University of Southern California Top Questions

The professors are good and caring. You can tell the good one's because the know people's names, even if you haven't had their class for a while. USC's academics seem more geared towards teaching you how to learn on your own, which is good for jobs, research, and just plain knowledge seeking. Unfortunately, class participation is poor and I feel intellectual conversations are rare.

Class sizes at USC vary quite a bit, especially with GE classes, but every class is taught by a professor and class sizes tend to average 20 or below. Some classes have great side benefits. For instance, my video game class (ITP 280) gave us a preview of Smash Bros. Brawl a month before it came out, and had Jeffrey Kaplan (WoW lead designer) speak for a class. The great thing about USC is that they have a class for every passion. I love media and I love sports... voila, COMM 383 is there. I love being spontaneous... THTR 122 anyone? The great thing about Annenberg School and specifically the journalism program is that the professors/teachers are working professionals in the field. I've had a CBS reporter and an LA Times reporter teach me at various points. These teachers offer great insights into the field and how to be successful in it. Also, the classrooms in Annenberg are by far the most comfortable/spacious/wired of any at USC that I've been in.

I am very happy with the academics at USC. Professors tend to remember your name and face, but there are some that are more dynamic than others. I love my major courses, but I wish the Core requirements have comparably less busy work. I am here to learn, not read 50 pages in a book we will only talk about for 10 mins. Speaking of cores, too many graduate students lead the discussions in these courses, many of which do not know how to effectively teach as of yet. The grad students need more training. Students are very competitive by nature, which is good, but too much emphasis is placed on individualism instead of teamwork. In my major, students tend to be overally competitive and I believe this is encourage by the school, making a hard program even harder if you do not understand the material. The best part about my major is the effort put forward by its teaching staff. They love to teach what they know and it shows throughout. They make an effort to know the student outside of class and encourage learning more than just the surface. I am strong believer of learning for learning's sake, and the school, even though it prepares you well for the job industry, facilitates this basic principle through its faculty's dedication.

I think the education is great at USC and the professors really care- really Im not being nice. ESPECIALLY the T.O. program- it's amazing.

Professors who know my name?: all of them Favorite class: all of the TO ones have been amazing so far. Least favorite: none of them have been too bad..yet. How often students study: definitely varies with students--some don't study at all, others are always reading. USC has a very academically diverse student population. Class participation: very common Intellectual conversations outside of class: definitely Competitive: not cutthroat, but everyone works really hard Most unique class: Honors in Multimedia Scholarship program--IML 101. We play around with software/multimedia, and our class only has 4 people. It's incredible. My major: Business Administration and Computer Science-definitely a strange combination. I love being able to mix-and-match incongruous academic subjects, and USC offers the students the chance to be much more well-rounded than at most other schools. Spend times with professors outside of class: Mostly office hours. USC's academic requirements: USC often doesn't accept the AP tests that you've passed, so you end up repeating what you already know, because USC doesn't allow you to skip the prerequisites. Can be annoying at times. Geared toward getting a job?: I'm a business major, so I would say that there really isn't much use of learning the material for its own sake. And computer science is very technical and career-oriented for people who want to become computer programmers. That said, USC does offer very unique programs, like thematic option, that encourage a high level of learning for learning's sake. I don't know if I would be able to say that for the GE's--many people seem to have the complaint that they're just taking it to pass out of the requirements and not out of any interest for the subject at hand.

Professors -- if you take the effort to get to know them, they will know you. Favorite Class -- Global Leadership Program: for freshman business students by invitation. First semester weekly CEO presentations and second semester spring break trip to Shanghai, China. Competition - varies depending on major. Each major is challenging in its own respect. While the sciences and engineering grades are more important, in business your extracurricular and internship involvement is more important so there're competitions in different ways. General Requirement at USC: 6 required classes plus 2 writing courses (one freshman year and one junior year); the writing class is really tedious, but did improve my writing significantly. GEs... sometimes I think the professors aren't the best, but if you ask around and do your research before picking classes, you can end up with some very good professors and engaging/interesting classes

Some professors know my name, but not all. It depends on the class size. There are some huge classes and some very small ones. In the ones where there are 50 people or less, the professors usually know my name. My favorite class is a history class called The African-American Experience. The professor is fascinating and energetic. He is a renowned author and scholar and encourages everyone to look at things from multiple perspectives. There are too many students to generalize about how much students study. My friends and I personally study a lot and do not find it weird to sometimes stay in and study on a weekend if we have a lot of work. We just make studying fun, believe it or not. Some students study very little and other students find a good balance. Class participation is very varied as well. It completely depends on the person. I have had many intellectual discussions outside of class. While they are not strictly constrained to that, I often find that conversations that start out about something completely unintellectual can morph into something intellectual because I am surrounded by intelligent, curious, and thoughtful people. Even a viewing of I Love New York can take on different forms. We can enter into a discussion on portrayal of women and race in the media. Some students are competitive and some aren't, but most of the competitive is internal and not public. Students will want to be the best, but won't obsess about it or try to bring others down. The education at USC is geared towards both getting a job and learning for its own sake. Which one is more of a priority depends on the major. People in the business school on pre-med are very job-focused, but in my major, History, and many others people aren't as sure about their futures. They know they want to succeed, but they feel comfortable that the success will follow a natural course as they pursue their interests.

I have had a few good professors and some that weren't so great. Some students study lots; some do not study at all. Like anything at USC, you have to find what works for you. While it appalls me that some students never study and are fine with getting C's in classes, I am equally appalled at those who are dismayed at anything below an A. But you'll find both ends and the entire spectrum in between here. I have intellectual conversations with my roommates now because I have known them for 3 years and they are all intelligent people. But one of my first experiences at USC was with a bunch of girls I didn't know too well. We all went to EVK and when we sat down, one girl started off the conversation with, "So what does everyone's dad do?" I found that to be a bit shallow, but so did my real friends when I told them about it, so you'll find both kinds here. Just be prepared to encounter shallowness, or if you are shallow yourself, be prepared to know that people will see right through it.

I have had a wonderful experience in the classroom because my Fine Arts classes are very small. Not every school is like this. I took one computer science class, and I was not a fan of the way it was run. However, each student has his or her own style. Most of my classes have been very small, but even in the "large lecture classes," I believe it was still only 200 or so students. And my professors in those classes knew me because I made a point to introduce myself and sit in front. The most frustrating thing about USC's requirements is that you can't get out of the writing requirements, even with AP scores. Some of the other GEs aren't great. My advice is pick one you're interested in, not one that you heard is easy. One of my favorite classes here was to fulfill a science requirement: I took linguistics, and loved it! I don't know how many hours a week I study, but I budget my time so that I still go out with my friends. It's possible to do both.

my professors know my name, my favorite class is interesting, hands on, and applicable, my least favorite is the same class because it is a 2 hour lecture and is booorring sometimes and i fall asleep. i need a break between a 2 hour lecture. students study a lot, i have a lot of work right now. people generally participate in class, though when participation is graded in large lectures with no discussions, i think that is ridiculous. rock and roll music of the 60s and 70s was a great class, i want to take the 4 unit movie class. i go to office hours occasionally, if i need help or want to. i love the communication department, they have great advisors, though i think i should switch to marketing and i know they wont tell me that. academic requirements are good. more towards learning for its own sake, but i think thats awesome because when we get to jobs we are just naturally smart :)