D-Clearance

Masters/MS Spring 2025 D-Clearance – Important Dates:

The recording for the Spring 2025 D-clearance and Registration webinar can be accessed here.

Undergraduate Spring 2025 D-Clearance – Important Dates:

Spring 2025 Undergraduate D-Clearance

Only the following CSCI courses will require D-Clearance:.

• CSCI 103
• CSCI 170
• CSCI 104
• CSCI 353
• CSCI 426

The above courses will have D-Clearance removed on Wednesday, December 18th. Instructions for how to request D-Clearance can be found below.

• Instructions for declared Computer Science & BUAI Majors:
  All D-clearance requests must be submitted on myViterbi > D-clearance Request Manager. Students will be able to start requesting D-Clearance on Monday, October 14th. These requests will not begin to be processed until Tuesday, October 22nd. Do not expect a response on your request before this date.
• Instructions for majors whose program requires CSCI courses (Partner/Joint Programs) and Pre-Engineering/Pre-CS Students:
  Your academic department will provide you with a Google Form beginning October 14th. All information submitted on this form will be verified by the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science. Submissions from students outside of these Partner/Joint programs will be deleted. These requests will not begin to be processed until Monday, December 2nd. Do not expect a response on your request before this date. If you have questions regarding your Google Form submission, please contact the department at csdept@usc.edu. If you have questions regarding your course plan or degree requirements, please be sure to contact your major advisor. Pre-engineering & Pre-CS students can contact the pre-engineering team at viterbi.studentservices@usc.edu.

Instructions for students who do not require the course:
Students who do not require these courses for their degree program will be able to enroll in eligible coursework beginning Wednesday, December 18th. No D-Clearance will be required after this date.

Graduate Course D-Clearance Request Instructions:

• Sign up for the online d-clearance system at http://myviterbi.usc.edu. Create your myViterbi profile.
• PDP students no longer receive guaranteed/priority registration. If you are a PDP student, you must request D-Clearance for courses via myViterbi.
• Students are not issued a queue number on the waitlist. The system currently only supports showing queue numbers based on the submission time, which we no longer use.  We will give clearance based on priorities (i.e. graduating Spring 2025, units completed, start term, or a course specified as a requirement/elective for a specialization). A list of priorities can be found on the d-clearance system course notes. You DO NOT need to request d-clearance immediately when the system opens as requests are not time sensitive.
• How do you choose who gets the course? Requests are viewed on a spreadsheet and sorted by seniority (entry term and units) and program of study.  We then select the requests at the top of the sorted list based on the number of slots available but also consider current enrollment to strive for an equitable registration experience. Next, we approve requests which emails the approval notifications to students. We also concurrently run a process that enters the d-clearance approvals into web registration (which is why it may take up to 90 minutes to activate the clearance once you get the email). At this time, we are not able to show a queue number in myViterbi using this method but hopefully that will change in the future.
• There will be NO CAPS to the waiting list.  If a course has 30 seats available, we will still allow unlimited requests.  You will have to use your best judgment if you want to remain waiting for a popular course. You can view the number of students waiting in the “Summary Reports” option in the myViterbi D-Clearance System.
• D-Clearance is granted primarily on Mondays and Thursdays during the initial rounds of clearances.  Once the semester starts, d-clearance will be removed for all 500-level CSCI/DSCI courses.
• D-Clearance always expires. Please be sure to pay attention to the expiration date.
• Whitelist the USC.EDU domain: In order to ensure you receive all emails from myViterbi, be sure to whitelist the usc.edu domain in your university Gmail account: Whitelisting the USC.EDU Domain
  D-Clearance extensions will not be granted if you miss the email or it ends up in your spam/junk folder.
• The D-Clearance System and Web Registration System are not connected and do not communicate with each other.  Once you receive a D-Clearance approval email, you must add the course yourself through web registration.  Deleting your D-Clearance request will not drop you from any of your registered courses.
• All CS/DS students are only allowed to request a maximum of 2 d-clearance requests during Fall and Spring, and 1 during Summer. Students will be notified via email if additional requests are allowed.
• Non-CS/DS students may only request 1 course regardless of whether or not the course is cross-listed with another department. Please note that any course you are requesting on the Computer Science D-clearance Manager is owned by the Department of Computer Science and is subject to Computer Science D-Clearance policies. This includes DSCI courses. 
• Priority will be given to CS students for CSCI courses and priority will be given to DS students for DSCI courses. We cannot guarantee that non-CS/DS students will get into a course of their choice.
• You will receive an email if granted d-clearance. D-Clearance always expires, so please pay close attention to the expiration date in the email.  If you fail to register by the expiration date, you will need to request a deletion through the system. Once that is approved, you will need to re-submit your d-clearance request, which will put you in the bottom of the queue. To avoid such problems, we recommend that you register within two days.
• We will only issue d-clearance requests through the d-clearance system. We will not accept any requests through emails, phone calls, or in person.
• Course instructors do not issue d-clearance. Do not contact instructors requesting d-clearance. Only contact an instructor if you are requesting a prerequisite waiver. If they approve your waiver request, forward the approval email to viterbiservicedesk.cscimasters@usc.edu.
• CS Advisors cannot predict your chances of getting in to a course if you are in a waiting pool. It is your choice whether to wait or remove your request and choose a different course.
• If a course's waiting pool becomes too long, it may be removed from the selection list.

CSCI Graduate Course Availability & D-Clearance Policies

1. The Department of Computer Science will offer the courses necessary for all of our M.S. students to complete the degree program within 4 semesters. However, every elective course offering may not be available to every student.
2. CS/DS Students may only enroll in a maximum of two 4 unit CSCI or DSCI courses.
3. It is not within the purview of the Department of Computer Science to guarantee students will be able to enroll in a course with a specific professor or at a specific day/time.
4. Instructors, course timings, and locations may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Updated Policy for Non-CS/DS Graduate Students

1. Priority for all CS/DS courses will be given to new and continuing CS/DS students.
2. While we do our best to accommodate all requests, we may not be able to get you into the course of your choice.
3. Non-CS/DS students should have a back-up course in mind in case they are unable to obtain a seat in a CS course.
4. Non-CS/DS students should meet with their home department advisor regarding their course options. Our advisors will not be available to discuss d-clearance issues with non-CS/DS students.

Important Notes

1. Currently, all requests submitted will not be given a waitlist number.
2. By submitting a request you also indicate you have read all of the above instructions and policies.
3. To access the D-Clearance Request System, please visit: http://myviterbi.usc.edu

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Why do I not have a queue number? The system currently only supports showing queue numbers based on the submission time, which we no longer use.  We will give clearance based on priorities (i.e. potential priorities are graduating Fall 2022, GPA, or a course is specifically required for a specialization). A list of priorities can be found on the d-clearance system course notes. You DO NOT need to request d-clearance immediately when the system opens as requests are not time sensitive.
• How do you choose who gets the course? Requests are viewed on a spreadsheet and sorted by seniority (entry term and units) and program of study.  We then select the requests at the top of the sorted list based on the number of slots available but also consider current enrollment to strive for an equitable registration experience. Next, we approve requests which emails the approval notifications to students. We also concurrently run a process that enters the d-clearance approvals into web registration (which is why it may take up to 90 minutes to activate the clearance once you get the email). At this time, we are not able to show a queue number in myViterbi using this method but hopefully that will change in the future.
• I have a hold on my account and can't register. Can my D clearance be extended? No, students must work to clear all holds before submitting their D clearances. If your D clearance expires before the hold is lifted you will need to submit a request to delete your initial request and then submit a new D clearance request once the deletion has been processed.
• When do you grant d-clearance? The CS department processes thousands of d-clearance requests each semester. The initial batch takes about one week to get through, after that d-clearance is granted primarily on Mondays and Thursdays and is valid for two days.  Once the semester starts, during Weeks 1 & 2, d-clearance is granted in the morning and expires the same evening.
• How can I view the waitlist? You can view the total number of requests pending for each course along with important notes about each course in myViterbi by going into the D-Clearance Request Manager's "Summary Report" option.
• If I am granted d-clearance, which section can I enroll in? We grant d-clearance to all sections of the course, so you must choose a section with open space.  We do not grant d-clearance to DEN@Viterbi sections.  DEN students must request their courses through the D-Clearance Request Manager and selecting the DEN@Viterbi department. The VASE Office will process their requests.
• I submitted a d-clearance request weeks ago, when will I receive a response? Students will only receive an email notification if they are granted d-clearance. It is possible you may never get cleared for your top choice course so please consider your back up options! If you are in your 2nd semester, be mindful of how many students are the queue, as students closer to graduation may have a priority. If you see the class only has 100 spots but there are 200 students in the queue, you may want to pick a different course.
• When will my deletion be processed? We process deletion requests within the same or next business day. It is not necessary to email the department requesting to expedite your deletion.  Such emails will be ignored.  During the request lock out, deletions are not processed. Check the above dates to see if we are processing deletions.
• I registered in a course and deleted my D-Clearance request on myViterbi, will this drop me from the course? No, myViterbi and Web Registration are not connected. Deleting your request will not drop you from the course. Students may only drop their course by logging in web registration and dropping it on their own.
• How many graduate courses can I enroll in each semester? Our M.S. students may enroll in 2 four unit CSCI/DSCI courses (8 units) each semester. Directed research, colloquium, thesis, and internship units are not counted in this limit.  Non-CS/DS students may enroll in 1 four unit CSCI/DSCI course each semester, contingent on available space. Students found to have exceeded these limits will be dropped from their most recently enrolled course.