators. There are currently six Administrators Emeritus.

Student Government

DeanUSC annually elects members to a Student Senate, which is incorporated with the USC Student Affairs department. The Senate President and Vice-President are currently Jessica Lall and Chase Tajima, elected in the spring of 2005. Modeled after the United States government, the Student Sentate consists of executive, legislative, and judicial branches, along with a programming branch (commonly referred to as "Program Board"). The executive branch consists of students appointed by the elected leadership and is charged with coordinating publications, events, and efforts to solve problems voiced by the student body. The legislative branch, the only branch fully elected by the students, represents the voice of the student body to university officials and legislates changes to some limited aspects of university policy. The judicial branch ensures that all operations within Student Senate are within the bounds of the organization's governing documentation. The programming branch, referred to as "Program Board," aims to provide USC students with education and information through a multitude of social, political, and entertaining events. Assemblies and committees, in conjunction with elected and appointed Senate representatives, attempt to program these events in line with the desires of the paying student body. All Student Senate activities are funded by the student activity fee, which the Senate itself has some control over setting.

Campus Renovations

The majority of USC undergraduates live on campus or in the North University Park area bounded by Vermont Avenue, Jefferson Boulevard, Figueroa Street, and Adams Boulevard. Public transportation connections to the university are plentiful and relatively cheap; nevertheless, the disdain held by many Angelenos for mass transit means that most students drive to school. On-campus parking structures rarely have spaces, and street parking is generally impossible. Moreover, the USC Parking Center, across the Harbor Freeway (I-110) from campus and connected to the campus by shuttle bus, is also frequently close to full. Construction of off-campus parking structures, including one at Jefferson Boulevard and Flower Street and another at Exposition Boulevard and Figueroa Street, is an integral component of the university's ambitious capital improvement campaign. The dormitories on campus have gone through sporadic renovations with such improvements as all rooms having direct university T3 access and card reader abilities. The entire campus itself underwent some renovations in the summer of 2001. T3A new fountain was built in front of Leavey Library. A large area (formerly a parking lot, basketball courts, picnic area, and volleyball court) was converted into open land with walkways and scattered trees. This was in the vision of President Sample who wants to open up the campus and make it feel more 'free.' Sample also had building markers changed to more professional signs. In late 1998, USC cardinal bricks were placed in the crosswalks in the streets surrounding the university. Around this same time there were some minor improvements in University Village (the name for the area and shops surrounding USC). The University Village includes restaurants, a movie theater, an arcade, a salon, and a bank. The Doheny Library and Commons area also went under structural renovations. This was due in part to the 1994 Northridge earthquake which damaged the buildings. The renovations lasted a couple years. The USC track was also redone with new bleachers being installed and various aesthetic improvements. The USC entrance way adjacent to the registration and admissions building was drastically redesigned. Most of the changes have made the spotty city like architecture (a relic of the 70's and 80's) on campus evolve into more academic like architecture to allow for better contrast with the older buildings. Overall, the campus is changing and expanding. Soon, USC students will have many new buildings including the much anticipated Galen Center.

Notable alumni, faculty, and students

See List of University of Southern California people

External links


- [http://www.usc.edu University of Southern California]
- [http://my.usc.edu USC Student Portal]
- [http://alumni.usc.edu/ USC Alumni Association]
- [http://www.senatecourseguide.com/ USC Senate Course Guide]
- [http://www.usc.edu/private/about/visit_usc/upc_map_index.gif Map of USC's University Park Campus] (406 KiB GIF)
- [http://www.usc.edu/about/visit/upc/tommy_cam/ TommyCam] (live campus web cam)
- [http://www.dailytrojan.com/ The Daily Trojan] (student newspaper) - [http://www.hopstudios.com/dtlink/ (DT alumni site)]
- [http://www.KSCR.org/ KSCR] (student radio station)
- [http://www.trojanvision.com/ Trojan Vision] (student television station)
- [http://www.usctrojans.com Official USC athletics site]
- [http://usctrojans.collegesports.com/genrel/102304aab.html USC Athletic Hall of Fame (1994-2005)]
- [http://senate.usc.edu/pb USC Program Board]
- [http://uscpublicdiplomacy.com USC Center on Public Diplomacy]
- [http://www.ojr.org/ USC Online Journalism Review]
- [http://www.atvn.org/ USC Annenberg TV News] (student newscast)
- [http://housing.usc.edu USC Housing]
- [http://www.deanshalls.com/ USC Deans' Halls] (Marks & Trojan Residence Hall Community)
- [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/sioncampus/11/10/pacten.roadtrip.southerncal/index.html SI on Campus, USC, SportsIllustrated.com, November 11, 2005] (Tips from Sports Illustrated on eating, sports, and partying at USC)

Trivia


- During the week prior to the traditional USC-UCLA rivalry football game, the Tommy Trojan statue is covered in duct tape, to prevent the spraypainting of UCLA colors on the statue, as was commonplace several decades ago.[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/sioncampus/11/10/pacten.roadtrip.southerncal/index.html] Category:Architecture schools Category:Association of American Universities Category:Los Angeles area colleges and universities Southern California Southern California Category:Universities and colleges in California
- Category:Film schools ja:南カリフォルニア大学

Mind

The mind is the term most commonly used to describe the higher functions of the human brain, particularly those of which humans are subjectively conscious, such as personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. Although other species of animals share some of these mental capacities, the term is usually used only in relation to humans. It is also used in relation to postulated supernatural beings to which human-like qualities are ascribed, as in the expression "the mind of God."

Theories of the mind

There are many theories of what the mind is and how it works, dating back to Plato, Aristotle and other Ancient Greek philosophers. Pre-scientific theories, which were rooted in theology, concentrated on the relationship between the mind and the soul, the supposed supernatural or divine essence of the human person. Modern theories, based on a scientific understanding of the brain, see the mind as a phenomenon of psychology, and the term is often used more or less synonymously with consciousness. Another theory, Dianetics, which was developed in the late 1940s pays no attention to where the mind is located or even if it has a physical location. The question of which human attributes make up the mind is also much debated. Some argue that only the "higher" intellectual functions constitute mind: particularly reason and memory. In this view the emotions - love, hate, fear, joy - are more "primitive" or subjective in nature and should be seen as different in nature or origin to the mind. Others argue that the rational and the emotional sides of the human person cannot be separated, that they are of the same nature and origin, and that they should all be considered as part of the individual mind. In popular usage mind is frequently synonymous with thought: it is that private conversation with ourselves that we carry on "inside our heads" during every waking moment of our lives. Thus we "make up our minds," "change our minds" or are "of two minds" about something. One of the key attributes of the mind in this sense is that it is a private sphere. No-one else can read our thoughts or "know our mind." They can only know what we communicate (and this is true even under torture).

Nature of the mind

Both philosophers and psychologists remain divided about the nature of the mind. Some take what is known as the substantial view, and argue that the mind is a single entity, perhaps having its base in the brain but distinct from it and having an autonomous existence. This view ultimately derives from Plato, and was absorbed from him into Christian thought. In its most extreme form, the substantial view merges with the theological view that the mind is an entity wholly separate from the body, in fact a manifestation of the soul, which will survive the body's death and return to God, its creator. Others take what is known as the functional view, ultimately derived from Aristotle, which holds that the mind is a term of convenience for a variety of mental functions which have little in common except that humans are conscious of their existence. Functionalists tend to argue that the attributes which we collectively call the mind are closely related to the functions of the brain and can have no autonomous existence beyond the brain - nor can they survive its death. In this view mind is a subjective manifestation of consciousness: the human brain's ability to be aware of its own existence. The concept of the mind is therefore a means by which the conscious brain understands its own operations.

History of the philosophy of the mind

A leading exponent of the substantial view was George Berkeley, an 18th century Anglican bishop and philosopher. Berkeley argued that there is no such thing as matter and what humans see as the material world is nothing but an idea in God's mind, and that therefore the human mind is purely a manifestation of the soul or spirit or similar. This type of belief is also common in certain types of spiritual non-dualistic belief, but outside this field few philosophers take an extreme view today. However, the view that the human mind is of a nature or essence somehow different from, and higher than, the mere operations of the brain, continues to be widely held. Berkeley's views were attacked, and in the eyes of many philosophers demolished, by T.H. Huxley, a 19th century biologist and disciple of Charles Darwin, who agreed that the phenomena of the mind were of a unique order, but argued that they can only be explained in reference to events in the brain. Huxley drew on a tradition of materialist thought in British philosophy dating to Thomas Hobbes, who argued in the 17th century that mental events were ultimately physical in nature, although with the biological knowledge of his day he could not say what their physical basis was. Huxley blended Hobbes with Darwin to produce the modern materialist or functional view. Huxley's view was reinforced by the steady expansion of knowledge about the functions of the human brain. In the 19th century it was not possible to say with certainty how the brain carried out such functions as memory, emotion, perception and reason. This left the field open for substantialists to argue for an autonomous mind, or for a metaphysical theory of the mind. But each advance in the study of the brain during the 20th century made this harder, since it became more and more apparent that all the components of the mind have their origins in the functioning of the brain. Huxley's rationalism, however, was disturbed in the early 20th century by the ideas of Sigmund Freud, who developed a theory of the unconscious mind, and argued that those mental processes of which humans are subjectively aware are only a small part of their total mental activity. Freudianism was in a sense a revival of the substantial view of the mind in a secular guise. Although Freud did not deny that the mind was a function of the brain, he held the mind has, as it were, a mind of its own, of which we are not conscious, which we cannot control, and which can be accessed only though psychoanalysis (particularly the interpretation of dreams). Freud's theory of the unconscious, although impossible to prove empirically, has been widely accepted and has greatly influenced the popular understanding of the mind. More recently, Douglas Hofstadter's 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Gödel, Escher, Bach - an eternal Gold Braid", is a tour de force on the subject of mind, and how it might arise from the neurology of the brain. Amongst other biological and cybernetic phenomena, Hofstadter places tangled loops and recursion at the center of Self, Self-awareness, and perception of oneself, and thus at the heart of Mind and thinking. Likewise philosopher Ken Wilber posits that Mind is the interior dimension of the brain holon. That is, that mind is what a brain looks like internally, when it looks at itself.

Current research

The debate about the nature of the mind is relevant to the development of artificial intelligence. If the mind is indeed a thing separate from or higher than the functioning of the brain, then presumably it will not be possible for any machine, no matter how sophisticated, to duplicate it. If on the other hand the mind is no more than the aggregated functions of the brain, then it will be possible, at least in theory, to create a machine with a mind. The Mind/Brain/Behavior Interfaculty Initiative (MBB) at Harvard University aims to elucidate the structure, function, evolution, development, and pathology of the nervous system in relation to human behavior and mental life. It draws on the departments of psychology, neurobiology, neurology, molecular and cellular biology, radiology, psychiatry, organismic and evolutionary biology, history of science, and linguistics.

See also


- artificial consciousness
- artificial intelligence
- Carl Jung
- cognitive science
- consciousness
- Hominid intelligence
- Mental (Sri Aurobindo)
- Mental body
- Mind-body problem
- Mind myths
- Philosophy of mind
- simulated consciousness
- Society of Mind theory
- Subjective character of experience
- Theory of mind
- unconscious mind
- Brain-computer interface

External links


- http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0503/feature1/index.html
- [http://mind.sourceforge.net/theory5.html theory of mind] for artificial intelligence. Category:Cognitive scienceCategory:PsychologyCategory:Metaphysics simple:Mind

Machine intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as intelligence exhibited by an artificial entity. Such a system is generally assumed to be a computer. Although AI has a strong science fiction connotation, it forms a vital branch of computer science, dealing with intelligent behavior, learning and adaptation in machines. Research in AI is concerned with producing machines to automate tasks requiring intelligent behavior. Examples include control, planning and scheduling, the ability to answer diagnostic and consumer questions, handwriting, speech, and facial recognition. As such, it has become a scientific discipline, focused on providing solutions to real life problems. AI systems are now in routine use in economics, medicine, engineering and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications and video games.

Schools of thought

AI divides roughly into two schools of thought: Conventional AI and Computational Intelligence (CI). Conventional AI mostly involves methods now classified as machine learning, characterized by formalism and statistical analysis. This is also known as symbolic AI, logical AI, neat AI and Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence (GOFAI). (Also see semantics.) Methods include:
- Expert systems: apply reasoning capabilities to reach a conclusion. An expert system can process large amounts of known information and provide conclusions based on them. Clippy the Microsoft Office paperclip is an example. As the user types, Clippy recognizes certain traits and makes suggestions.
- Case based reasoning
- Bayesian networks Computational Intelligence involves iterative learning of connectionist system parameter tuning, based on empirical data. This is also known as non-symbolic AI, scruffy AI or soft computing. Methods are:
- Neural networks: systems with very strong pattern recognition capabilities.
- Fuzzy systems: techniques for reasoning under uncertainty, has been widely used in modern industrial and consumer product control systems.
- Evolutionary computation: applies biologically inspired concepts such as populations, mutation and survival of the fittest to generate increasingly better solutions to the problem. These methods most notably divide into evolutionary algorithms (e.g. genetic algorithms) and swarm intelligence (e.g. ant algorithms). However, hybrid intelligent systems have given rise to connectionist expert systems which try to combine these two groups, generating expert inference rules through neural network.

History

Main article: History of artificial intelligence Early in the 17th century, René Descartes proposed that bodies of animals are nothing more than complex machines. Blaise Pascal created the first mechanical digital calculating machine in 1642. Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace worked on programmable mechanical calculating machines. Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead published Principia Mathematica, which revolutionaized formal logic. Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts published "A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity" in 1943 laying foundations for neural networks. The 1950s were a period of active efforts in AI. John McCarthy coined the term "artificial intelligence" in the first conference devoted to the subject. He also invented the Lisp programming language. Alan Turing introduced the "Turing test" as a way of operationalizing a test of intelligent behavior. Joseph Weizenbaum built ELIZA, a chatterbot implementing Rogerian psychotherapy. During the 1960s and 1970s, Joel Moses demonstrated the power of symbolic reasoning for integration problems in the Macsyma program, the first successful knowledge-based program in mathematics. Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert publish Perceptrons, demonstrating limits of simple neural nets and Alain Colmerauer developed the Prolog computer language. Ted Shortliffe demonstrated the power of rule-based systems for knowledge representation and inference in medical diagnosis and therapy in what is sometimes called the first expert system. Hans Moravec developed the first computer-controlled vehicle to autonomously negotiate cluttered obstacle courses. In the 1980s, neural networks become widely used with the backpropagation algorithm, first described by Paul John Werbos in 1974. The 1990s marked major achievements in many areas of AI and demonstrations of various applications. Most notably Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer, beat Garry Kasparov in a famous match in 1997. DARPA stated that the costs saved by implementing AI methods for scheduling units in the first Gulf War have repaid the US government's entire investment in AI research since the 1950s.

Philosophy

Main article: Philosophy of artificial intelligence The weak AI vs. strong AI debate is still a hot topic amongst AI philosophers. This involves philosophy of mind and the mind-body problem. Most notably Roger Penrose in his book The Emperor's New Mind and John Searle with his "Chinese room" thought experiment argue that true consciousness can not be achieved by formal logic systems, while Douglas Hofstadter in Gödel, Escher, Bach and Daniel Dennett in Consciousness Explained argue in favour of Functionalism. In many strong AI supporters’ opinion, artificial consciousness is considered as the holy grail of artificial intelligence.

Science fiction

In science fiction AI is commonly portrayed as an upcoming power trying to overthrow human authority as in HAL 9000, Skynet, Colossus and The Matrix or as service humanoids like C-3PO, Data, the Bicentennial Man or Sonny in I, Robot, and AI from Warner Bros. in 2001. The inevitability of AI world domination, sometimes called "the Singularity", is also argued by some science writers like Isaac Asimov and Kevin Warwick. In works such as the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell, the existence of intelligent machines questions the definition of life as organisms rather than a broader category of autonomous entities. See list of fictional computers and list of fictional robots and androids.

Related topics

Typical problems to which AI methods are applied:
- Pattern recognition
  - Optical character recognition
  - Handwriting recognition
  - Speech recognition
  - Face recognition
- Natural language processing, Translation and Chatterbots
- Non-linear control and Robotics
- Computer vision, Virtual reality and Image processing
- Game theory and Strategic planning
- Game AI and Computer game bot Other fields in which AI methods are implemented:
- Bio-inspired computing
- Cybernetics
- Hybrid intelligent system
- Intelligent agent
- Intelligent control
- Automated reasoning
- Data mining
- Cognitive robotics
- Developmental robotics
- Evolutionary robotics

Links to researchers, projects & institutions


- List of AI researchers
- List of AI projects
- List of important AI publications
- [http://www.aaai.org/ American Association for Artificial Intelligence]
- [http://www.eccai.org/ European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence]
- [http://www.dfki.de/ German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, DFKI]
- [http://www.auai.org/ Association for Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence]
- [http://www.singinst.org Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence]
- [http://www.aisb.org.uk/ The Society for the Study of AI and Simulation of Behaviour]
- [http://agiri.org/ AGIRI - Artificial General Intelligence Research Institute]
- [http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~russell/ai.html University of California at Berkeley AI Resources] links to 868 AI resource pages
- [http://www.loebner.net/Prizef/loebner-prize.html Loebner Prize website]
- [http://www.nabble.com/Artificial-Intelligence-f434.html Artificial Intelligence Forum]
- [http://purl.net/net/AIWiki AIWiki] - a wiki devoted to AI.
- [http://commonsense.media.mit.edu/cgi-bin/search.cgi/ OpenMind CommonSense]
- [http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=133 SourceForge Open Source AI projects] - 1139 projects
- [http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/html/ethics.html Ethical and Social Implications of AI en Computerization]
- [http://www.cs.unm.edu/~luger/ai-final/software.html AI algorithm implementations and demonstrations]
- [http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/ Marvin Minsky's Homepage]
- [http://www.csail.mit.edu/ MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab]
- [http://www.isi.edu/divisions/div3/ AI research group at Information Sciences Institute]
- [http://www.alanturing.net/turing_archive/pages/Reference%20Articles/What%20is%20AI.html What is Artificial Intelligence?]
- [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/logic-ai/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Logic and Artificial Intelligence]
- [http://www.ai-junkie.com/ AI-Junkie: Genetic Algorithm and Neural Network tutorials]
- [http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/08/10/turing/index.html "Hello, Are You Human?"] at Salon.com Category:Computer science Category:Artificial intelligence ko:인공 지능 ms:Kecergasan Buatan ja:人工知能 th:ปัญญาประดิษฐ์

Smart weapon

In military science, smart weapons refers to munitions equipped with guidance technology that actively seeks a target with little or no direction from a remote controller after the munitions are launched. Smart weapons originated as guided missiles, but include a generation of guidance systems for tactical weapons developed after the crude guidance systems fitted to early rockets. Development of smart weaponry has included GPS-based guidance systems for common iron bombs that make up much the stockpile used in modern aerial bombardment campaigns. Fitted with guidance systems, an aircraft load of iron bombs can be directed to fall on pre-selected targets, allowing target selection cadres to avoid hitting unselected or civilian targets. The availability of targeted iron bombs in the Iraq War resulted in reduced reliance on mass bombardment tactics such as carpet bombing. Western military forces at the start of the 21st century enjoyed a commanding lead over those of any other region or alliance in the development of smart weaponry. The spread of information processing technology, of high-speed increasingly lightweight computer processing technology and the growing availability of navigation algorithms suggests technology leaders might not long enjoy exclusive access to smart weapons. If the spread of smart weaponry among competing geopolitical factions followed the patterns with which other new weapons were spread, more widely available smart weapon technology may fuel a race in which nations with dominant technology race to devise smart weapons to outsmart the smart weapons of opponents. Category:guided missiles





Master's degree

:For other degrees, see Academic degree or Degree (disambiguation) A master's degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. In the United Kingdom it is sometimes awarded for an undergraduate student whose final year consists of higher-level courses and a major research project. In the recent standardized European system of higher education diplomas, it corresponds to a two-year graduate program to be entered after three years of undergraduate studies and in preparation for either high-qualification employment or for doctoral studies.

North America

MA, MS, MSc, MSE, AM, SM

The Master of Arts (Magister Artium) and Master of Science (Magister Scientiæ) degrees are the basic type in most subjects and may be entirely course-based, entirely research-based or (more typically) a mixture. Admission to a masters program is normally contingent upon holding a bachelors degree, and progressing to a doctoral program usually requires a master's degree. In some fields or graduate programs, work on a doctorate begins immediately after the bachelors degree. Some programs provide for a joint bachelors and masters degree after about five years. Some universities use the Latin degree names, and due to the flexibility of Latin word order, Artium Magister (AM) or Scientiæ Magister (SM) may be used at some schools. For example, Harvard University uses the degree abbreviations A.M., S.M. and Ed.M. for its master's degrees.

MASc, MEng

The Master of Engineering degree is awarded to students who have done graduate work at the masters level in the field of engineering. While in the United States, candidates in engineering are typically awarded MS degrees, in the U.K. and Canada, they are generally given MSc, MASc or MEng degrees. (An example of an MEng-awarding U.S. university is the University of California, Berkeley, of which the Civil & Environmental Engineering department offers both MS and MEng degrees.) In Canada, the Master of Applied Science (MASc) is awarded to masters students with a research focus (having completed work leading to a thesis), while an MEng is awarded to masters students with a coursework focus and the completion of a research paper. The distinction between MASc and MEng is not definite since some universities grant only an MEng and some universities grant only an MASc, either research or coursework-focused.

MAT

Coursework and practica leading to a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree is intended to prepare individuals for a teaching career in a specific subject of middle and/or secondary-level curricula (i.e., middle or high school). The MAT differs from the MEd degree in that the course requirements are dominated by classes in the subject area to be taught (e.g., foreign language, math, science, etc.) rather than educational theory. Work toward most MAT degrees will, however, necessarily include classes on educational theory in order to meet program and state requirements. Work toward the MAT degree may also include practica (i.e., student teaching).

MBA, MHA, MPA, MAL

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Health Administration (MHA) and Master of Public Administration (MPA), are professional degrees focusing on management for the private and public sector.

MAcc or MAc

Master of Accountancy (MAcc or MAc) is typically a one-year, non-thesis graduate program designed to prepare graduates for public accounting and to provide them with the 150 credit hours required by most states before taking the CPA exam.

MArchHist

The two-year Master of Architectural History (M.Arch.Hist.) is the first professional degree in architectural history or historic preservation and often is awarded for progress toward a Ph.D.

MDiv, MTh, STM

The Master of Divinity (M.Div.) is the first professional degree in ministry and is a common academic degree among theological seminaries. It is typically three years in length. Other theology degree titles used are Master of Theology and Master of Sacred Theology.

MEd

Master of Education degrees are similar to MA, MS, and MSc where the subject studied is education. In the United States some states license teachers with a bachelors degree but require a masters within a set number of years as continuing education. Other Education related master's degrees conferred in the United States are Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed. or M.S.E.), Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) and Master of Adult Education (M.Ad.Ed.).

MMus

Master of Music is a three or four year degree in the field of music.

MFA

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a two to three year terminal degree in a creative field of study such as theatre arts, creative writing, filmmaking or studio art.

M.A.L.S., MLA, MLS

The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (M.A.L.S.), Master of Liberal Arts (MLA), Master of Arts in Liberal Arts (M.A.L.A.) and Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) are interdisciplinary master's degrees, occasionally awarded in specific subjects. Regardless of the title, these degrees are essentially similar, often requiring the completion of a liberal arts curriculum and a master's thesis or capstone project. In the 1950s, Wesleyan University initiated the first master's program of this sort, to refresh the educations of local secondary school teachers. Today, these degrees are often undertaken for personal enrichment, or to explore an interdisciplinary subject that does not conform to the scope of traditional master's degree programs.

MLS, MLIS, MSIS

A Master of Library Science (MLS) degree is the culmination of an interdisciplinary program encompassing information science, information management, librarianship, and/or related topics. Modern variants include Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS), Master of Science in Information Studies (MSIS), Master of Librarianship, et al. While some universities use standard degree titles such as Master of Arts (University of Iowa) and Master of Science (University of Illinois) for their Library Science master's degrees.

MPH

The Master of Public Health degree is awarded to students who have completed a post-graduate course of study in Public Health.

MPhil

In the United States and Canada, a Master of Philosophy or Magister Philosophiae (MPhil) degree is sometimes awarded to ABD (all but dissertation) doctoral candidates who have completed all coursework, passed their written and oral examinations, and met any other special requirements before beginning work on the doctoral dissertation. Assuming all requirements are met, the MPhil degree is generally awarded after about one year of full time study towards a doctorate. The MPhil is considered equivalent to the former French DEA Diplôme d'études approfondies.

MSN, M.Nur.

The Master of Science in Nursing is the most common title for a graduate professional degree in nursing. A few schools also use the titles Master of Nursing or Master of Arts.

MSW

The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a semi-professional degree preparing students to become social workers.

United Kingdom

Undergraduate Masters

(MSci, MChem, MComp, MEng, MMath, MPhys, etc.) In the UK, many universities now have a four year (five years in Scotland) undergraduate programmes in science courses, with a project in the final year. The awards for these are named after the subject, so a course in mathematics would earn a Master in Mathematics degree, (abbreviated to MMath), or have a general title such as MSci (Master in Science at most universities but Master of Natural Sciences at Cambridge). Although these degrees reflect a higher level of achievement than the traditional bachelor's degree, some are generally considered less prestigious than postgraduate masters degrees such as MSc and MA. In content the first three years are generally identical to those of the equivalent bachelor's degree while the fourth year is a combination of higher-level taught courses and a research project.

Postgraduate Masters

Postgraduate masters in the United Kingdom can either be "taught" degrees, involving lectures, examination and a short dissertation, or "research" degrees (though the latter have largely been replaced by MPhil and MRes programmes, see below). Taught masters programmes involve 1 or 2 years of full-time study. The programmes are often very intensive and demanding, and concentrate on one very specialised area of knowledge. Some universities also offer a Masters by Learning Contract scheme, where a candidate can specify his or her own learning objectives; these are submitted to supervising academics for approval, and are assessed by means of written reports, practical demonstrations and presentations.

Taught Postgraduate Masters

(MSc, MA, LL.M., MLitt, MSSc, etc) The most common types of postgraduate taught Masters degrees are the Master of Arts (MA) awarded in Arts, Humanities, Theology and Social Sciences and the Master of Science (MSc) awarded in pure and applied Science. However, some universities - particularly those in Scotland - award the Master of Letters (MLitt) Master of Letters to students in the Arts, Humanities, Divinity and Social Sciences. [It should be noted that the MLitt is a research degree at the University of Cambridge, where the Master of Philosphy (MPhil) is the stanadard one-year taught degree.] In Law the standard taught degree is the Master of Laws, but certain courses may lead to the award of MA or MLitt. Until recently, both the undergraduate and postgraduate masters degrees were awarded without grade or class (like the class of an honours degree). Nowadays however, masters degrees are normally classified into the categories of Pass or Distinction, which tend to require marks of 50% and 70% respectively.

Research Postgraduate Masters

(MPhil and MRes) The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) is a research degree awarded for the completion of a thesis. It is a shorter version of the Ph.D. and some universities routinely enter potential PhD students into the MPhil programme and allow them to upgrade to the full PhD programme a year or two into the course. The Master of Research (MRes) degree is a more structured and organised version of the MPhil, usually designed to prepare a student for a career in research. For example, an MRes may combine individual research with periods of work placement in research establisments. Like the PhD, the MPhil and MRes degrees are awarded without class or grade.

MAs in Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin

The universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin award masters degrees to BAs without further examination, when a certain number of years after matriculation (7 in the case of Oxford and Cambridge) have passed, and (in some but not all cases) upon payment of a nominal fee. It is commonplace for recipients of the degree to have graduated several years previously and to have had little official contact with the university or academic life since then. The only real significance of these degrees is that they historically conferred voting rights in University elections, and certain other privileges e.g. the right to dine at the holder's college's high table. They still do confer some restricted and rarely used voting rights. The MAs awarded by Oxford and Cambridge are colloquially known as the Oxbridge MA. The University of Cambridge also offers an MA to certain senior staff - both academic and non-academic - after three years' employment with the university. Until the advent of the modern research university in the mid 19th century, several other British and American universities also gave such degrees "in course".

Scottish MA

In Scotland the first degree in Arts, Fine Art, Humanities and Social Sciences awarded by many universities is the Master of Arts It should be noted the Science and Law faculties of Scottish universities award the BSc and LLB degrees respectively and the New Universities generally award the BA. The Scottish MA is roughly equivalent to a BA from a University elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

European Union

In order to facilitate the movement of students between European Union countries, a standardized schedule of higher education diplomas, also known as the Bologna process, was proposed: a 3-year undergraduate degree called licence or bachelors degree, then a two-year diploma called master, then a doctorate, meant to be obtained in 3 years. Because of these indicated schedules, the reform is also referred to as 3-5-3.

Austria

The traditional Austrian equivalent to the Master degree is the Diplomstudium, (At an university, only.) leading to the title Diplom-Ingenieur (female title: Diplom-Ingenieurin) in engineering or Magister (female: Magistra) in almost every other discipline. This is a first degree after 5 years of study. (The fields of Medicine, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine pose an exception. The first degree in these disciplines is a professional doctorate.) Due the Bologna process these first degrees are replaced by postgraduate degrees (2 years) leading to the same titles . The admission to these new degrees require a Bakkalaureus degree (female: Bakkalaura - the Austrian title for a Bachelor degree after 3 years of study) in the same or a related field or an equivalent Bachelor from other countries. The continuing use of the traditional titles for the new degrees reflects the relatively high social prestige of these titles in the Austrian society. The traditional degrees at an Austrian Fachhochschule (University of Applied Science), the Magister(FH)/Magistra(FH) and the Diplom-Ingenieur(FH)/Diplom-Ingenieurin(FH) (first degrees after 4 years of study, and not equivalent to the Master degree) are also replaced by undergraduate Bakkalaureus(FH)/Bakkalaura(FH) degrees (3 years) and postgraduate degrees (2 years, and equivalent to a Master degree) with the traditional titels. However, in some disciplines existing also postgraduate degrees with the English title Master. (e.g. the MBA in business administration or the Master of Advanced Studies, the Master of Arts, and the Master of Science in various fields of study) The admission to these new degrees also require an undergraduate degree, but not always in the same or a related discipline.

Belgium