Thematic Option extends learning beyond the classroom through robust programming designed to connect abstract concepts with real-world experiences. Ranging from immersive desert retreats to student-run publications and international exchanges, these opportunities foster community and spark curiosity and creativity beyond major requirements. By offering experiences that prioritize the joy of learning over pure utility, T.O. reminds students that education happens everywhere.
Scroll through to learn more about the opportunities open to T.O. students.
Events Calendar
Through T.O. events, students trade the classroom for the city, connecting coursework to the world around them. Whether sharing pizza at a screening or visiting the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability, participants bond with faculty, advisors, and peers while exploring the greater Los Angeles area.
Annual Research Conferences
T.O.’s annual conferences grant our students the opportunity to enrich their academic experience by publicly presenting their original ideas and research. In response to a general call for papers, T.O. students develop topics under the given theme to be presented as part of a panel. Topics are reflective of students’ various disciplines and interests and focus on issues ranging from politics to popular culture.
Palaver Arts Magazine
Palaver Arts Magazine began in 1998 as a student-run print journal and was reborn as an online arts publication in 2016. We’re committed to showcasing the wide range of what USC students create—visual art, literary work, spoken word, mixed media pieces, short film, and more.
FIX: Frameworks for Interdisciplinary Exchange
Frameworks for Interdisciplinary Exchange (FIX) is a cooperative venture between the Joint Educational Project and the Thematic Option Honors Program. Open to students of all majors, FIXs offer interdisciplinary service-based approaches to “wicked problems,” problems that are difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize.
Salon Series
Thematic Option sponsors various Salon Series open to all USC students. Join us for discussions, film screenings, and special events.
Thematic Approaches to Humanities and Society
Have you been looking for a minor in the humanities and social sciences, but your interests are too wide-ranging to fit within one specific field? Do you want to study themes that cross the boundaries of different departments? The Thematic Approaches to Humanities and Society minor empowers you to explore ideas across disciplines.
Photo Gallery
Explore our photo gallery to see firsthand the dynamic experiential learning and diverse opportunities available to T.O. students. These images capture the vibrant academic journey and supportive environment that define our program.
Professor Hector Reyes’ CORE 101 class, “What Is a Masterpiece?” at the Norton Simon museum in 2024.
T.O. students share a meal at our 26th Annual Thematic Option Research Conference on the theme of “Trojan Horse” in 2023.
T.O. students kayak with researchers in the cove at the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability in 2023.
T.O. students enjoy the view at the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability in 2022.
T.O. students with the historic 100-inch telescope—the same telescope used by Edwin Hubble to measure the expansion of the Universe—at Mt. Wilson Observatory in 2021.
Professor Megan Luke’s CORE 101 class, “Images Out of Time: How Art Makes History,” at the Getty Villa in 2021.
Professor Daniela Bleichmar’s CORE 101 class, “The Changing History of the Aztec Past: An Exploration in Images and Rare Books,” visiting Special Collections at the Doheny Memorial Library.
Professor Vahé Peroomian’s CORE 103 class, “Human Exploration and Settlement of the Solar System,” in Joshua Tree National Park in 2020.
T.O. students explore the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab before attending a lecture entitled, “The Search for Life: Exploring Ocean Worlds” in 2020.
The stage at LA Opera Presents Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) with live orchestra in 2019.
T.O. students on our traditional first field trip to the Getty Center in 2019.
T.O. students hike through slot canyons in Borrego Springs in 2016.
The Anza Borrego National Park as viewed by students in Professor Lisa Collins’ CORE 103 Maymester, “The Science of the Water-Energy Nexus in Southern California,” a research-based, experiential class taught in the field in 2016.
T.O. students hike on Catalina Island in 2013.
T.O. freshmen engage in an ice breaker in 2010.
T.O. freshmen check in for our annual Welcome Event in 2010.
