According to the University of Southern California:
|Computer Engineering is the creative application of engineering principles and methods to the design and development of hardware and software systems. The MS in Computer Engineering encompasses the design, development, testing, and evaluation of components, systems, and networks. Research in Computer Engineering strives to achieve higher performance in the systems and components that are built as well as in the design process. At USC, research is focused in three main areas: Computer Architecture and Parallel Processing, Design and Analysis of Computer Networks and their Protocols, and VLSI Design and Computer Aided Design and Verification of VLSI.