Majors & Minors

The protection of human rights has become a matter of international concern. Despite widespread media coverage of violations, flagrant abuses occur daily throughout the world. The human rights minor provides students with in-depth knowledge about various human rights issues.

Drawing together classes from a range of departments in and outside the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, this interdisciplinary minor will cover the theoretical foundations of human rights, historical and current developments, case studies and policies. Students will be required to take their learning outside the classroom through an internship or by teaching human rights in the community and will be encouraged to join relevant student organizations.

Total unit requirements for the minor are 18*. Students take one core course in human rights, POSC 248gw Human Rights. In addition, the minor requires two courses dealing with international human rights, one domestic human rights related course and a community involvement experience through the Department of Political Science.

The Bachelor of Science in Human Security and Geospatial Intelligence offered by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences prepares students for professional careers and/or graduate study by engaging them in the framework for the analysis and planning in future human security and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) work. The underlying spatial and GEOINT principles and expertise can be used to support within the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. State Department, related U.S. support/non-governmental agencies and within comparable international organizations. The course work, and in particular the capstone course, provides students with opportunities to develop the skills and expertise to lead innovative ventures in areas such as international border conflicts, humanitarian response and relief, global human rights, monitoring and prevention of genocide, refugee migration, and crisis management. Finally, the major is structured to provide students with sufficient elective credits to explore minors or other programs at USC so that they can broaden their education to better prepare themselves for future stages in their lives.

The program requires 10 core courses including a capstone experience and a minimum of 128 units. The BS in HSGI degree can be completed in the planned 4-year undergraduate experience (eight semesters) for full-time registrants.

Students in the BS in HSGI program can receive departmental honors by satisfying a > 3.7 GPA in major core courses in their second to last semester and an overall GPA > 3.5, and by presenting a poster or making a presentation of their research at an academic or professional conference and/or by exhibiting leadership within a club or organization.

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The interdisciplinary minor in Human Security and Geospatial Intelligence aims to educate future leaders in location-based analytics to gather, interpret, and implement actionable intelligence to promote human security and serves to connect many collaborative and interrelated disciplines to provide a framework for students interested in learning how to develop and deliver analytical and spatial solutions. 

A minor in immersive media is open to all undergraduate students at USC. This interdisciplinary minor provides the opportunity for technically minded students, business and entrepreneurially driven students, and/or creatively driven students to gain knowledge about the virtual reality industry and how to create content effectively. Students can add depth within a specific area by selecting elective courses within the same area or can add breadth by choosing elective courses from two separate areas.

To be eligible for the immersive media minor, a student must be in good academic standing and have a declared major. To declare the immersive media minor a student must get permission from the Interactive Media Division (SCI 201), and submit a change of major/minor form to Cinematic Arts Student Services (SCB 105).

The minor in immersive media requires a minimum of 24 units.

This minor is a fit for students in business, engineering, communication, cinematic arts, or arts and sciences interested in developing a broad knowledge of issues in aging. Based largely on disciplines in the behavioral and social sciences, students learn how aging will impact their lives, families and careers. Upon completion of 20 units and graduation, the minor is noted on the student's transcript.

The Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering.

The requirement for the degree is 128 units. A cumulative grade point average of C (2.0) is required for all upper division courses applied toward the major, regardless of the department in which the courses are taken. See the common requirements for undergraduate degrees.

The Minor in Innovation: The Digital Entrepreneur is jointly sponsored by the Information Technology Program in the Viterbi School of Engineering and the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in the USC Marshall School of Business. The minor is designed for students from a wide range of backgrounds who are interested in starting their own digital ventures, working for start-up companies, or pursuing traditional jobs with large corporations and consulting firms that may involve launching new digital business units. Students will learn all major elements of launching a digital venture including digital disruption, ideation, high-tech product management, online customer acquisition, technology implementation, online business models, digital marketing and monetization. Students will work on launching a digital venture in a team-based environment in the capstone class.

A minimum of 21 units are required to complete the minor, with at least 16 unique units outside of the student's major.

The Information Technology Program in the Viterbi School of Engineering handles advising and admissions relating to the minor, consulting as needed with the Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Marshall School of Business. See Information Technology Program for course requirements.

The Bachelor of Arts in Intelligence and Cyber Operations brings scholarship in international relations together with technical expertise in information technology to prepare USC students for a rapidly emerging field of scholarly activity and professional practice. This interdisciplinary major requires 55-56 units in total: 12 at the lower-division level and 43-44 at the upper-division level.

Interdisciplinary Major

The interdisciplinary major allows students to create an individual, original major. It is a flexible option available when a combination of existing majors and academic minors does not adequately fulfill a student's educational goals. With close advisement, students can build their own programs of study.

The interdisciplinary major is an intensive research program for students with a focused interest in a topic that requires study from more than one disciplinary perspective. Interdisciplinary majors are usually self-motivated students with good writing skills and an intellectual passion for a particular area of inquiry. Course work is selected to lead to a thesis project integrating the areas of research comprising the interdisciplinary major.

Admission

Admission to the interdisciplinary major is by application. Applications, which may be obtained from the program office, are considered by a special admissions committee. Interested students must have a GPA of 3.0 (A = 4.0) or above; those with less than a 3.3 are the exception.

Program Requirements

Students in the program must meet all graduation requirements of USC Dornsife College. When admitted, students establish an academic "contract," which outlines each student's course of study through graduation. The contract includes a minimum of nine (4-unit) upper-division courses, distributed in at least two fields. The primary focus of the major should be in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. These areas of concentration must then be combined in a senior thesis, written under the supervision of the student's Guidance Committee.

Restrictions

Course prerequisites cannot be waived; admission to courses restricted to majors is subject to availability and direct negotiations; admission to departments and/or schools that have their own admission requirements must be processed separately.

This minor deals with technology in art making including digital photography, digital video and the Internet. Course work includes choice of classes in history of photography, digital media, visual literacy and computer imaging. The professional aspects of this minor assist students in developing careers in fine arts, communication, design, engineering, film, journalism and in any area where there is a need for flexible and creative imaging using digital media. The total number of units required for the minor is 20.