Tuition and Fees

Grading and Evaluation

Tuition and Fees

The tuition and fees listed below are estimated for fall semester, 1996. All fees are subject to change without notice by action of the University of Southern California Board of Trustees. The university reserves the right to assess new fees or charges. Tuition is not refundable; late registration fees are mandatory and cannot be waived.

Tuition for each semester of the medical school curriculum is due and payable at the beginning of the semester. Registration is not permitted after the third week of instruction. Late payment of tuition is subject to a mandatory late fee. Average budgets for medical students will vary according to their year in the curriculum. Sample budgets for Year I, Year II, and the Junior/Senior Continuum may be requested from the Office of Financial Aid. Tuition, mandatory fees and parking are the same for all years.

Tuition for courses of the graduate curriculum is based upon the number of units assigned to each course. The Graduate Degree Programs section provides a department-by-department list of graduate course titles; the number following each title indicates the number of units for which tuition is charged. Late payment of tuition is subject to a mandatory late fee.

Required Fees (Estimated)
Academic Year Tuition (two semesters)	$27,820.00
Graduate Tuition (per unit)	645.00
Student Health Service Fee (annual)	284.00
Student Programming Fee (graduate)	70.00
Norman Topping Scholarship Fee	10.00
Disability, Health and Malpractice Insurance	886.00

Optional Fees

Parking fee, per semester (see Tuition and Fees).

Grading and Evaluation

The School of Medicine employs a system of evaluation and grading designed to encourage student self-reliance, to stimulate the student's independent quest for knowledge and to promote excellence in academic achievement.

For courses of the medical curriculum, the School of Medicine does not award numerical or letter grades. The process of evaluation leading to a satisfactory or unsatisfactory report is based on performance of the student in relation to announced course criteria. Throughout medical school, students will be evaluated on their fund of knowledge, problem-solving ability, professional behavior, relevant personality traits and clinical and interpersonal skills. Additional information on grading and evaluation is contained in the handbook provided to every enrolled medical student.

Faculty instructors are responsible for establishing evaluation criteria appropriate to the objectives of each course, and for specifying the manner in which evaluative information is to be gathered. Instructor comments on student performance form an integral part of a student's total evaluation. For each evaluation, descriptive comments based on the student's overall performance in relation to course criteria are submitted for permanent file to the office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, together with performance reports of satisfactory, unsatisfactory or honors.

The student's permanent file is used to prepare a letter from the dean of the School of Medicine, which accompanies student applications for internships and residencies, and to determine scholastic suitability for election to Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical school honor society. These records are maintained by the Office for Student Affairs; students may review their records during regular office hours. During the lifetime of the physician, the permanent student record may be consulted as evidence of completion of the required curriculum and as certification for licensure.

Grading and evaluation policies for graduate degree programs and for joint M.D./Ph.D. degrees are established in conjunction with the Graduate School. In general, courses taken in partial fulfillment of graduate degree requirements receive letter grades which are recorded by the Graduate School.

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