Departments at USC Dornsife have developed capstone courses to provide students opportunities to practice and synthesize the knowledge and skills they learned during their time in the majors. Students that enroll in these courses are rewarded with an opportunity to showcase their abilities and find intellectual fulfillment through the academic culminating experience.
American Studies
Honors Program
• AMST 492, Research Methods in American Studies and Ethnicity
• AMST 493, Honors Thesis in American Studies and Ethnicity
Art History
• AHIS 494, Undergraduate Proseminar in Art History
Biological Sciences
• BISC 403, Advanced Molecular Biology
• BISC 406L, Biotechnology
• BISC 408, Systems Neuroscience: From Synapses to Perception
• BISC 427, The Global Environment
• BISC 435, Advanced Biochemistry
• BISC 444, Practical Analysis of Biological Data in R
• BISC 478, Computational Genome Analysis
• BISC 481, Structural Bioinformatics: From Atoms to Cells
• BISC 483, Geobiology and Astrobiology
Chemistry
• CHEM 490x, Directed Research
• CHEM 494x, Advanced Research Experience
Classics
• CLAS 410ab, Research in Classical Studies
Comparative Literature
• COLT 490x, Directed Research
• COLT 495, Senior Honors Thesis
Earth Sciences
• GEOL 387a, Undergraduate Team Research
• GEOL 494x, Senior Thesis
East Asian Languages and Cultures
• EALC 428, Nature and the Ecological Imagination in Japanese Literature
• EALC 430, Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Culture
• EALC 450, Contemporary Japanese Literature and Global Modernity
• EALC 452, Chinese Fiction
• EALC 460, Love, Self, and Gender in Modern Japanese Fiction
• EALC 465, Topics in Korean Visual and Cultural Studies
• EALC 485, Material Culture of the Silk Road
• EALC 499, Special Topics (the course topics vary by instructor and student interest)
East Asian Studies
• EASC 360, Global East Asia (taught in Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo)
Economics
• ECON 460 (in development)
Honors Program
• ECON 495, Senior Honors Thesis
English
Honors Program
• ENGL 491, Senior Honors Seminar
• ENGL 496, Senior Honors Thesis
Narrative Studies
• MDA 490, Directed Research
• MDA 494, Directed Creative Project
Environmental Studies
• ENST 495, Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies
(students with a lot of field experience may use one of the two courses listed below as a capstone course)
• ENST 480, Integrated Ecosystem Management in Micronesia
• ENST 485, Role of the Environment in the Collapse of Human Societies
Honors Program
• FREN 490, Directed Research (Senior Thesis)
• ITAL 490, Directed Research (Senior Thesis)
Gender Studies
• SWMS 410, Senior Seminar in Gender and Sexuality Studies
• SWMS 490, Directed Research
Honors Program
• SWMS 492, Senior Honors Thesis
History
Project-based. Students need to take any 400-level course to start their project
Honors Program
• HIST 492, Senior Honors Thesis
Human Biology
• HBIO 406, Theory and Method in Human Evolutionary Biology
• HBIO 407L, Endocrinology and Metabolism
• HBIO 408L, Biomechanics
• HBIO 409, Metabolic Diseases
Interdisciplinary Major (INDS)
• INDS 494, Senior Thesis
Minor in Critical Approaches to Leadership
• AMST 365, Leadership in the Community
• MDA 365, The Art and Adventure of Leadership
• MDA 475, The Future of California
International Relations
Honors Program
• IR 494, Senior Honors Thesis
Mathematics
• MATH 407, Probability Theory
• MATH 410, Fundamental Concepts of Modern Algebra
• MATH 425a, Fundamental Concepts of Analysis
• MATH 447, Mathematics of Machine Learning
• MATH 458, Numerical Methods
Philosophy
• PHIL 471, Metaphysics and Epistemology
• PHIL 472, Moral Philosophy
Political Science
• POSC 391, Honors I: Undergraduate Seminar
• POSC 392, Honors II: Undergraduate Thesis
• POSC 490, Directed Research
Psychology
Honors Program
• PSYC 380, Junior Honors Seminar
• PSYC 480, Senior Honors Seminar
Quantitative Biology
• BISC 478, Computational Genome Analysis
• BISC 481, Structural Bioinformatics: From Atoms to Cells
Religion
• REL 401, Seminar in Religious Studies
Slavic Languages and Literatures
• SLL 465, Seminar in Russian Studies
Spanish and Portuguese
• SPAN 495, Seminar for Majors and Minors
Thematic Option
Minor in Humanities and Society
• CORE 301, Modes of Inquiry