Thematic Option
All USC undergraduates complete a series of general education requirements before graduation. These requirements include courses in broad categories designed to ensure that they will become well-rounded college graduates regardless of their majors. Instead of selecting general education courses focused on single areas of study – say, Psychology or Art History – imagine taking courses that weave together literature, politics, history, biology, and other disciplines linked by unique themes. This is the idea behind Thematic Option.
There’s a reason Thematic Option (TO) is widely regarded as one of the best undergraduate general education programs in the country. TO engages students in critical analysis, thought-provoking discussion, and lively debate. TO students come from a wide range of majors across the university, bringing diverse perspectives to classroom conversation.
TO is a rigorous, humanities-based alternative to USC’s General Education Core program. The program takes an interdisciplinary look at academic areas linked through overarching themes and encourages students to participate in discussion-based learning. Recent courses have included “Icons,” “Madness, Science, and Society in the Modern World,” “Undergrounds,” and “The Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
The TO curriculum is organized around four core classes, as well as writing seminars, individual writing tutorials, and an annual research conference. TO courses are taught by some of the university’s best undergraduate teachers, and are kept small in order to ensure personal attention and spirited conversation in the classroom. First-year fall admits are eligible to apply. If you’re interested in participating, you’ll be able to submit an application in the spring after being admitted to USC.
Dornsife Pre-Med Academy
The USC Dornsife Pre-Med Academy challenges pre-medical students of any Dornsife major to connect advanced science with deeper questions about people, society, and ethics. Rooted in the liberal arts, you’ll take advanced courses over a four-year period exploring a broad spectrum of ideas that reflect the complexity of human wellbeing and inspire you to reimagine the future of medicine.
The Dornsife Pre-Med Academy is a four-year program for 60 outstanding Dornsife students with any Dornsife major who have a pre-med pre-professional emphasis. The program starts in the freshman year with advanced sections of General Chemistry and Introductory Biology. In addition, students take part in special laboratory research seminars and field trips and enroll in a one-unit class focusing on special topics in medicine and healthcare. In future years, students will enroll in specialized labs in organic chemistry and physics and will continue investigating topics such as narrative medicine and AI in healthcare through the program.
Over four years, you’ll be part of a close-knit community of peers and mentors who support you, while labs, research, and professional connections give your preparation real depth.
Academic Department Honors
Exceptional students who are looking for greater engagement with scholarship through research can explore academic department honors programs. By conducting an independent research project, you can make a contribution to the scholarly community in your chosen major and graduate from USC Dornsife with honors.
USC Dornsife majors have varying requirements for their departmental honors distinction, but most of them require a minimum GPA and the completion and defense of an honors thesis before graduation. Past honors thesis topics have covered areas such as domestic reactions to the deployment of military forces (International Relations), the apparent dichotomy between fashion and art (Art History), and the application of Game Theory to virtual/online economies (Economics). Students apply for an academic department honors program in their sophomore or junior year as a current USC Dornsife student.
