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Dornsife Intensives

A New Credential. A New Conversation.

USC Dornsife Intensives are a new, official academic credential built around three course clusters anchored by an intentional through-line.

It’s not a major or a minor, but it lives inside and counts toward your USC degree. Any USC undergraduate can take an Intensive, no matter what you’re studying.

Through your Intensive, you’ll gain expertise in a focused area that gives you an edge in the job market or grad school. It might sharpen what you’re already doing — or strategically expand your range. When an employer sees it on your resume, it makes the full value of your education land. They know that you bring more to the table. And why they need it.

Connect with an academic advisor to get started

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Expertise Meets the Moment

Credentials are typically designed from the inside out. A Dornsife Intensive is different. Faculty bring deep expertise. The world outside brings the urgency — what organizations are grappling with, what fields are demanding, what the moment requires. The result is a graduate who will bring uncommon skills and new ways of thinking to specific problems.

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Students will acquire a methodological understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning and the ability to apply these technical skills to answer questions in the field of molecular biology, including genomics, imaging, structural and systems biology.

The combination of quantitative skills in AI/ML with domain knowledge in molecular biology provides the necessary training for success in the biotech, data science, and pharma industries, as well as in graduate school, medical school, and MD/PhD programs.

Required Courses:

Introduction to Machine Learning in Biology (QBIO 460)

Artificial Intelligence in Biology and Medicine (QBIO 465)

Structural Bioinformatics: From Atoms to Cells (QBIO 481)

USC Course Catalogue
Organizations and companies increasingly recognize the power of data to improve all aspects of their operations. Surveys enable companies to track stakeholders’ characteristics, behaviors, and opinions, from issues of client satisfaction to employee concerns.

This intensive provides undergraduates with specialized training in survey design and analysis, enabling you to design, administer, and analyze survey data. Students will develop core statistical and practical tools to collect new data via surveys or work with existing data.

Required Courses:

Sociological Research Methods (SOCI 313L)

Analyzing Social Statistics (SOCI 314Lg,)

Choose One of the Following:

Applied Social Research Methods (SOCI 325)

Field and Survey Experiments (SOCI 400)

USC Course Catalogue
Designed to prepare students to write, think, and create responsibly in an AI-saturated world, the Writing and Responsible AI Intensive foregrounds writing as critical thinking, situating AI as a tool requiring ethical, rhetorical, and creative oversight. The Intensive builds on USC’s leadership in AI and education, including collaborations between the Writing Program and Information Sciences Institute, and directly responds to evolving issues around AI literacy.

Required Courses:

Experiential Learning (WRIT 320)

Section: Writing, Prompting and Editing with AI

Advanced Writing (WRIT 340)

Section: Arts and Humanities, AI and Society

Writing in Practical Contexts (WRIT 440)

Section: Advanced Writing, Research and Creation with AI

USC Course Catalogue

What Does It Take?

Open to All Undergraduates

Dornsife Intensives are an undergraduate credential earned through three courses in focused areas of study that develop expertise in practical issues that organizations are working through right now.

Any USC undergraduate can take an Intensive, no matter what you’re studying.

Declaring an Intensive

Students can begin declaring Intensives during the week of August 17, 2026.

First, schedule an appointment with your major advisor to express interest and get a referral.

Once a referral has been created, you’ll schedule an appointment with an assigned Dornsife advisor based on the appropriate academic division to declare your Intensive.

Your Dornsife advisor will provide information about the Intensive requirements and assist with enrolling in the required courses.

Unit Requirements

A minimum of 12 units of course work taken at USC is required for completion of the Intensive.

At least 8 units must be unique, outside the GE core, the major and any existing minor, and no single course may be counted toward more than one Intensive. The credential is awarded upon graduation from USC.

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USC trains students to learn and grow independently, which is key to long-term success. An Intensive adds to this by documenting specific skills that matter right now and putting them on a transcript or resume for everyone to see.

James S. Bullock, Dean

USC Dornsife Office of Undergraduate Academic Advising

(213) 740-2534

advising@dornsife.usc.edu

USC Office of Academic Programs

University of Southern California
3601 Trousdale Parkway, Student Union 301
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0894
(213) 740-9033
academic.programs@usc.edu