Setting yourself up for success begins with considering all your options. At USC, a community is waiting to help you build your path to your future. Work across disciplines with leading experts and supportive faculty that will make you rethink what learning means. Cross the globe with our dynamic, global community or spend your days on campus. The Trojan Family will embrace you as you are.
More Than Just the Numbers
USC combines the personal attention of a private school with the scale of a public one. With 23 academic schools and divisions to choose from, there are countless combination of tracks to pursue. And with an in-class student-to-faculty ratio that rivals many small liberal arts colleges, students can get the attention they deserve in the midst of a thriving community of like-minded students.
150+
Majors and Minors
8:1
Student-to-Faculty Ratio
21k
Undergraduates
Undergraduate Majors & Minors
Get a feel for what an undergraduate degree can look like for you. With more than 23 schools and divisions to choose from, you will have a unique learning experience you can’t get anywhere else.
The Undergrad Experience
Explore, test, challenge. Defining who you are is a process of finding new ideas and experiencing opportunities. At USC, you will find different perspectives, experience new cultures and ultimately uncover a few things about yourself along the way.
Finding your passion
First-Year Experience
deepen your understanding
Interdisciplinary Freedom
worldly learning opportunities
Global Experiences
Advising & Support
With all the opportunities USC has to offer, your choices can become overwhelming. You’re not alone. As part of the Trojan Family, you have an entire community of faculty, staff and fellow students. Take advantage of learning strategy sessions, counselors that will guide you through personal and academic challenges, advisers who can help map your path forward and other support systems that are ready to help.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Discovery Scholars
This signature program honors students who engage in undergraduate research or artistic endeavor with faculty guidance. Be recognized for making a contribution to your field of study as an undergraduate.
Research Programs By School
USC schools encourage the Discovery Scholar ideal of undergraduate research with programs of their own. See what’s available in your area of study.
Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE)
This program is a groundbreaking effort to increase the representation and success of women in the sciences and engineering at USC through research grants, events, lecture series and outreach.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Medical Preceptorship Program
This program is for pre-medical students interested in learning more about pediatric medicine. Students will shadow physicians at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles after commencement.
USC Research Gateway Scholars Program
A program that encourages low-income and first-generation college students as well as students from historically underrepresented ethnic groups to pursue graduate studies and consider an academic career.
Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly & Creative Work
The Undergraduate Symposium provides students with the unique opportunity to exhibit and share examples of their significant research and creativity with the university community.
Fellowships and Funding
Several fellowship opportunities provide financial support for students interested in conducting and presenting research as undergraduates. Check out these possibilities:
Research Centers
Explore USC’s diverse research centers and institutes spanning arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, engineering, technology, and even an Institute for Innovation.
Library Resources
The USC Libraries actively support and encourage academic endeavors with 23 libraries, information centers, the USC Digital Library, and numerous e-journals. Searching for understanding? Begin your search here.
Working with Faculty
To engage in research, students should connect with current experts in the field – members of the USC faculty. Explore faculty directories and profiles to discover research activities campus-wide.
Academic Honors and Fellowships
USC is committed to supporting students in their pursuit of transformative academic experiences. The Academic Honors & Fellowships office offers personalized advisem*nt, impactful programming, and valuable resources to facilitate the exploration and achievement of high-impact experiential learning opportunities.
By collaborating with USC faculty, staff, and alumni, the office provides support to applicants as they navigate fellowship processes, offering evaluation, endorsem*nt and constructive feedback.
Learning in the world
We create, innovate, challenge and build new knowledge that affects lives today — as we prepare our students to change tomorrow’s world for the better. With undergraduate education and graduate degree programs across 23 schools and divisions, USC offers a community of scholars that spans the globe and cares for its city: Los Angeles.
Sometimes the best classrooms have no walls. With roughly 275 sunny days per year, Los Angeles provides the perfect environment for outdoor learning and living.
USC students in the new course “An exploration of America’s National Parks”, went camping in Joshua Tree to get a first hand experience of our national parks! Douglas Noble, an associate professor of architecture, created the course “An Exploration of America’s National Parks,” which is available to students from all majors. Noble wants students to approach their research projects from their own unique perspectives through a class for all who are passionate about preserving national parks.
USC Dornsife students have multiple opportunities to participate in field research just as these students are doing at the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies located on Santa Catalina Island.
USC students filming outside of the Cinematic Arts complex at USC.
There is no substitute for real world experience, and USC students have exceptional opportunities to pursue their studies in real working environments. On a remote volcano slope in Hawaii, Adriana Blachowicz PhD ’19 studied how fungi — and humans — might fare on other planets.
Technology & Society
New technologies change the ways we express ourselves, communicate, conduct research, engage in politics and even how we learn. From the visual arts to literature to engineering, you’ll explore new technologies and emerging forms of literacy. Learn more about what we mean.
Stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new technologies with this innovative four-year honors option. The curriculum lets you integrate multimedia into your major and/or minor studies and graduate with honors on your transcript.
Literacy can take many forms in the 21st century. MAP is dedicated to exploring these new forms of media and understanding how to use them effectively. Learn more about how your proficiency in multimedia can influence your powers of communication and self-expression.
The online world is now part of the fabric of our everyday work and personal lives. From social media to email to Google, our lives are all becoming more digital. This digital presence is the universal driving force of change in our lives. The knowledge of how the internet is leveraged is critical for every USC student.
