Letters, Arts & Sciences (USC College)
USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences combines the intimacy of a liberal arts school—enabling close faculty-student working relationships—with the breadth of a major research institution where internationally known scholars develop influential new ideas and inventions, and engage in ground-breaking research.
Departments within USC College are listed on the right, along with post-baccalaureate degree programs offered. Click on the links to access each department’s graduate program information. Please note that some graduate degree programs in USC College are Ph.D.-track only.
Graduate & Professional Programs
American Studies and Ethnicity
Anthropology
- Ph.D., Social Anthropology
- Ph.D., Biological Anthropology, with a special emphasis on primatology.
- M.A., Visual Anthropology. Courses in the theory and practice of Anthropology, digital technologies, and pre- and post-production. Students plan, shoot and edit an ethnographic documentary.
- Certificate, Visual Anthropology. Interdisciplinary program, with training in digital video production provided by the USC School of Cinematic Arts; admission after completing Ph.D. qualifying exams.
Art History
- Ph.D.
- Certificate, History of Collecting and Display (Open to doctoral students in Art History as well as to qualified graduate students in other USC departments.)
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Comparative Literature
East Asian Languages and Cultures
East Asian Studies Center
- M.A., East Asian Area Studies
- M.A./M.B.A. Joint program, with the USC Marshall School of Business, for students whose primary interest is in the social sciences, law and business, within the context of East Asia.
- See also East Asian Area Studies.
Economics
- M.A., Economics
- M.A., Economic Developmental Planning.
- M.S., Mathematical Finance.
- Dual Master of Arts in Economics and Juris Doctor. (Joint program with USC Law School.)
- Dual Master of Arts in Economics and Master of Planning. (Joint program with the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.)
- Doctor of Philosophy in Economics.
- Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy. (Joint program with the USC School of Pharmacy.)
- Doctor of Philosophy in Political Economy and Public Policy. (Joint program with the Department of Political Science and the School of International Relations in USC College.)
English
- Ph.D., Literature
- See also Creative Writing and Literature.
Environmental Studies
Gender Studies
- Graduate Certificate Student must first be admitted to a USC graduate or professional school.
Geography
- Ph.D.
- Graduate Certificate in GIS Geographic Information Science
- Sustainable Cities Certificate Open to USC students pursuing Ph.D. programs in many disciplines.
Geological Sciences
- See Earth Sciences.
German
- No graduate programs currently offered.
History
- Ph.D. 26 fields of concentration, from Ancient and Medieval to Women and Gender.
Human Behavior
- M.S., Master's of Human Behavior (MHB)
International Relations
- M.A., Public Diplomacy (Joint program—the first of its kind anywhere in the world—of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the School of International Relations in USC College.)
- B.A./M.A., International Relations. (5-year accelerated program.)
- Master of Arts and Juris Doctor Joint program with USC Gould Law School.
- Master of Arts in International Relations and Public Administration M.A./M.P.A. (Joint program with the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.)
- Master of Arts in International Relations and Planning M.A./M.PL. (Joint program with the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.)
- Ph.D., Politics and International Relations
Italian
- No graduate programs currently offered.
Japanese
Kinesiology
- Ph.D., Integrative and Evolutionary Biology (Interdisciplinary program that targets emerging areas at the interface of genomics, evolution and physiology), Biomedical Engineering, or Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences.
Korean
Liberal Studies
- MLS Master of Liberal Studies.
Linguistics
Mathematics
Marine Environmental Biology
- Ph.D., Biological Sciences, with emphasis in marine biology. (Administered through the Department of Biological Sciences in USC College.)
Molecular and Computational Biology
- Ph.D. Administered through the Department of Biological Sciences.
Neuroscience
- Ph.D. Several areas of specialization available, including cellular and molecular neuroscience, with a new focus on neurogenetics; behavioral and systems neuroscience; cognitive neuroscience; computational neuroscience and neural engineering; and the neuroscience of aging.
Philosophy
- M.A.
- Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Philosophy. (Joint program with USC Law School.)
- Ph.D.
Physics
- M.S., Physics
- M.A., Physics
- Master of Science in Physics for Business Applications
- Ph.D.
Political Science
- Ph.D., Politics and International Relations. (Joint program of the Department of Political Science and the School of International Relations.)
Portuguese
- No graduate programs currently offered.
- For graduate studies in Latin American and Spanish literatures, see Comparative Literature.
- For Spanish linguistics, see Linguistics.
Professional Writing
- MPW Master of Professional Writing.
Religion
- No graduate programs currently offered.
Slavic Languages and Literatures
- M.A.
- Ph.D., Linguistics with specialization in Slavic Languages. (See Linguistics.)
- Certificate in Foreign Language Teaching. (For future language teachers concurrently enrolled in USC graduate degree programs in foreign languages or related subjects.)
Sociology
Spanish and Portuguese
- No graduate programs currently offered.
- For graduate studies in Latin American and Spanish Literatures, see Comparative Literature.
- For Spanish Linguistics, see Linguistics.