About USC 14 About USC USC Today Located near the heart of Los Angeles, the Academic Programs Nobel Prize in chemistry. More recently, University of Southern California is one of The University of Southern California University Professor Kevin Starr received the top private research universities in the upholds a tradition of academic strength at the National Humanities Medal in 2006, United States. all levels — from the earliest explorations of and Professor Morten Lauridsen received the the undergraduate to the advanced scholarly National Medal of Arts in 2007. Since its establishment in 1880, USC has con- research of the postdoctoral fellow. ferred degrees on more than a quarter-million Students students — leaders who have helped Southern USC offers bachelor’s degrees in 95 under- Diversity is a hallmark of the USC student California emerge as a national trendsetter in graduate majors as well as master’s, doctoral community. USC students come from all 50 public policy, economic and business affairs, and professional degrees in 134 areas of study. states, 12 territories and 110 countries. There urban planning and engineering, scientific Hand-in-hand with this wide array of majors, are 33,500 students enrolled at the university, research, health care, communications and USC has developed 147 different academic including 16,500 undergraduate and 17,000 the arts. and professional minors — the broadest graduate and professional students. In fall selec tion of any U.S. university — to encour- 2007, 52 percent of new freshmen were from Today, USC and its graduates carry forward age students to study subjects across widely California. Approximately 37 percent of the this heritage of leadership — developing separated fields. Students may select from university’s total enrollment is composed of innovative opportunities for learning, explor- a variety of degree combinations under the American minorities; a further 17 percent are ing new fields of scholarship and investiga- direction of the College of Letters, Arts international students. For six consecutive tion, and establishing a widening network of and Sciences, the Graduate School and the years, USC has been at the top of American service and partnership among the nations of university’s 17 professional schools. universities in terms of international enroll- the Pacific Rim. ment. Among undergraduates, 50 percent are The heart of the university’s liberal education men and 50 percent are women. The traditional function of the university is program is the USC College of Letters, Arts to teach students — and at USC teaching and Sciences. The largest of USC’s academic The middle 50 percent SAT range of the takes place in the classroom, studio, labora- divisions — in terms of both student enroll- 2007 enrolled freshman class was 1910–2180. tory, seminar room and on the playing field, as ment and faculty — the college serves more The average unweighted GPA was 3.71; well as where students live. USC is commit- than 6,400 undergraduates and more than weighted was 4.07. In fall 2007, there were ted to promoting lifelong learning and to the 1,500 graduate students, and offers some 57 236 National Merit and National Achieve- principle that education is most effectively academic fields of study. In addition to the ment Scholars. carried out in a context that encourages the undergraduate degrees offered by the college, creation of new knowledge. many of the university’s professional schools USC students consistently earn nationally also offer bachelor’s degree programs. competitive scholarships and fellowships USC places a premium on research and schol- including Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright and arship and on the professional and scholarly Faculty Truman scholarships. credentials of its faculty. Since 1969, USC USC’s full-time faculty numbers nearly 3,200. has been a member of the Association of In addition, more than 4,000 volunteer fac- Research Support American Universities, the elective body that ulty members are affiliated with the Keck Each year, USC’s distinguished faculty and unites the 60 premier research universities in School of Medicine of USC, and some 430 modern facilities attract substantial external the United States and Canada. volunteer faculty are affiliated with the USC funding for educational and scientific research. School of Pharmacy. Research, teaching and According to the most recent data available, The University of Southern California is service are supported by a staff of 8,200. USC ranks 12th among private universities accredited by the Western Association of receiving government funding for research Schools and Colleges, 985 Atlantic Ave., USC’s faculty includes members of the and development support and 21st among Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, (510) 748-9001. National Academy of Sciences (11), National all universities — with a 2007 total of $432 Students may review USC’s accreditation Academy of Engineering (25), Institute of million. documents by contacting Robin Romans, Medicine (12) and American Academy of associate provost for undergraduate programs. Arts and Sciences (19). More than 200 faculty Libraries members have received prestigious academic The USC Libraries house more than four Throughout its history, USC has performed and professional awards from organizations as million volumes, three million photographs, a wide variety of roles in service to its con- varied as the National Institutes of Health, six million microforms and subscribe to more stituencies — contributing to the welfare of the National Science Foundation, the than 50,000 serials and 33,000 electronic its own students, faculty, staff and alumni, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the John Simon journals. as well as to Southern California, the nation Guggen heim Foundation and the Academy and the world. In particular, the university’s of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1994, network of affiliated hospitals and its partner- USC Professor George A. Olah received the ships with business and nonprofit organiza- tions help to make USC’s expertise available to the community at large. USC Today 15 The largest of USC’s libraries is the Edward USC’s digital library resources, available Computing Assistance L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library, which online at www.usc.edu/e_resources/isd, include Information Technology Services contains the research collections for most of a collection of article indexes, catalogues, (www.usc.edu/its) offers online computing the humanities and social sciences. Doheny dic tionaries, encyclopedias, electronic jour- documentation on a variety of topics. Printed Memorial Library also houses the Cinematic nals and visual materials. USC’s online guides are available in public computing Arts Library, the Music Library, the East library catalogue, HOMER, provides a list of centers and the Leavey Library Information Asian Library and Special Collections. books, periodicals, government documents Commons. and dissertations held in libraries on the In addition to Doheny Library, the USC University Park campus. The Scholars Portal Network Connections Libraries include a number of specialized enables simultaneous searching of selected All the rooms in USC residence halls, as well research libraries that serve the unique research databases, including HOMER and as some areas of Leavey Library and the research needs of the campus. Three librar- core biblio graphic tools in all major subject Marshall School of Business, are connected ies also are devoted to collections for their areas. The USC Libraries are also engaged in to ResNet, a high-speed computer network. respective professions: the Asa V. Call Law numerous digital initiatives, such as the USC The ResNet connection allows students Library, the Eileen and Kenneth T. Norris Digital Archive and the Shoah Foundation to enjoy free, high-speed (10-megabit-per- Medical Library and the Jennifer Ann Wilson Institute Visual History Archives. To access second) Internet access. Dental Library and Learning Center. these resources and learn about additional services, visit www.usc.edu/libraries. USC also has modems that off-campus stu- The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Library dents may dial into for Internet access. More features a core collection of books and jour- USC’s Ask-a-Librarian service provides pro- information on connecting to the USC net- nals, two electronic information commons fessional reference assistance to students, work can be found at www.usc.edu/its/connect. with nearly 200 computer workstations, more faculty and staff. Patrons receive expert than 50 collaborative workspaces, two hands- answers — via phone, email, online chat USC Wireless on learning classrooms, a multimedia audi- sessions or in person. Ask-a-Librarian is Most common areas at USC — including torium and more than 1,400 reader seats in a located online at www.usc.edu/libraries/services/ libraries, auditoriums and eateries — are variety of formal and informal arrangements. ask_a_librarian. configured for wireless technology. New Designed to support undergraduate learn- locations are being added continuously. An ing, Leavey provides faculty and students Computing Resources updated list of wireless locations is available with tools to accomplish research using both Students must be registered for classes or at www.usc.edu/its/wireless. traditional and electronic resources. Within have paid their tuition deposit and certified Leavey, librarians and staff provide faculty that they will be attending USC in order to To ensure the security of wireless connec- with