Majors & Minors

The required courses are: PSYC 100, MATH 114*, PSYC 274L and eight upper-division courses in departments in the social sciences, including five in the Department of Psychology and three outside the department but within the division. These may be any 300- or 400-numbered courses.

*MATH 208, MATH 218 or MATH 265 may substitute for MATH 114.

The Social Work and Juvenile Justice minor is designed for students who want to increase their knowledge of the juvenile justice system and service environments for diverse youth populations. This minor is fit for students in the behavioral and social sciences and any student interested in developing a broad knowledge of issues in the field of juvenile justice. The minor is of particular interest to students wishing to pursue graduate studies in social work, law, sociology, psychology, public health or education.

The Social Work and Juvenile Justice minor requires a minimum of 16 units.

The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program is designed to cultivate a diverse workforce comprising culturally competent, ethical, service-oriented, generalist social workers. Students in the program are primed to address the needs of a global society, promoting the welfare of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities through a framework of interprofessional collaboration, integrative practice, scientific inquiry and an unwavering commitment to human rights and social justice.

Through a comprehensive curriculum, the program equips students with the necessary skills and knowledge for entry-level professional social work careers or further graduate-level education in social work. Emphasizing human rights and social justice, the BSW program aims to achieve several key objectives:

1. Grounding in Generalist Practice and Preparation for Advanced Education: Students are grounded in the principles of generalist practice, providing them with a solid foundation for advanced study in social work.

2. Engagement, Assessment, Intervention and Evaluation: Students are equipped with the skills to effectively engage with, assess, intervene in and evaluate practices concerning individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

3. Ethical Practice and Critical Thinking: Emphasis is placed on fostering ethical social work practice and nurturing critical thinking skills to guide professional judgments and actions.

4. Advocacy and Social Change: Graduates are empowered to be change agents, advocating for human rights, dismantling institutional and systemic barriers and actively advancing social justice in all spheres of society.

To earn the BSW degree, students must successfully complete a total of 128 units, with 48 units specifically allocated to courses in the social work major. This encompasses fulfilling lower-division general education requisites, mandatory prerequisite courses, selecting one elective course, completing nine mandatory courses within the social work major, participating in two social work practicum internship seminars and fulfilling 440 hours of social work practicum internship. All students must achieve an overall average of C (2.0) or better in the BSW program courses required for completion of the degree/major. Students must also demonstrate a strong commitment to ethical practice and professionalism.
 

All students must achieve an overall average of C (2.0) or better in the 10 courses (40 units) required for completion of the major.

All sociology majors must complete five core courses of sociology.

At least 8 of the 20 elective units must come from 400-level courses.

Five courses (20 units) are required to complete the minor in sociology.

All minors are required to take at least two of the core courses in sociology:

The minor in songwriting incorporates practical instruction in the craft of songwriting and in performance skills, instruction in the technology relevant to songwriting, and critical studies in the relevant repertories.

Requirements for admission: Those who are considering this program should enroll in MUSC 255 Songwriting I. Admission will be based on songwriting ability and potential as determined by the songwriting faculty. 

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sound Design provides four years of intensive training at the undergraduate level. A total of 128 units of course work is required for the degree, including a 16-unit Critical Studies core in addition to required courses.

All BFA students are required to earn a grade point average of 2.75 (A = 4.0) in their theatre courses each semester. BFA students who fail to earn a GPA of 2.75 in their theatre courses will be placed on probation the following semester. Students who remain on probation for a consecutive second semester will be disqualified from the BFA program.

A student disqualified from continued study in the BFA program for failing to meet the GPA standards outlined above will be given the option of transferring into the BA program.

General Education Requirements

The university's General Education program provides a coherent, integrated introduction to the breadth of knowledge you will need to consider yourself (and to be considered by other people) a generally well-educated person. This program is effective for all students entering USC in fall 2015 or later, or transfer students beginning college elsewhere at that time and subsequently transferring to USC. It requires eight courses in six Core Literacies, plus two courses in Global Perspectives (which may double-count with courses in the Core Literacies) and two courses in writing. In addition, all entering freshmen are expected to complete a General Education Seminar during their first year at USC. These seminars satisfy one of the Core Literacy requirements above.

Note that courses within the program will also satisfy certain Core Literacy requirements. Please work with your adviser to determine those courses.

This interdisciplinary minor offers students a framework for developing a fundamental understanding of the richness and complexity of South Asia, broadly defined as including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Students may select courses that provide an introduction across disciplines, or they may choose courses that address a particular historical period or theme.

The minor requires a minimum of 20 units.

This minor allows students to supplement more narrowly defined departmental majors with a multidisciplinary focus on an area of great importance both to global developments and to cultural heritage issues in California and the United States. There is no language requirement and no required courses, but students must take one lower and four upper-division courses dealing with Southeast Asian cultures and people of Southeast Asian heritage in the United States. The focus of this new minor is on transnational connections and the new area of global culture.