University in United States
Los Angeles, CA, United States
University profile
The University of Southern California (USC) is a private research university in Los Angeles, California. It opened on October 6, 1880, with 53 students and today enrols about 46,000 students (2025-26, rounded to the nearest 500): 21,000 undergraduates and 25,000 graduate and professional students. It has 4,578 full-time faculty and 19,364 staff (2025-26), and describes itself as combining the autonomy of a private institution with the breadth and scale of a public university.
Teaching is organised in 23 schools and academic units. These include the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; the Marshall School of Business; the Viterbi School of Engineering; the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism; the Keck School of Medicine; the Gould School of Law; the Rossier School of Education; the Sol Price School of Public Policy; the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work; the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology; the Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry; the Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy; the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy; the Leventhal School of Accounting; the Iovine and Young Academy; and the arts schools of Architecture, Cinematic Arts, Dramatic Arts, Music (Thornton), Dance (Kaufman) and Art and Design (Roski), plus Bovard College.
Undergraduates choose from more than 150 majors and minors, with an in-class student-to-faculty ratio of 8:1. Graduate and professional students choose from more than 400 programmes in the liberal arts college and 20 professional schools, including master's, PhD, dual-degree and certificate programmes and professional doctorates such as MD, JD, DDS, PharmD and DPT.
Student life centres on the University Park Campus in Los Angeles, with more than 1,000 student groups, over 3,000 student events a year, the Trojan Marching Band, four museums and 11 art galleries. First-year students can live in residential colleges including Birnkrant, McCarthy Honors, New North, Parkside Arts and Humanities, Parkside International and South, in residence halls, suites or apartments, with dining halls and the retail and residential complex USC Village.
International students come from nearly 130 countries and make up 26.1% of the student body (Fall 2025); 11,959 international students were enrolled, the largest groups from China (5,760), India (2,136), Taiwan (548), South Korea (542) and Canada (427). The USC International Academy runs a Pre-Master's Program, a Master's Preparation Program and an Intensive English Program, and the American Language Institute supports English language study.
The 2026-27 undergraduate estimate for two semesters is $75,384 tuition and $1,952 fees, with a total cost of attendance of $103,162 on campus, $102,792 off campus and $94,630 living with parents or relatives (plus a $450 new student fee in the first semester). Tuition is the same for in-state and out-of-state residents.
USC is need-blind in admission for domestic students and meets 100 percent of USC-determined financial need for students who meet deadlines and eligibility requirements. Applicants submit the FAFSA and CSS Profile. Financial aid deadlines for 2026-27 entrants: Early Decision November 1, 2026; Early Action November 15, 2026; Regular Decision February 3, 2027; transfers March 2, 2027. About two-thirds of undergraduates receive some aid, and USC disbursed $935.6 million in total aid in 2025-26, $541.5 million of it from university sources.
International students are not eligible for federal or USC need-based aid. All international applicants who apply by the deadline are considered for USC Merit Scholarships with no minimum eligibility requirement, though none covers the full cost of attendance. Other options are departmental awards, on-campus work, limited off-campus work with permission from the Office of International Services, and private loans with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or permanent-resident co-borrower. See the financial aid page for international students.
Merit scholarships administered by the Office of Admission range from a few thousand dollars to full tuition and reward academic excellence, leadership, service and talent. Over 1,000 admitted students earned $10,000 or more a year in the most recent year, and a $20,000-per-year scholarship goes to admitted National Merit Finalists who name USC as their first choice. Applicants are considered automatically when applying by the deadlines. Other scholarships are listed on Scholarship Universe.
USC Need-Based Financial Aid (U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens) →
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View scholarships for University of Southern California →Applicants are expected to have earned a C or better in at least three years of high-school mathematics, including Advanced Algebra (Algebra II). No other curriculum is prescribed, but admitted students typically take the most rigorous programme available in English, science, social studies, foreign language and the arts. Review is holistic. The middle 50 percent unweighted GPA of the 2026-27 class was 3.81-4.00.
USC is test-optional: SAT and ACT scores are not required for 2027-28 first-year applicants, and are considered if sent. SAT school code 4852, ACT code 0470.
Steps: submit the Common Application (fee waiver available in its Profile section); official transcripts; one letter of recommendation from a school counsellor or teacher; portfolio, résumé, writing samples or auditions where the major requires them; mid-year grades; and application affirmations.
Deadlines: Early Decision (binding) and Early Action (non-binding) on November 1; Regular Decision January 10 for most majors; December 1 for Kaufman School of Dance, School of Dramatic Arts and Thornton School of Music (no ED/EA). Early Decision decisions come by mid-December, Early Action in late January and Regular Decision by April 1.
USC accepts sophomore and junior transfers. Successful applicants complete at least one year of full-time coursework with strong grades, typically 14-16 units a term, hold a C or better in Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II (or Intermediate Algebra), and progress toward General Education requirements. Applicants apply through the Common Application for Transfer; the final deadline for most majors is February 15, 2027, with a March 2, 2027 priority date for financial aid. Letters of recommendation are required only where the major asks. Applicants with fewer than 30 transferable units are judged largely on their high-school record.
International applicants follow the same steps as other applicants and send official records from all secondary schools and colleges attended, with certified English translations where needed, plus external examination results or predictions (GCSE/IGCSE, IB, A-levels, Indian board exams, ATAR and similar). Secondary records should cover the equivalent of U.S. grades 9-12. USC does not use educational agents.
English proficiency is required for applicants whose native language is not English, with no waivers. Recommended minimums: TOEFL iBT 100 with at least 20 in each section for exams before January 21, 2026 (5 overall and 4 per section on the new scale for exams on or after that date); IELTS 7; Cambridge C1 Advanced 185 (169 per skill); PTE 68; SAT EBRW 650; ACT English 27. The Duolingo English Test (minimum 130) is accepted for those unable to sit another exam, followed by the International Student Exam on arrival.
Applicants must submit a signed Financial Statement of Personal or Family Support with bank-verified proof of funds covering the full cost of attendance for at least the first year and a passport copy, within two weeks of the application deadline. Admitted students receive the documents needed for the I-20 or DS-2019 and visa.
Applications go through the online graduate application (Liaison CAS), for up to three programmes per term. Required materials vary by programme: official transcripts, résumé/CV, recommendation letters, statement of intent and GRE or GMAT where the programme requires it (scores valid for five years). The application fee for most programmes is $120 ($105 for programmes beginning in fall 2026); fee waivers can be requested. Deadlines are set by each programme. For international graduate applicants USC sets no university-wide English minimum; scores below the following only trigger placement testing: master's TOEFL iBT 90 (20 per section) or 4.5 on the new scale, IELTS 6.5 (6 per band); PhD TOEFL iBT 100 or 5, IELTS 7 (6 per band). Scores must be dated within 24 months.
The University of Southern California operates two main campuses in the Los Angeles area: the University Park Campus, which houses the Office of Admission at Los Angeles, CA 90089, and the Health Sciences Campus.
USC has been an active member of its surrounding communities since 1880, and runs community initiatives around both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses.
Keck Medicine of USC is the university's medical enterprise, associated with the Health Sciences Campus.
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