Admission to graduate programs is granted by the dean of the school conferring the degree. Correspondence with department chairs or individual faculty members does not constitute admission. Only a letter from the Vice Provost, Enrollment Services grants official admission.

The USC Application for Graduate Admission should be used by applicants to all programs except Dentistry, Law, Medicine, the master’s degree programs in the Marshall School of Business and the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program. Applicants to these programs should obtain forms directly from the schools to which they seek admission.

Conditional admission is a status for those students who have not yet met all requirements for admission to full graduate status or who have not filed all relevant documents with the appropriate office of admission. Students admitted in this provisional status must satisfy all those conditions by the end of the first semester of enrollment.

For students whose conditions of admission require verification of first semester grades, permission to register for the second semester must be approved by the chair of the student’s department. Permission generally will not be granted to enroll for a second semester for reasons other than unavailability of first semester grades.

Individual exceptions must be approved by the dean of the degree-conferring unit.

Some doctoral programs at USC admit students with Advanced Standing (entry with an appropriate completed graduate degree from an accredited institution). A minimum of 36 units of course work beyond that graduate degree, exclusive of 794 Doctoral Dissertation, will be required for the degree. Additional course work may be required if deemed necessary by the student’s faculty.

A maximum of six units of transfer credit may be applied toward a doctoral degree program with Advanced Standing. Only course work taken following completion of the graduate degree supporting admission with Advanced Standing is available for transfer credit. No exceptions are allowed.

Admission to graduate study does not imply admission to candidacy for an advanced degree and gives no right or claim to be so admitted. Candidacy is determined after the student has demonstrated by work done at this university the ability to do graduate work with originality and independence.

Regular tenure-track members of the USC faculty shall not be received as candidates or continued in candidacy for any graduate degree at USC. Individual exceptions may be made only with the approval of the deans of the schools concerned and the dean of graduate studies.

The Graduate School establishes and monitors the standards under which students are admitted for study in degree programs under its jurisdiction. These include the Master of Arts, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees as well as several specialized master’s degrees and certificate programs. Details of admission standards are provided in the Graduate School section of this catalogue and in the sections of schools and departments providing the curricula for these programs.

Details of admission standards to professional degrees available at USC are detailed in appropriate school listings. See Graduate Degree Programs for a list of degree programs.

Applicants to dual degree programs offered by the university must apply separately to each degree program, meet the admission requirements of each school, and be admitted by both academic units. Applicants to a professional degree program should consult the particular school for information on admission requirements and programs of study.