University of Southern California

The University of Southern California (USC), Southern California's oldest private research university, is located in the urban center of Los Angeles, California.

Table of contents

1 Overview
2 Demographics
3 Academics

3.1 Academic subdivisions
3.2 Areas of study
3.3 Distinguished faculty

4 Athletics
5 Administration
6 External links

Overview

Founded in 1880 by three wealthy Los Angeles residents as a Methodist University, it has grown to international prominence. The univeristy opened with an enrollment of 53 students, and a faculty of 10. Its first graduating class in 1884 was a class of three - two men and a woman valedictorian. The University is no longer a Methodist institution; it is currently not religiously affiliated.

USC has grown substantially since its founding. Besides its main campus ("University Park Campus," about 2 miles southwest of downtown L.A.), the university includes the Health Sciences Campus about 2 miles northeast of downtown and the Information Sciences Institute in Marina del Rey. The School of Public Policy and Development runs a satellite campus in Sacramento, California. Another satellite campus in Washington, D.C was closed down in 2002.

USC was named "College of the Year 2000" by the editors of Time magazine and the Princeton Review for its outstanding community service. Roughly half of the university's students volunteer in community-service programs in neighborhoods around campus and throughout Los Angeles.

USC has an endowment of $2.1 Billion, largely as a result of an impressive fundraising campaign over the last several years by current University President Steven B. Sample.

The University motto is, "Palmam qui meruit ferat" ("Let whoever earns the palm bear it").

Demographics

The following figures are accurate as of the 2003-2004 academic year

USC has a present total enrollment of about 31,000 students, 16,000 undergraduates and 15,000 graduates. There are currently about 4,300 faculty, and 14,000 support staff. There are roughly 180,000 living USC alumni. The university has attracted more international students over the years than any other American university. Currently, about 10 percent of USC's students represent over 115 countries.

The male:female ratio at USC is 1:1, and about 1/3 of students come from out of state. Ethnic breakdown is:

48% Caucasian
22% Asian
13% Hispanic
7% African-American
1% Native American

Academics

The school is best known for its professional schools in law, film, medicine, [[business], [[engineering] and journalism. Annenberg, the j-school, holds its own among the best in the nation, but it has adopted a fairly grueling convergence core curriculum that requires students to devote themselves equally to print, broadcast and online media for the first year of study. While this approach promises a breadth of knowledge across various journalistic media, many students resent being compelled to devote so much time and energy to disciplines they aren't interested in pursuing. On the other hand, USC's Annenberg School of Journalism has a massive endowment, and the school is generous with promising students.

On March 2, 2004, the USC School of Engineering, headed by Dean Max Nikeas, was renamed to the Viterbi School of Engineering. This was done to honor Qualcomm founder Andrew Viterbi and his wife Erna, who had recently donated $52 million to the school. According to the USC website, this gift was "the largest ever to rename an existing school of engineering."

Academic subdivisions

USC's academic departments fall either under the general liberal arts and sciences banner of the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences for undergraduates or of The Graduate School for graduates, or under one of the university's 18 professional schools. A full listing of academic subdivisions follows alphabetically by subject:

The College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The Graduate School

The Professional Schools
- Davis School of Gerontology
- Independent Health Professions
- USC Law School
- Keck School of Medicine
- Thornton School of Music
- School of Pharmacy
- School of Policy, Planning, and Development
- School of Social Work
- School of Theatre

Areas of study

USC offers 77 majors, 101 minors, and 139 distinct areas of graduate study.

The most popular majors are Business Administration, Communications, and Psychology.

USC grades on a standard 4.0 scale, with +0.3 for a "plus" grade, and -0.3 for a "minus" grade. USC does not award the grade A+.

Distinguished faculty

Current faculty includes:

Leonard M. Adleman, Co-Inventor of RSA, Turing Award recipient
T.C. Boyle, Novelist
George Olah, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

Athletics

The school's sports teams are called the Trojans. Their traditional rival is UCLA. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Pacific Ten Conference. There have been more Trojans in the Olympics than students from any other American university. The USC football team was the 2003-4 co-champion of Division 1-A (along with Louisiana State University), marking their ninth national championship season in the sport; the head coach of the football team is Pete Carroll. The USC Alumni Association has over 200,000 current members. Famous alumni include former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, astronaut Neil Armstrong, psychologist and author Dr. James Dobson, architect Frank Gehry, opera singer Marilyn Horne, symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, film directors George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, football running back/notorious popular icon O.J. Simpson and baseball legends Tom Seaver and Mark McGwire, actress Ally Sheedy, author and columnist Art Buchwald, actor John Wayne, Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Oakland Raider Marcus Allen.

USC is also known for its marching band, which calls itself "The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe." This band performed in the 1932 and 1984 summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in addition to their countless appearances in movies, television shows, and performances with other renowned musicians. Most recently, the band produced an instrumental version of the popular song "Hit That" by The Offspring (whose lead singer is a USC alum), and it appeared with Outkast at the 2004 Grammy Awards in their hit song "Hey Ya!".

Administration

USC is a private corporation, and is ultimately controlled by a Board of Trustees, with roughly 50 voting members and several Life Trustees, Honorary Trustees, and Trustees Emeritus who do not vote. Voting members of the Board of Trustees are elected for five year terms. One fifth of the Trustees stand for re-election each year, and votes are cast only by the Trustees not standing for election. Trustees tend to be high-ranking executives of large corporations (both domestic and international), successful alumni, members of the upper echelons of university administration or some combination of the three.

University administration consists of a President, a Provost, several Vice Presidents of various departments, a Treasurer, a Chief Information Officer, and an Athletic Director. As of the beginning of 2004, the President is Steven B. Sample, and the Provost is Lloyd Armstrong, Jr

The College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, The Graduate School, and the 18 Professional Schools are each lead by an Academic Dean.

USC also occasionally awards emeritus titles to former administrators. There are currently six Administrators Emeritus.