College Academic Services Building,
Room 200
(213) 740-2961
www.usc.edu/ge

Coordinator: Richard Fliegel, Ph.D.

The university’s general education program is structured to provide 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.

In thinking over what is necessary, the faculty identified two principal goals to help you:

1. locate yourself in your own moment of cultural and intellectual history; and
2. think critically about the books you read, the arguments you confront and the evidence offered for and against theories in the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences.

To achieve these two goals, the program is divided into two parts: the first part, called “Foundations,” presents courses that give you the “big picture” about

1. the development of western European and American culture, as well as
2. alternative cultural traditions and
3. the basic principles animating scientific inquiry. The second part, called “Case Studies,” provides particular opportunities for you to sharpen your critical intelligence by considering specific
4. applications of science and technology,
5. works of literature, philosophy and art, and
6. contemporary social issues of urgency and importance. In addition, all students must satisfy writing and diversity requirements to complete the USC core.

The freshman year semester of the writing requirement is co-registered with classes in the Social Issues category and a speaker series, helping to build intellectual community among students and faculty in the general education program.

As you look through the courses in each category, try to reach beyond the disciplines with which you are most familiar and comfortable. Draw broadly from the range of academic expertise and choose a thoughtful, provocative selection of “g” courses as your personal general education program. This academic background will need to serve you well in the future, as a basis for lifelong learning.

Students in all programs are required to take one course that satisfies each of the following categories.

Courses in these categories help students locate themselves culturally and intellectually. The foundations categories are intended to give students a broad conceptual base for their further studies and their role as informed citizens in a scientifically and culturally complex world. Because their goal is to provide context, these courses emphasize a wide sweep of knowledge and require active intellectual engagement with scientific principles and with primary works of culture and civilization.

Courses in this category introduce students to the norms and patterns of civilizations associated with the Greco-Roman and European traditions and the legacy of those traditions in North America. Courses may focus on particular aspects of those traditions, or on particular historical periods, provided that the perspective is construed broadly enough to establish a foundation on which students may build, grounding themselves and their subsequent studies in some understanding of this legacy. Comparative insights may also be offered between cultural traditions studied in Categories I and II.

In this category students learn about an area of academic inquiry traditionally perceived as core to an excellent general education. Courses are distinguished by their sweep, which must be broad enough for students to understand the continuing legacies in contemporary culture of the patterns of civilization these courses present and critique.

Courses in this category introduce students to cultural norms and patterns of civilizations associated with Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Native America and elsewhere, alternative to those of the Greco-Roman and European traditions. Each course examines distinctive properties of the cultures and civilizations studied and seeks to engage and explain those properties on their own terms. Comparative insights may also be offered between the cultural traditions studied in Categories I and II.

In this category students prepare to participate in an increasingly internationalized economic and political landscape. Courses teach students to understand the historical development of cultures which interact in the contemporary geopolitical scene. In addition, courses in this category help students to understand the role otherness plays in self-definition and self-delineation. Like courses in Category I, courses in this category are distinguished by their breadth of perspective over a substantial period of time.

Courses in this category study fundamental principles underlying a body of scientific knowledge, examining how those principles were developed through gradual evolution, the elimination of competing ideas, and scientific revolution or paradigm shift. These courses also focus on the nature of scientific inquiry by educating students as to how scientific knowledge is obtained and evaluated; they give a strong appreciation of how we arrived at our present understanding and a sense of how present ideas might evolve. Field experience or a practical component is required.

In this category students are introduced to the vocabulary and modes of thought of a dominant perspective in contemporary culture. This category includes courses designed for students with majors outside the natural sciences.

Courses in these categories help students learn to think critically through a focused inquiry into a particular area of knowledge. Analytic techniques and methodologies are demonstrated as they illuminate specific topics in the natural and social sciences, the arts and humanities.

An examination of the nature of science and technology, based on a closer, more focused study of a single area of research or a small set of related areas. The perspectives of several scientific disciplines are brought to bear on a theme, illustrating the relevant scientific principles, their technological applications and the societal significance and consequences of the topic. Field experience or a practical component is required.

In this category students deepen their understanding of a particular area of scientific research, its applications and social impact.

Courses in this category develop students’ abilities for critical analysis through intense engagement with works of literature, philosophy, visual arts, music and/or film. Subject matter for these courses will be significant works associated with one or more geographical areas, time periods, genres or themes. Designed also to develop knowledge of analytical techniques in the humanities and practice in argumentative methods, courses in this category will demand intensive reading and writing and be capped at 30 students.

Courses in this category prepare students for informed citizenship, by teaching them to analyze compelling local, national and/or international issues or problems. Analytical tools are examined systematically, so that students may fruitfully redeploy them in understanding a broad range of social phenomena.

In this category students develop the analytical and critical skills that enable them to make sense of complex questions about human beings and societies.

Students may satisfy the requirements for Categories I or III with scores of 4 or 5 on specified Advanced Placement Examinations, but no such credit will satisfy the requirements of Categories II, IV, V or VI, or the writing requirement.

Students may satisfy the requirements for Categories I, II, III or V with transfer course work completed before the student has enrolled at USC, but no transfer credit will satisfy the requirements for Categories IV or VI. The first semester of the writing requirement may also be satisfied with transfer course work, if it is completed before the student has transferred to USC. However, no transfer course work may be used to satisfy any general education requirements or the writing requirement if those courses are taken after a student has enrolled at USC.

No more than four units of credit (or one course) counting toward the general education categories may be taken on a pass/no pass basis. The writing courses cannot be taken on a pass/no pass basis.

A very restricted number of exceptions to the rules governing the new general education program has been allowed by the Provost for certain cohorts of students whose programs of study in the major discipline require such exceptions. For more information, see the listings under the individual schools.

In addition, all students at USC must complete a two-course writing requirement and a diversity requirement. All students in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and some in the professional schools (see listing for each school’s requirements) must also satisfy the foreign language requirement.

The writing requirement consists of two courses. The first, taken during the freshman year, is linked to a course in the Social Issues category of the General Education program. The second, an advanced writing course taken in the junior year, is geared toward students’ areas of special interest, such as the arts and humanities, science, law, engineering or business. In this course, students learn to integrate more complex information and construct more sophisticated arguments.

Most undergraduates take WRIT 140 Writing and Critical Reasoning as their first writing course. WRIT 140 is offered in affiliation with courses from the Social Issues category of the General Education Program (Category VI). Students enroll in this writing course either in the fall or spring of their freshman year.

Certain groups of students from the Schools of Architecture and Music whose schedules do not permit them to register in an affiliated writing class satisfy their first writing requirement by taking WRIT 130 Analytical Writing. Students may not enroll in this alternative course unless expressly permitted to do so by the academic advisors in the specified schools. Students in the Thematic Option program satisfy this requirement with CORE 111.

Some students are better served by taking a preparatory course before they enroll in WRIT 140. Entering freshmen who score below a specified level on the verbal portion of the SAT take the University Writing Examination. Based on the result of this examination, certain students enroll in WRIT 120 Introduction to College Writing or WRIT 121 Introduction to College Writing in a Second Language during their first semester at USC. Clearance to register for these preparatory courses may be obtained at the Writing Program Office.

International students take the University Writing Examination after having completed any course work required by the American Language Institute.

All students at USC (with the exception of Thematic Option students who satisfy the second writing requirement with CORE 112), must complete WRIT 340, a course that will help them write on topics related to their disciplinary or professional interests. Students usually enroll in WRIT 340 Advanced Writing in their junior year and may not take the course earlier than their sophomore year. Different schools at the university offer sections of this course. Students should consult their major department to learn which section of WRIT 340 best complements their program of study.

All sections of WRIT 340 teach students to write clear, grammatical, well-structured prose; to discover and convey complex ideas critically; and to appreciate the nuances of effective argumentation. The principal aim of the requirement is to develop a student’s capacity to formulate thoughtful, informed arguments for specific academic, professional and public audiences.

The diversity requirement is designed to provide undergraduate students with the background knowledge and analytical skills to enable them to understand and respect differences between groups of people and to understand the potential resources and conflicts arising from human differences on the contemporary American and international scene. Students will increasingly need to grapple with issues arising from different dimensions of human diversity such as age, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation and social class. These dimensions and their social and cultural consequences will have important ramifications for students’ personal, professional and intellectual lives, both for the time they are students and in later life. Students will gain exposure to analytical frameworks within which these issues are to be understood and addressed, including social, political, cultural, ethical and public policy analysis. It is the university’s goal to prepare students through the study of human differences for responsible citizenship in an increasingly pluralistic and diverse society.

The diversity requirement must be met by all students who began college at USC or elsewhere fall 1993 or later. It can be met by passing any one course from the following list of courses carrying the designation “m” for multiculturalism. In addition to fulfilling the diversity requirement, some of the courses on the list also meet general education requirements; others also meet major requirements; still others meet only the diversity requirement but count for elective unit credit.

The foreign language requirement may be satisfied only by

1. earning a passing grade in Course III of a foreign language sequence at USC or its equivalent elsewhere or
2. scoring on the placement examination at a level considered by the department as equivalent to the completion of Course III or
3. scoring on a national or statewide examination at a level set by the department and approved by the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Students who can supply proof of at least two years of full-time secondary schooling beyond the age of 14 taught in a foreign language may request exemption from the foreign language requirement.

All students earning degrees granted by or under the jurisdiction of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences or earning degrees in programs of other schools that require three semesters of foreign language who do not meet the criteria of (1) must take a placement examination to determine their level of language proficiency. Placement in elementary and intermediate foreign language courses is made by the appropriate placement examination. Transfer courses equivalent to a USC elementary or intermediate language course fulfill the prerequisite for the next course in the sequence, but students may be advised to repeat without additional credit a semester or semesters of instruction if their skills are judged insufficient at the time of testing.

International students whose native language is not English are exempt from the foreign language requirement. Students with advanced skills in languages other than those taught at USC may request exemption from the foreign language requirement if (1) they can supply proof of at least two years of full-time secondary schooling taught in a foreign language beyond the age of 14, or (2) if they can pass a competency exam testing for advanced language skills and administered at USC subject to the availability of suitable academic examiners; the competency exam will test proficiency in speaking, reading and writing skills. Students with documented learning disabilities or physical impairments inhibiting language acquisition may petition for substitution.

The following courses are recommended for most students seeking to satisfy general education requirements.

The following courses will also satisfy this requirement, but they are intended for specific groups of students and are not usually appropriate for most general education students. Consult an academic advisor before enrolling in any of the following courses unless your major requires you to do so.

The following courses require concurrent enrollment in WRIT 140 Writing and Critical Reasoning, unless the first course of the writing requirement has already been satisfied.