Graduate & Professional Degrees

Complex social and economic climates - at the national, state, and local level - make sound public financial management essential to the fiscal sustainability and growth of communities everywhere. This graduate certificate program provides students with the skills to analyze financial information, assess public sector finance systems, prepare and manage budgets, and ensure the financial accountability of public organizations.

The MS in Public Health Data Science degree program consists of 32 units from courses in Biostatistics, Population and Public Health, and Computing that will prepare students for a career in data science focused on public health data and applications. Students will learn the foundations of Data Science; how to wrangle, scrape, create and manage large health-related datasets; summarize, visualize, and interpret data; apply statistical methods to draw conclusions from the data; use machine learning to reveal features of large, complex health-related datasets; learn the statistical theory behind common data science methods; and effectively communicate results and findings to a broad audience. This program is designed to be a terminal degree, but for students interested in pursuing further education, it can be used to lay the foundation for a PhD in Biostatistics, Statistics, Data Science, or Computer Science.

The department encourages applicants with undergraduate degrees in mathematics, statistics or biostatistics, computer science, or other related fields. Applicants must have knowledge of intermediary statistics and familiarity with at least one programming language. Preparation in differential and integral calculus and linear algebra is preferred.

Admissions requirements can be found on the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences webpage: https://pphs.usc.edu/admissions/admission-requirements-master-of-science-in-public-health-data-science/.

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree provides professional training in the field of public health, which is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. The MPH program addresses public health foundational knowledge and builds student competencies in public health practice (e.g., healthy lifestyle promotion; disease and injury prevention; and detection, prevention, and responses to infectious diseases, domestically and globally).

The MPH program is offered in a traditional (on-campus) and online format. The MPH degree requires a minimum of 42 semester units of required and elective graduate courses. 

Students fulfill core required courses, including four foundational courses, a practical experience (practicum)* and a capstone course**. In addition, on-campus students select from one of five concentrations: Biostatistics/Epidemiology, Community Health Promotion, Global Health, Health Services and Policy, and Generalist.

For complete Admission Requirements, refer to the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences. 

* The practicum, an applied practice experience (internship) in federal, state, and/or local public health agencies/organizations, including community-based organizations, health care organizations, and research settings, is a required component of the MPH degree. The practicum provides the opportunity for students to apply their public health competencies and prepare for work in governmental and non-governmental organizations in public health and health-related fields.

** Students enroll in the capstone course during their last semester prior to graduation. Through a paper-writing assignment, the course allows students to integrate their course work and practical experiences in public health.

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree provides professional training in the field of public health, which is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. The MPH program addresses public health foundational knowledge and builds student competencies in public health practice (e.g., healthy lifestyle promotion; disease and injury prevention; and detection, prevention, and responses to infectious diseases, domestically and globally).

The MPH program is offered in a traditional (on-campus) and online format. The MPH degree requires a minimum of 42 semester units of required and elective graduate courses. 

Students fulfill core required courses, including five foundational courses, a practical experience (practicum)* and a capstone course**. In addition, online MPH students select from one of six concentrations: Biostatistics/Epidemiology, Community Health Promotion, GeoHealth, Global Health, Health Services and Policy, and Generalist.

For complete admission requirements, refer to the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences.  

* The practicum, an applied practice experience (internship) in federal, state, and/or local public health agencies/organizations, including community-based organizations, health care organizations, and research settings, is a required component of the MPH degree. The practicum provides the opportunity for students to apply their public health competencies and prepare for work in governmental and non-governmental organizations in public health and health-related fields.

** Students enroll in the capstone course during their last semester prior to graduation. Through a paper writing assignment, the course allows students to integrate their course work and practical experiences in public health.

The Public Interest Certificate is intended for JD students who plan to spend a significant part of their careers in the nonprofit or government (including criminal) sectors. It serves at least three functions. First, it signals to future employers that the student has made a significant commitment to acquiring the substantive knowledge, practical skills and familiarity with the landscape of nonprofit and government law, which will prepare him or her for a successful career in these sectors. Second, the certificate assists students in discerning and following a law school path that will provide the fundamentals they need for a career in nonprofit or government law, and exposes them to a range of substantive law areas, practitioners and experiences in the public interest sector. Third, the certificate allows the Law School to affirm and showcase its support for public interest law and its offerings for students and potential students interested in this career path.  

This program provides students with a solid foundation of training and skills in management. Individuals who need training in public administration but who are unable to enroll for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree may find this certificate program of particular interest. Key to the program's success is the close integration of the academic curriculum and the application of skills and theory to managerial work assignments. Students may enroll at any time throughout the year.

The graduate certificate is offered jointly by the Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. The certificate provides students with knowledge of the increasingly important role played by information flows in politics and governance. Students will assess the structure of campaigns designed to influence public opinion, the messaging strategies utilized by political players and civic society organizations and new scholarship on the pathways of persuasion in the digital age. The certificate is especially appropriate for students who intend to pursue work with elected officials, think tanks, foundations, community-based organizations, consulting firms and corporate offices that aim to shape public policy through advocacy.

Applicants for the Certificate in Public Policy Advocacy must be currently enrolled in a graduate program at USC and in good standing, with a 3.0 GPA. Students can apply for the certificate through the student services office at the Price or the Annenberg School.

The Certificate in Public Policy Advocacy requires a minimum of 14 units for students taking two 3-unit electives in the Strategic Public Relations Program. More typically students will earn 15 or 16 units by taking one or two 4-unit electives. All units earned in pursuit of the certificate can be applied toward the completion of degree requirements if they fall within existing criteria. However, courses taken solely for certificate purposes will not substitute for degree requirements.

The Price School offers two PhD programs. Both the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Policy and Management and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Urban Planning and Development degree programs are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Students should also refer to Graduate and Professional Education and The Graduate School sections of this catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by The Graduate School.

This PhD program in the Price School emphasizes a rigorous program of advanced study and research, stressing qualitative or quantitative analysis and the theoretical foundations of their field of study. This program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop their own specialization and expertise in their major field while also offering a breadth of knowledge in an especially rich intellectual environment.

This graduate certificate program provides students with a foundation in public policy analysis. It is designed to provide expertise in public policy to individuals who do not want to pursue the Master of Public Policy degree. Potential students include those who are pursuing another degree and want to complement that work with a specialization in public policy, as well as qualified students holding a bachelor's degree who have not matriculated at USC. The certificate develops policy analytic skills and their integration with a policy issue area of interest to the student.

Applicants for the Certificate in Public Policy who have not matriculated at USC must make a formal application for admission to the certificate program, provide transcripts of all college work, a resume and one letter of recommendation.

The program consists of 16 units of graduate course work.

datascience.usc.edu

Big data is revolutionizing the way many agencies operate, particularly with respect  to governance transparency and accountability, law enforcement, transportation and housing policy. Big data is changing strategies for crime-fighting, defense, national intelligence, social programs and finance and operations of agencies. The Master of Science in Public Policy Data Science is a multi-disciplinary program offered jointly between the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Data Science Program in the department of Computer Science at the Viterbi School of Engineering, and will provide a curriculum that will make degree recipients appealing to the employers of the 21st century.