Majors & Minors

The spatial studies minor requires a minimum of 20 units, consisting of one lower-division elective, three required courses and an upper-division elective. The minor offers students an opportunity to examine some of the major challenges of the 21st century (climate change, human health and sustainability, urbanization and cultural homogenization, among others) through a spatial lens.

The USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery offers the minor in Collaborations in Speech-Language and Hearing Professions. This minor is designed to introduce undergraduate students from a wide variety of majors to the field of communication sciences and disorders (i.e. speech-language pathology and audiology) and guide them in the development of interdisciplinary knowledge, which will lead to collaborative practices in health care, social services and education, as it relates to communication sciences and disorders. Relevant majors from which students may be interested in this minor include education, pre-medical and biological sciences, social work, occupational and physical therapy, linguistics, music or other related fields in a variety of aspects related to the field of communication sciences and disorders and/or speech, language and hearing professions.

Course work for this minor will focus on Interprofessional Practice necessary to serving individuals with communication disabilities. The course work will examine broad aspects of typical and atypical speech, language and hearing development, delays and disorders, technological advancements in hearing science and audiology practice and collaborative work settings for allied and related professionals serving individuals with communication disabilities. In addition, public policy and practice will be discussed throughout the course work, including aspects of access to medical and educational services.

This minor requires 16 units, consisting of 4 required units and 12 elective units, as detailed below.

The worldwide and national sports industry is large and growing, with a significant presence in Southern California. The sports industry has significant ties to entertainment, real estate, games and special events, as well as media, journalism and other industries. The sports industry provides a unique business context, with specific needs in marketing, finance, economics, data analytics, risk management, communication, human resources, law and other business disciplines. The Sports Business and Management minor provides students the opportunity to combine courses in core management disciplines with complementary courses specific to sports business.

The Sports Business and Management 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 32 units of college-level courses and have a minimum overall GPA of 2.75. 

Successful completion of the Sports Business and Management minor requires a minimum of 20 units and a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in the courses applied to the minor.

Organized sports are one of the most popular forms of live and participatory entertainment, and produce vast quantities of mediated content. Virtually all professional sport, and increasingly much of amateur competition, is influenced by the importance of having the competitions shared with a wide range of audiences and utilizing diverse platforms to engage these fans. This content rich environment highlights how leagues, teams, players and coaches are each independent and interdependent brands, as well as creators and distributors of multimedia content. This volume of sports content creates new challenges for journalistic norms and storytelling techniques as well as new opportunities for the business of sports media management. The Sports Media Industries minor introduces students to a range of professional settings, activities and challenges related to the growth of sports media.

This 20-unit minor requires that students be introduced both to sports journalism as content production and also to the notion of sports media as a unique setting for publicity, advertising, and public relations. Students will develop the skills required to create sports media content, and increase their ability to critically examine sports media's influence on contemporary culture, particularly issues related to race, gender, class and sexual orientation. The minor will also establish an introductory knowledge of the business of sports and sports media. Elective courses allow students greater opportunity to explore these fields as well as take courses dedicated to specific aspects of sports media.

USC has a unique historical relationship to sports and sports media, and is near the center of the current sports media capital of Los Angeles. The courses examine the role of sports and sports media in culture, how the presentation of sports in media has evolved, has been shaped by cultural issues and, itself, impacted culture. This minor will enhance students' skills in working and interacting with, sports media.

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.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Stage Management 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 for the program.

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.

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This interdisciplinary minor should appeal to students from any discipline who are interested in acquiring a basic understanding of the mathematics underlying modern statistical analysis and inference techniques, in learning how to handle and analyze large data sets, and in gaining insight into the applications of modern statistics. Students who complete this minor should be able to critically interpret statistically based conclusions, should be viable candidates for entry level positions requiring some knowledge of modern statistics and data analysis, and should be prepared to enter a graduate-level program in applied statistics. The only prerequisite for this minor is one semester of elementary calculus.

As with all minors, students must include at least four upper-division courses and four courses dedicated exclusively to this minor (which may be the same four courses). Finally, students must select four courses outside their major department. These may be the same four courses used to meet the first two conditions. Note that Math BA and BS economics/mathematics students may complete this minor by taking MATH 407 and MATH 408 and at least 16 additional upper-division units approved by the Department of Mathematics, which are not in their major department and not being used to satisfy a requirement for their major. Note also that if calculus must be taken to satisfy the prerequisite for MATH 307, 20 units would be required to complete the minor.

The Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine offers a minor in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. This minor provides focused course work in developmental biology, animal regeneration, stem cell science and regenerative medicine, as well as exposure to laboratory methods in stem cell science. The minor will appeal to undergraduates interested in the scientific, ethical, legal, regulatory and cultural implications of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. The minor prepares undergraduates for a diversity of careers in research, health care, regulatory affairs, intellectual property law, science fiction, and biomedical journalism, among others. The minor requires a minimum of 16 units and welcomes undergraduates in both biological and non-biological majors.

This minor offers students an opportunity to gain an overall understanding of substance abuse as a major modifiable risk factor for illness. It allows students to learn theories of behavior change, to understand the issues in prevention and cessation of drug abuse, and to develop, implement, and evaluate intervention strategies. It complements a number of majors including psychology, sociology, American studies and ethnicity, biological science and gerontology.