Eligibility Requirements

• Minimum Cumulative USC GPA of 3.5
• Math 235 or 225, Math 226/229, and Math 307 or 407 completed by the time of application; completion of Math 308 or 408 is also recommended, but not required
• At least 64 total units of undergraduate college course work, excluding any AP, IB or transfer units earned prior to graduation from high school

Students must meet the requirements listed above to be eligible to apply for this PDP. Please note that meeting these standards does not guarantee admission. The Department of Mathematics is now accepting applications for a Fall 2026 start date.

Degree Requirements

Students are required to complete a minimum  of 32 units of course work. Out of the 32 units, a maximum of 10 units from the elective coursework can be changed to undergraduate credit. To graduate, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in the graduate credit applied to the PDP. The 32 units consists of:

Core Curriculum (5 courses, 19 units)

Electives (12 units, selected from the following list)

NOTE: Some of these courses have prerequisites. You are expected to have learned the prerequisite’s topic from your previous undergraduate institution or from self-studying in order to waive the prerequisite. If you prefer to take the prerequisite at USC, units for prerequisite courses do not count towards the degree.

Although all of the courses listed below are approved electives for this degree, we are not able to give departmental authorization or permission for you to register in courses outside of the Mathematics department. Students will need to request D-clearance and prerequisite waivers from the department who offers the course. If you are not sure how to contact the department, email the MDS academic advisor (sath@usc.edu).

COMPUTER SCIENCE (CSCI)

DATA SCIENCE (DSCI)

DATA SCIENCE AND OPERTIONS (DSO)

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING (EE)

INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING (ISE)

MATHEMATICS (MATH)

QUANTITATIVE AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY (QBIO)

SPATIAL SCIENCES (SSCI)

Courses that do NOT satisfy the elective requirement:

CSCI 512 Testing and Analysis of Software Systems
CSCI 548 Machine Learning
CSCI 555L Advanced Operating Systems
MATH 541a/b Introduction to Mathematical Statistics

For all other courses that are not included in the lists above, please contact the Academic Program Manager (sath@usc.edu) to request the course to be reviewed.

Additional Requirements

To complete the program, students enroll in at least 1 unit of MATH 590 Directed Research and submit a summative report at the end of the term. Note: enrollment in MATH 590 will often be concurrent with enrollment in MATH 550. Students should consult with their advisor for details.

Steps to Apply

We are now accepting applications for a Fall 2026 start date. Beginning Fall 2026, applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

1. Fill out the PDP application form with your remaining undergraduate degree requirements and PDP requirements. Courses that fulfill your undergraduate degree requirements should have an X or check mark for “UG” = undergraduate credit. Courses that fulfill your PDP degree requirements should have an X or check mark for “GR” = graduate credit. A course cannot be marked for both UG and GR credit.
2. Send the completed form to the PDP advisor and undergraduate advisor(s) for review. If no corrections need to be made to the PDP course plan, advisors will sign the form. If corrections need to be made, advisors will discuss changes with you via email or during a scheduled meeting.
3. Ask professors to send a letter of recommendation to the PDP advisor. Two letters of recommendation from professors are required for applicants with a cumulative GPA below 3.5. One letter of recommendation is required for applicants with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.
4. Once all application materials are submitted, you will receive admission results within 2 weeks.