Overview

USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences

The USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences is the academic heart of the university. With 30 academic departments, dozens of research centers and institutes, 120 degree options (majors and minors), and a diverse collection of practical and innovative master’s degrees, USC College is at the core of USC’s effort to promote world-class research, train the next generation of scholars and provide undergraduates with an education that is innovative, engaging, student-centered and experiential.

Faculty and students in USC College explore an extraordinarily broad set of questions in fundamental and applied fields of study, including the origins of the universe, the evolution of the planet, the development of human civilizations, philosophy and ethics, art and visual culture, literature and creative expression, world affairs and global relations, the dynamics of social and economic life, the nature of democracy, the mysteries of the mind, our relationship to our environment, and the cutting edge of scientific discovery. USC College anchors the university’s commitment to the importance of scholarly inquiry across the spectrum of knowledge so that we might cultivate and enrich the mind and spirit, advance human enlightenment and progress, and address the most important challenges facing our world.

Dean

Howard Gillman

Contact Information

College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Office of the Dean
304 Bovard Administration Building
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-4012
(213) 740-2531

School's Web Site

www.usc.edu/college

Founded

1880

Faculty

Nearly 500 tenured and tenure-track

Undergraduate Students

6,409

Graduate Students

1,291 Ph.D. students
275 M.A./M.S. students

Academic Fields of Study

African American Studies
American Popular Culture
American Studies and Ethnicity
Ancient Religion and Classical Languages
Anthropology
Applied and Computational Mathematics
Arabic and Middle East Studies
Archaeology
Art History
Asian American Studies
Astronomy
Biochemistry
Bioethics
Biological Sciences
Biophysics
Biotechnology
Chemistry
Chicano/Latino Studies
Children and Families in Urban America
Classics
Clinical Psychology
Coastal Ocean and Watershed Science
Comparative Literature
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Computational Linguistics
Consumer Behavior
Creative Writing
Critical Approaches to Leadership
Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Studies
Cultures and Politics of the Pacific Rim
Earth Sciences
East Asian Area Studies
East Asian Languages and Cultures (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
Economics
Economics/Mathematics
Education in a Pluralistic Society
English
Environmental Natural Sciences
Environmental Planning and Development
Environmental Social Sciences
Environmental Studies
Folklore and Popular Culture
Forensics and Criminality
French
Gender Studies
Geobiology
Geographic Information Science
Geography
Geohazards
Global Communication
Health and Humanity
History
History and Social Science Education
Integrative and Evolutionary Biology
Interdisciplinary Major Program
International Policy and Management
International Relations
International Relations/Global Business
International Urban Development
Italian
Jewish American Studies
Judaic Studies
Kinesiology
Latin American Studies
Law and Society
Liberal Studies
Linguistics
Linguistics/East Asian Languages and Cultures
Managing Human Relations
Marine and Environmental Biology
Mathematical Finance
Mathematics
Medical Anthropology
Middle East Studies
Molecular and Computational Biology
Natural Science
Neuroscience
Nonprofits, Philanthropy and Volunteerism
Pacific Rim Development
Peace and Conflict Studies
Philosophy
Philosophy/Ethics, Law and Value Theory
Physical Sciences
Physics
Physics/Computer Science
Political Organizing in the Digital Age
Political Science
Professional Writing
Psychology
Psychology and Law
Race, Ethnicity and Politics
Religion
Russian
Russian Area Studies
Social Sciences
Sociology
Southern California
Southeast Asia and Its People
Spanish
Sustainable Cities
Theories of Art
Visual Culture
Visual Studies

Other Programs and Student Resources

USC College Admission
USC College Advisement
Archaeology (ARC) Lab
Baccalaureate/MD Program
Freshman Seminars
Freshman Science Honors Program
USC College Graduate Programs Office
Joint Educational Project (Service Learning)
Language Center
Learning Communities
Overseas Studies
Physical Education
Postbaccalaureate Pre-medical Program
Problems without Passports
Resident Honors Program
Sophomore Seminars
Student Opportunities for Academic Research (SOAR)
Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF)
Supplemental Instruction
Thematic Option (Freshman Honors)
Undergraduate Team Research
Writing Program

last updated 10/06/08