Majors & Minors

This 20-unit minor focuses on cultural diplomacy and the ways in which consideration of cultural issues and engagement in the cultural sphere can enhance foreign affairs and international interactions. It links existing classes and faculty expertise to expose students to a range of international issues while introducing culturally focused approaches to addressing and rectifying such issues. This minor builds a coherent picture of the power of culture as an essential dimension of foreign policy either as a barrier or a medium for engagement and a common ground. Requirements for admission are a minimum 3.0 GPA and completion of a minimum of 32 units (sophomore standing). The 3.0 GPA is a minimum standard and does not guarantee admission.

This 20-unit minor offers courses that examine the theory, content, social impact and economics of a range of creative, media, culture and entertainment industries. Through the lens of music, film, television, advertising, digital media, games, comics and fashion, students will learn strategies for analyzing popular culture and entertainment texts, mechanisms and platforms of content distribution, as well as the historical, social, cultural and political issues shaping these entertainment fields. Taking into account shifts and disruptions in contemporary media and entertainment, students will further examine consumption, audience engagement and participation that necessarily shape our individual and collective identities. These courses will highlight the production, consumption and meanings inscribed in entertainment media industries and products. Depending on the courses selected, the minor will prepare students for a variety of careers in and/or further critical scholarship about media and entertainment industries.

Admission requirements are a minimum 3.0 grade point average and completion of 32 units (sophomore standing). The 3.0 GPA is a minimum standard and does not guarantee admission.

This interdisciplinary minor introduces students to the cultural heritage and political contexts of the United States' most important trading partners on the Pacific Rim. Students study East Asia and Latin America, and the cultural, economic and political dimensions of international trade. It is intended for students who are interested in or considering diplomatic or commercial careers that require knowledge about the people and cultures of the Pacific Rim.

As with all minors, students must choose at least four classes dedicated to this minor and four classes outside their major department, which may be the same four courses.

At the heart of most modern organizations, such as Google, Amazon, Netflix and Facebook, lies a strong Customer Analytics function. Customer Analytics uses vast amounts of data to generate insights that help firms and policy makers to make data driven decisions about customers. Insights into customer behavior, attitudes, demographics and pyschographics can prove to be a sustainable advantage for firms.

This minor draws on empirical methods and applications from fields such as marketing, economics, entrepreneurship, information sciences, international relations, political sciences and sociology to better understand its multidimensional prime constituent - the customer.

This minor is available to students in all schools and departments outside of the Marshall School of Business and Leventhal School of Accounting. To enroll in this minor, students must have completed a minimum of 32 units of college-level courses and have a minimum overall GPA of 2.75.

This minor requires 20 units.

The minor in cybersecurity combines both theoretical concepts and technical skills to prepare students for a career in cybersecurity while incorporating their major field of work. Students will have the full flexibility to have both breadth and depth in various areas of cybersecurity, including offensive operations, networking, forensics, information security management and web security.

The minor requires at least 18 units.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance is a four-year professional degree designed to prepare the artist, innovator and entrepreneur. A diverse array of electives, in combination with a rigorous core curriculum, provides students with ample opportunity to explore their artistic and intellectual passions and develop a strong personal vision of dance.

Intensive studio instruction is in three core areas: ballet, hip hop and contemporary styles. Emphasis is on performance and composition, while also building a solid foundation in dance history, science, conditioning, new media, entrepreneurship and critical theory. Upperclassmen continue to work on technique as well as performance and/or composition, while also pursuing individual interests.

In the junior and senior years, students pursue one of four concentrations: Dance Performance, Choreography for Stage and Screen, Dance and Music or Design Your Own. They are mentored by faculty and assisted by academic advisers in selecting elective courses both within and outside of USC Kaufman that support their personal and professional goals.

Emphasis in the final year of study is placed on the development of a professional quality project in the areas of performance, choreography, music, media, scholarship or entrepreneurship.

Dance Performance Concentration

The Dance Performance concentration is designed for students who are interested in careers as professional dancers or in other performance mediums. Emphasis is placed on providing students with the skills to succeed in a variety of entertainment positions. Students work with artists and scholars in the field, learning essential tools needed for a successful career in dance performance.

Dance and Music Concentration

The Dance and Music concentration provides students with a unique perspective on dance by combining dance training with substantial studies in music. Courses in vocal arts, music theory or instrumental training, for example, equip students interested in choreography or dance performance with the knowledge to explore careers in the music and larger entertainment industry.

Choreography for Stage and Screen Concentration

The Choreography for Stage and Cinematic Arts concentration is designed to guide students who are interested in the field of dance for the stage, motion pictures, television, digital media and animation. Students are mentored in experimental types of dance media, both as individual performers and in collaboration with other visual and performing artists.

Design Your Own Concentration

The Design Your Own concentration allows students to pursue a truly custom program of study by combining hand-picked elective courses from across the university with dance electives. This is the only concentration for which students must formally apply at the end of sophomore year. The application requires students to demonstrate how the concentration is different from a major and minor combination and to provide preliminary ideas about how their senior project brings together their hand-picked courses with their dance studies.

General Requirements

Candidates must submit the USC Undergraduate Application and USC Kaufman Portfolio. The Portfolio includes a headshot, action shot, written short answer, dance résumé, one-minute video response, and two video auditions showing contrasting solos. Final candidates are selected to audition and interview in person. Specific audition requirements, along with other entrance requirements, are reviewed on an annual basis and published under the Apply section at kaufman.usc.edu.

Curriculum Requirements

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance requires a total of 132 units.

All students in the dance program are required to complete the university's General Education and Writing requirements.

Within USC Kaufman, students will receive foundational training and insight through the core curriculum. In addition, they must complete a minimum of 22 electives toward their concentration. 

The BFA degree's 132 unit requirement includes at least 16 general elective units. Students are encouraged to use these units in order to pursue a minor outside of USC Kaufman.

The Dance in Entertainment Minor offers undergraduate students an opportunity to explore dance in the commercial realm, from Hollywood to Broadway, primarily focused on performance, choreography and dance entrepreneurship. The program offers a wide variety of courses in dance technique, theory, the business of dance and choreography. 

This minor consists of one lower-division course, one upper-division course and 10 units of elective courses. Students must be in good academic standing to be admitted. No previous dance experience is required.

The minor in dance presents undergraduate students with a broad yet deep foundation in dance. The program offers a variety of courses in dance technique, history, culture, critical theory, choreography and performance.

This minor consists of one lower-division course, one upper-division course and 12 units of elective courses. Students must be in good academic standing to be admitted. No previous dance experience is required.

datascience.usc.edu

Program Director: Emilio Ferrara, PhD

Computer-based information systems facilitate, enable and often define the relationships between corporations and consumers, buyers and suppliers, businesses of all sizes, social networks and citizens and their governments. Understanding these relationships and effectively addressing the collection, flow and distribution of information is vital to the effectiveness of any modern organization, enterprise or government agency.

The Bachelor of Arts in Data Science is a cooperative degree program involving the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Students complete 128 units, including at least 70 units of courses in Dornsife College and at least 38 units of courses in Viterbi School of Engineering. Units completed in Viterbi include the basic programming and data science requirements while units completed in Dornsife College include the general education and writing requirements, the Dornsife College foreign language requirement and an adviser-approved disciplinary specialization of at least 24 units, (including at least 16 units of upper-division course work). 

The specialization must form a coherent focus on a discipline that provides students with insight into a domain in which data science can be usefully applied; this is normally another departmental or interdepartmental major for the BA degree, permitting students to satisfy most or all of the requirements for a double major (see Undergraduate Degree Programs for rules governing the overlap of courses allowed for a double major).

The program teaches students to understand, design and implement effective solutions to meet organizational, societal and management needs for information and decision support.

All students undertaking this degree program must have knowledge of the following areas (the core):

• Information systems and technology fundamentals
• Programming basics
• Statistics
• Data management
• Machine learning 
• Data visualization

Admission

Admissions are made by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Students normally apply to the program in the spring of the freshman year.

*The program falls under the jurisdiction of the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Design requires a total of 128 units, including 74 units of DES and CRIT requirements.

In addition to the required courses, BFA Design students are encouraged to explore in greater depth an area of design in which they have an interest. Students should select electives based on their personal and professional goals and in consultation with academic advisers. Electives are typically clustered in a particular field, but may be spread across different areas