Dornsife Intensives

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

As women’s sports industries expand and their impact grows globally across professional leagues, college athletics, media, and fitness sectors, there is an increasing demand for professionals who can navigate issues of equity, inclusion, representation, and governance.

The Women’s Sports: Impact and Industry Intensive equips students with critical, analytical, and applied skills to understand and address gender dynamics in athletic institutions, media, policy, and culture. It provides students with both rigorous intellectual training and applied, employment-ready experience and prepares students for careers in sports management, media, law, public policy, advocacy, and related fields by combining humanistic inquiry and social science methods research with practical, employment-focused training.

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.

Alternative courses may be substituted with approval from the department and when selected in consultation with an adviser.

Required Courses:

• Identity Development of the Contemporary Female (SWMS 105), Units: 4
  Introduces key concepts in gender, athletics, and society through the lens of intersectional analysis, social engagement and lived athletic experience. It established the conceptual grounding necessary to analyze sport as a cultural and institutional site shaped by power and identity.
• Gender and Sexuality Studies: Internship (SWMS 311), Units: 2, 4, 8 (4 units required)
  Provides supervised, credit-bearing experiential learning. Students coordinate with a GSS faculty member as well as external internship mentors. Students apply GSS frameworks in professional settings such as athletics departments, nonprofit organizations, media outlets, or advocacy groups. Emphasis is placed on translating theory into practice and developing career-relevant skills.
• Senior Seminar in Gender and Sexuality Studies (SWMS 410), Units: 4
  A research-intensive seminar in which students design and complete an original project. Students in the Intensive will be encouraged to focus their project on gender, sexuality, and sport, producing substantial written, policy, or media-based work that demonstrates mastery of both field-specific knowledge in gender studies and its application.

Course Option for Summer 2027:

• Gender, Global Sports, and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup (SWMS 499)
  São Paolo, Brazil

  The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the premier international women’s sporting event and one of the fastest-growing spectacles in global sport. This four-week summer course places students in São Paolo during the 2027 tournament to examine the intersections of women’s football with gender, national identity, media, labor, public policy, and globalization. Students will attend matches, visit sporting and cultural institutions, meet athletes and industry leaders, and conduct original field research. These experiences will illuminate how women’s football both reflects and advances struggles for equity, representation, and social change. Consult with your advisor if you’re interested in enrolling.

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