Undergraduate Education
The USC Core/General Education
General Education Course Lists
Category I. Western Cultures and Traditions
Classical Civilizations and Their Legacies
| AHIS 120g | Foundations of Western Art |
| AHIS 201g | Digging into the Past: Material Culture and the Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean |
| COLT 101g | Masterpieces and Masterminds: Literature and Thought of the West |
| CLAS 150g | The Greeks and the West |
| CLAS 151g | Civilization of Rome |
| CLAS 280g | Classical Mythology |
| CLAS 320gm | Diversity and the Classical Western Tradition |
| HIST 101g | The Ancient World |
| PHIL 115g | Ancient Greek Culture and Society |
| PHIL 225g | Love and Its Representations in Literature, Philosophy and Film |
Judeo-Christian Traditions and Their Legacies
| AHIS 220g | Medieval Visual Culture |
| HIST 102gm | Medieval People: Early Europe and Its Neighbors, 400–1500 |
| JS 100g | Jewish History |
| JS 314g | Holy War And History: Jews, Christians, Muslims |
| REL 111g | The World of the Hebrew Bible |
| REL 121g | The World of the New Testament |
| REL 125g | Introduction to Christianity |
| REL 132g | Religions of the West |
The Making of the Modern World
| AHIS 121g | Art and Society: Renaissance to Modern |
| COLT 251g | Modern Literature and Thought of the West Since 1800 |
| COLT 374gm | Women Writers in Europe and America |
| HIST 103g | The Emergence of Modern Europe |
| HIST 104g | Modern Europe |
| MDA 205g | Cities and Civilization |
| PHIL 101g | Philosophical Foundations of Modern Western Culture |
| PHIL 155g | Modern Philosophy and the Meaning of Life |
| PHIL 220g | Science, Religion and the Making of the Modern Mind |
| PHIL 262g | Mind and Self: Modern Conceptions |
Foundations of American Civilization
| AMST 301g | America, the Frontier, and the New West |
| HIST 100gm | The American Experience |
| MDA 105g | Cultural Forms and Values I |
Category II. Global Cultures and Traditions
| AHIS 125g | Arts of Asia: Antiquity to 1300 |
| AHIS 126g | Introduction to Asian Art: 1300 to the Present |
| AHIS 127g | Arts and Civilizations of Ancient Middle and South America |
| AHIS 128g | Arts of Latin America |
| AHIS 284g | Art in Context: Introduction to the Chinese Visual World |
| AMST 135gm | Peoples and Cultures of the Americas |
| AMST 250gm | The African Diaspora |
| ANTH 100g | Principles of Human Organization: Non-Western Societies |
| ANTH 140g | Native Peoples of Mexico and Central America |
| ANTH 235g | The Changing Pacific: Culture, History and Politics in the New South Seas |
| ANTH 250g | Race and Sexual Politics in Southeast Asia |
| ANTH 263g | Exploring Culture Through Film |
| ANTH 273g | Shamans, Spirits, and Ancestors: Non-Western Religious Traditions |
| ANTH 314g | The Nature of Maya Civilization |
| ANTH 315g | North American Indians |
| ANTH 316gm | North American Indians in American Public Life |
| CLAS 349g | Ancient Empires |
| COLT 102g | On Location: The Place of Literature in Global Cultures |
| COLT 250g | Cultures of Latin America |
| COLT 264g | Asian Aesthetic and Literary Traditions |
| COLT 382g | Zen and Taoism in Asian Literature |
| EALC 110g | East Asian Humanities: The Great Tradition |
| EALC 125g | Introduction to Contemporary East Asian Film and Culture |
| EALC 130g | East Asian Ethical Thought |
| EALC 145g | Introduction to Chinese Culture, Art and Literature |
| EALC 150g | Global Chinese Cinemas and Cultural Studies |
| EALC 340g | Japanese Civilization |
| EALC 342g | Japanese Literature and Culture |
| EALC 344g | Korean Literature and Culture |
| EALC 350g | Chinese Civilization |
| EALC 352g | Chinese Literature and Culture |
| EALC 354g | Modern Chinese Literature in Translation |
| EALC 358g | Transpacific Sinophone Literature and Culture: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, SE Asia, and North America |
| EASC 150g | East Asian Societies |
| EASC 160gm | China and the World |
| HIST 105g | The Korean Past |
| HIST 106g | Chinese Lives: An Introduction to Chinese History |
| HIST 107g | Japanese History |
| HIST 180g | The Middle East |
| HIST 266g | Business and East Asian Culture, 1800 to the Present |
| HIST 271g | Early Native American Stories |
| HIST 273g | Colonial Latin America |
| HIST 275g | The Worlds of the Silk Road |
| HIST 324g | Islam in Russia and the Soviet Union |
| LING 295g | The Ancient Near East: Culture, Archaeology, Texts |
| MDA 155g | Cultural Forms and Values II |
| PORT 250g | Cultures of Brazil and Lusophone Africa |
| POSC 255g | Cultures, Civilizations and Ethnicities in World Politics |
| REL 112g | Religions of Egypt and the Ancient Near East |
| REL 131g | Religions of Asia |
| REL 133g | Religions of Latin America |
| REL 134xg | Introduction to Buddhist Literature |
| REL 135xg | Religions of China |
| REL 136xg | Sense and Sensuality in Indian Religious Literature |
| REL 137g | Introduction to Islam |
| SLL 330g | Russian Thought and Civilization |
Category III. Scientific Inquiry
For Most General Education Students
The following courses are recommended for most students seeking to satisfy general education requirements.
| ASTR 100Lxg | The Universe |
| BISC 101Lxg | Cellular and Molecular Biology |
| BISC 104Lxg | How the Body Works: Topics in Human Physiology |
| CHEM 103Lxg | General Chemistry for the Environment and Life |
| GEOL 105Lg | Planet Earth |
| GEOL 107Lg | Oceanography |
| GEOL 130Lg | The Nature of Scientific Inquiry |
| GEOL 387abcg | Undergraduate Team Research |
| MDA 125Lg | Scientific Principles |
| PHYS 100Lxg | The Physical World |
For Specified Cohorts
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 adviser before enrolling in any of the following courses unless your major requires you to do so.
| BISC 120Lxg | General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution |
| BISC 121Lg | Advanced General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution |
| CHEM 103Lxg | General Chemistry for the Environment and Life |
| CHEM 105aLg | General Chemistry |
| CHEM 115aLg | Advanced General Chemistry |
| PHYS 125Lg | Physics for Architects |
| PHYS 151Lg | Fundamentals of Physics I: Mechanics and Thermodynamics |
Category IV. Science and Its Significance
| ASTR 200Lxg | Earth and Space |
| BISC 102Lxg | Humans and Their Environment |
| BISC 150Lxg | The Nature of Human Health and Disease |
| BISC 180Lxg | Evolution |
| BISC 230Lxg | Brain, Mind and Machines: Topics in Neuroscience |
| CHEM 201Lg | Chemistry in the Environment, Energy, and Society |
| CHEM 203Lxg | Chemistry in Life: AIDS Drug Discovery and Development |
| CHEM 205Lxg | Chemical Forensics: The Science, and Its Impact |
| GEOL 108Lg | Crises of a Planet |
| GEOL 125Lg | Earth History: A Planet and Its Evolution |
| GEOL 150Lg | Climate Change |
| GEOL 240Lg | Earthquakes |
| GEOL 241Lg | Energy Systems |
| HBIO 200Lg | The Human Animal |
| HBIO 205Lxg | The Science of Human Performance |
| LING 110Lg | In a Word |
| LING 275Lg | Language and Mind |
| LING 285Lg | Human Language and Technology |
| MDA 175Lg | Science and Technology |
| MDA 200Lg | The Cutting Edge: From Basic Science to the Marketplace |
| PHIL 285Lg | Knowledge, Explanation, and the Cosmos |
| PHIL 286Lg | Issues in Space and Time |
| PHYS 200Lxg | The Physics and Technology of Energy: Keeping the Motor Running |
| PSYC 165Lg | Drugs, Behavior and Society |
| PSYC 200Lg | Love and Attachment |
| PSYC 201Lg | The Science of Happiness |
| PSYC 339Lg | Origins of the Mind |
| SSCI 265Lg | The Water Planet |
Category V. Arts and Letters
| ARLT 100g | Arts and Letters |
| ARLT 101g | Studies in Arts and Letters |
| ARLT 105g | First Year Seminar: Arts and Letters |
Category VI. Social Issues
| AHIS 255g | Culture Wars: Art and Social Conflict in the Modern World |
| AMST 101gm | Race and Class in Los Angeles |
| AMST 242gm | Social Responses to Disaster |
| AMST 252gm | Black Social Movements in the United States |
| AMST 274gm | Exploring Ethnicity Through Film |
| ANTH 105g | Culture, Medicine and Politics |
| ANTH 125g | Social Issues in Human Sexuality and Reproduction |
| ANTH 240gm | Collective Identity and Political Violence: Representing 9/11 |
| ECON 238xg | Political Economy and Social Issues |
| ECON 348g | Current Problems of the American Economy |
| ENST 150xg | Environmental Issues in Society |
| GEOG 257g | Environment and Ethics |
| HIST 215g | Business and Labor in America |
| HIST 225g | Film, Power, and American History |
| HIST 235g | War and the American Experience |
| HIST 240g | The History of California |
| HIST 245gm | Gender and Sexualities in American History |
| HIST 255g | The Evolution Debates |
| HIST 265g | Understanding Race and Sex Historically |
| IR 100xg | The United States and World Affairs |
| IR 101xg | International Relations |
| JS 211g | The Holocaust |
| JS 258g | Food, Faith and Conflict |
| LING 115g | Language, Society, and Culture |
| MDA 165g | Social Inquiry |
| MDA 167g | Marginal Groups in America |
| MDA 170g | La Frontera: The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands |
| PHIL 135g | Legal Controversies and Ethical Principles |
| PHIL 137gm | Social Ethics for Earthlings and Others |
| PHIL 140g | Contemporary Moral and Social Issues |
| PHIL 141g | The Professions and the Public Interest in American Life |
| POSC 130g | Law, Politics and Public Policy |
| POSC 165g | Modern Times |
| POSC 220g | Critical Issues in American Politics |
| POSC 248g | International Human Rights |
| POSC 265g | Environmental Challenges |
| REL 140g | Religion and Ethical Issues |
| REL 146g | American Spirituality: Radicals, Rebels and Freethinkers |
| SOCI 100gm | Los Angeles and the American Dream |
| SOCI 142gm | Diversity and Racial Conflict |
| SOCI 150gm | Social Problems |
| SOCI 155gm | Immigrant America |
| SOCI 169gm | Changing Family Forms |
| SOCI 210g | Science, Technology, and Social Conflict |
| SOCI 220gm | Questions of Intimacy |
| SOCI 225g | Sociology of Health and the Body: Social Perspectives |
| SOCI 242g | Sociology, Human Behavior, and Health |
| SOCI 250gm | Grassroots Participation in Global Perspective |
| SOCI 255g | Sociology of Globalization |
| SSCI 165Lg | Sustainability Science in the City |
| SWMS 210gm | Social Issues in Gender |
| SWMS 215g | Gender Conflict in Cultural Contexts |