Majors & Minors

Certificate Program

The Food Industry Management Program offers courses emphasizing leadership and management aspects of the food industry. Completion of the program is acknowledged by a Food Industry Management Certificate awarded by the University.

To qualify for admission and a scholarship grant for the food industry management program, students must be currently employed in a management position in the food retailing, wholesaling or manufacturing industry and recommended by their employer. Also, they must have completed at least 64 undergraduate units (or have completed a bachelor's degree) with an academic standing adequate for admission to USC.

To earn a certificate students must complete 18 required units during this one-semester program.

The Food Journalism and Public Relations minor prepares students for communication and related careers within organizations involved in food production and service as well as global and local issues. In addition to the core classes, students take additional courses from throughout USC to build a one-of-a-kind program of study that articulates these areas of expertise. Combined with a practice-area practicum, this minor positions students for an array of successful careers in these food-related fields. Where better to study this than at the intersection of cutting-edge journalism, strategic PR content development and the LA food mecca.

The interdisciplinary minor in forensics and criminality was designed for students interested in the study of law, deviant behavior or careers in the criminal justice system. In this program, students study psychological and/or ethical issues related to criminal behavior, consider criminality in the context of social class analysis, and learn about the American system of criminal justice. Twenty units are required, 4 at the lower-division and 16 at the upper-division level. Contact Dornsife College Advising for further details.

Students should choose a curriculum for their minor based on their academic interests. Those students interested in white collar crime, for example, might choose POSC 130 Law, Politics, and Public Policy at the lower-division level, SOCI 350 Social Exclusion, Social Power, and Deviance and PPD 342 Crime and Public Policy.

Those who are interested in the criminal justice system might choose LAW 200x Law and Society, REL 341 Ethics in a Technological Society, SOCI 351 Public Policy and Juvenile Justice, POSC 340 Constitutional Law and POSC 432 The Politics of Local Criminal Justice.

Those interested in individual and social determinants of deviancy might take PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology, PSYC 360 Abnormal Psychology, or PSYC 363 Criminal Behavior, or PSYC 365 Introduction to Forensic Psychology; SOCI 360 Social Inequality: Class, Status, and Power, LAW 402 Psychology and Law and SOCI 353 Public Policy and Criminal Justice.

The Foundation in Regulatory Sciences minor will deepen students' understanding of current regulations and quality practices with practical application in the development and commercialization of drugs, biologics and medical device products. This minor will broaden perspectives and integrate knowledge to allow students to effectively understand the regulatory process. 

Students who minor in Foundation in Regulatory Sciences must take a minimum of five RXRS or BPSI courses, totaling at least 20 units. Courses must be unique to the minor and not overlap with the major or another minor.  A maximum of 4 units of lower-division course work permitted.  A maximum of 4 units can be met by taking Directed Research (RXRS 490x).

Only students with a declared major are eligible to apply. Students must be in sophomore standing and have completed a minimum of 32 USC units as an entering freshman or 16 units as an entering transfer student.

The Foundations of Data Science minor teaches students the skills to apply techniques in data science to problems in their own discipline. Students will learn the basics of programming, how to apply statistics to evaluate data and techniques in data management, machine learning and visualization. Choosing from a variety of electives, students will be able to tailor this minor to learn the techniques most relevant to their needs.

For the lower division, FREN 250 French IV is required. The upper-division requirements include two core courses plus an additional five courses to be selected in consultation with the department adviser (no more than two of which may be in English). Of the additional five courses, at least two must be at the 400 level.

For the lower division, FREN 250 French IV is required. The upper-division requirements include two core courses plus an additional three courses to be selected in consultation with the department adviser (no more than one of which may be in English). FREN 310 and FREN 360 may not both be taken for credit toward the minor in French.

The minor in future cinema explores the frontier of audiovisual storytelling, building on the cutting edge research within the School of Cinematic Arts. Students will explore the creative and technological transformations of an industry in transition as cinema becomes live, playable, immersive, mobile, virtual, crowdsourced and more.

Combining history, theory and practice, the minor prepares students to engage with new forms of cinematic expression with an awareness of critical context and a methodology for understanding the changing roles of storytelling in the 21st century.

Information about declaring the minor, courses and other program offerings can be obtained by emailing the Media Arts and Practice program at map@cinema.usc.edu.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Art is a unique four-year program offered by the School of Cinematic Arts. Students study within the framework that combines a broad liberal arts background with specialization in a profession. Areas of concentration might include character animation, environmental design, visual effects, 3-D pipelines and interactive animation.

Undergraduate students take their pre-professional courses in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, including the general education requirements. Major courses are selected from the curriculum of the School of Cinematic Arts. The degree requires 128 units, including 56 units in the major.

Applicants must submit a supplemental application and materials to the Interactive Media and Games Division in Slideroom via the Common Application. For specific instructions, contact the Cinematic Arts Office of Admission, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211, (213) 740-8358 or online at cinema.usc.edu.​

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Art requires a minimum of 128 units, with 56 units required for the major.

To implement audio into a game requires an understanding that audio forms one part of a game system or algorithm, and even composition must often be thought of in terms of programming-like logic. Game audio professionals must not only be competent in one area (e.g., expressly in music composing, or in audio recording), but in other areas of audio as well. This minor provides a grounding in game design and systems thinking, while providing a theoretical backing and skills in audio design and composition to prepare students to design successful audio for the games industry.

To be eligible for the Game Audio minor, a student must be in good academic standing and have a declared major. To declare the Game Audio minor a student must get permission from the Interactive Media Division (SCA 222) and submit a Change of Major/Minor form to Cinematic Arts Student Services (SCB 105).

Course Requirements for the Minor

A minimum of 24 units is required for the Game Audio minor, 6 lower-division units and a minimum of 16 upper-division units.