Education for the 21^st Century

hat does it take to be an educated person in the 21^st century? How do you get the kind of education that will equip you to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead?

The University of Southern California offers students the unique combination of excellence in undergraduate education, the resources of highly selective private research university, a location in the most diverse city in the world, a vibrant campus life, and lifelong membership in the Trojan Family.

Excellence in undergraduate education:  USC takes undergraduate education seriously. At USC, general education classes are taught by tenured and tenure-track professors. We have an average class size of twenty-six students and we offer undergraduates more academic opportunities than most other universities. Students at USC choose from more than seventy majors and more than one hundred minors in top-ranked programs in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and life sciences. At USC you can major in political science and minor in interactive multimedia, major in creative writing and minor in astronomy, double major in business and theatre production - with an outstanding College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences and sixteen professional schools, you can study virtually anything that interests you.

Private research university:  At USC, everyone is in the business of learning. Our faculty is creating and discovering new knowledge every day. That is why USC is home to world-class research in so many fields, and undergraduates are welcomed into the process of intellectual discovery. Every semester, hundreds of undergraduate students work side by side with faculty. Many receive stipends, so students do not have to choose between work and a research opportunity. Each year undergraduates display the results of their research activities at the annual Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work. Our students also pursue internships in Los Angeles, around the country, and around the world. The Freeman Fellows program, for example, provides support for internships in companies throughout Asia each summer.

Our location in Los Angeles: The city of Los Angeles is an unmatched real-time learning laboratory. Los Angeles has been called the capital city of the 21st century and is one of the most diverse cities in the world. There are more than 200 languages spoken in Los Angeles, and the city is home to more than 100 nationalities. Countless   different industries that cater to the interests of the entire world are found here, including entertainment, aerospace, technology, and law. World-class museums, impressive concerts halls, renowned sports teams, and legendary landmarks and natural beauty help make Los Angeles a region that places an amazing range of opportunities at your fingertips.

Vibrant Campus Life:  The student body at USC is as diverse as the opportunities we offer. USC enrolls more African American and Latino students than any private research university in the country. Our students come from all 50 states and more than 60 countries around the world. The rich differences among our students’ life experiences, hometowns, ethnicities, academic pursuits, and co-curricular interests make USC an exciting and interesting place to live and to learn.

In 2000, USC was named “College of the Year” by Time Magazine. In 2005, Princeton Review recognized USC as one of 81 “great schools with outstanding community involvement” in Colleges with a Conscience. We are proud of our tradition of athletic excellence, including multiple Division I championships in football, men’s water polo, and women’s volleyball. USC has over 600 extracurricular activity groups on campus, from the Society of Women Engineers to the Trojan Cricket Club. There are three live theatre venues on campus and the Thornton School of Music hosts more live music performances each year than any professional orchestra in the country.

The Trojan Family:  The Trojan Family binds together students, faculty and alumni in a community of shared values. In our academic lives we value initiative, experimentation, and free inquiry. Members of the Trojan Family are also bound together by a deep caring for one another and for the state of the world. We are bound together by a profound respect for diversity, and a team spirit that extends well beyond the athletic field.