Life in L.A.
City of Everything
Fueled by diverse culture and the West Coast entrepreneurial spirit, Los Angeles is what USC Distinguished Professor Manuel Pastor calls “America fast-forward.”
Los Angeles is a place where our collective urban future materializes in the present. It’s where solutions to society’s next big challenges are already being explored with relentless creativity.
And in the middle of this dynamic environment, you’ll find USC Dornsife. Here, students and faculty tap into the positive energy that powers Los Angeles to grapple with the most complex issues and pique their curiosity.
Just beyond campus, you’ll find communities from every corner of the world; Hollywood and Silicon Beach; food trucks and fine dining; world-class museums, architectural marvels, and outdoor adventures. You’ll be immersed in a city that defies any simple definition. It’s a city you get to discover for yourself.
Measuring the Metropolis
13.2M
People Living in Greater L.A.
224
Languages Spoken
3,800
Funded L.A. Tech Startups
1M+
Animal Bones Found in the La Brea Tar Pits
75
Miles of Coastline
4000+
Registered Taco Trucks
12
Major Professional Sports Teams
107
Colleges and Universities
50M
Tourists Visit L.A. Per Year
Classroom: L.A.
With its varied communities, vast array of intellectual institutions, cultural offerings, and ample sun and surf, L.A. is a consummate classroom for a huge range of experiential learning. See how USC Dornsife students’ educations engage with L.A. at every moment.
Learning in the City
How a USC Dornsife service course pioneered wellness for inner-city grade school kids
As schools nationwide embrace mindfulness programs, student workers as part of USC Dornsife’s Joint Educational Project have been helping local youth manage stress and find focus through yoga for more than a decade.
Bugs thrive in urban Los Angeles – volunteers’ traps reveal biodiversity hot spots for city insects and spiders
Environmental Studies majors nurture vibrant gardens and bright minds
Undergraduate students intern with the Garden School Foundation to provide nature-based education to L.A. elementary schoolers.
New project brings Ice Age creatures back to L.A.
Through a partnership between USC and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, researchers created augmented reality paleoart projects that offer exciting new ways to learn about extinct species of the region.
One physical education course is totally tubular
In a quintessentially Southern California physical education surfing course, students learn the fundamentals of “hanging ten.” In addition to practicing surfing basics, they also learn about tidal physics and wind dynamics.
Students become activists in civil rights clinic
The USC Dornsife Agents of Change Initiative empowers students to lead social reform and fight injustice. With opportunities to work within a variety of L.A. community organizations, students on the frontlines of social change.
The Urban Trees Initiative will replant L.A.’s urban forrest
Using geographic information science, USC researchers working with project managers at Public Exchange assist the City of L.A. achieve its goal of strategically planting 90,000 new shade trees. This effort has tremendous potential to mitigate pollution, reduce heat, and improve health in disadvantaged communities.
One class makes learning taste good
If you want to get to know L.A. — its history, diversity, and culture — start with its food. With trips to pupuserias, falafel shops, dim sum joints, and many other places to fill your belly, this experiential course is as illuminating as it is delicious.
Connecting USC to L.A., One Volunteer at a Time
Since its founding, the Joint Educational Project (JEP) has placed some 100,000 students in classroom teaching roles and provided more than a million service-hours to neighborhoods around USC campuses.
Ticket to Ride
L.A.’s car culture is famous (some might say infamous). But that’s not the whole story.
The Metro Rail Expo Line, which connects Downtown L.A. to Santa Monica, includes two stops adjacent to the USC University Park Campus. A trip along the Expo Line offers access to countless unique neighborhoods, exciting hubs of art and culture, great food, and even an urban hike or two. At each stop, only-in-L.A. experiences await curious travelers. Take a look at what you’ll find.
Never a Dull Moment
Whatever you seek out in your free time, you can find it in L.A.
It’s never boring here, and there’s always something to do for everyone. It’s also perfectly located so that you can drive to the beach, the city, and the mountains all in a day. Plus, you never have to worry about a musician or band not coming to your town.
Step by Step
Given the frequently appealing weather, outdoor enthusiasts delight in L.A.’s legendary beaches and parks. But what about its stairs? Throughout the city, a network of so-called “stair streets” offer the avid urban hiker treks through some of its most picturesque neighborhoods and gardens.
Discovery at Your Fingertips
USC’s location grants students access to a world of possibility and exploration. In the immediate vicinity of University Park Campus, you’ll find world-class performance venues, crave-worthy eats, iconic L.A. institutions, and a vast diversity of urban life.
