Majors & Minors

A minor in music recording is offered for undergraduate students to provide them with the background necessary to enter the field of audio engineering and to familiarize them with the standards and techniques used in audio recording, editing, mixing and mastering.

Prerequisite

Acceptance into the program might require a personal interview by the Thornton School of Music to assure that the student has sufficient musical background and skill.

Students admitted to this minor will be expected to have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and to maintain that average with no grade lower than a "C" for all courses taken in the minor.

Students must apply for this minor, and admission is based on successful completion of MTEC 277x. Generally, students who earn a B or better in this course and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher are admitted. Declared engineering (ENGR) majors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher may be admitted before completing MTEC 277x .

This 18-unit program in musical studies, with an emphasis in performance, incorporates the study of music theory, music history, performance, and ensembles. Students may enter the program in their freshman year. An audition is required for this minor, which is not available to music majors.

Musical theatre performers are multi-hyphenate artists. Beyond the intense requirements of a musical theatre performer to be a triple threat, the BFA degree in Musical Theatre is a four-year, professional training program focusing on providing students with the skills needed to be healthy and expressive artists, creators and innovators in the 21st Century. Through a partnership between the School of Dramatic Arts (SDA) and the School of Cinematic Arts (SCA), we will train the student of musical theatre to perform, create and innovate storytelling on various platforms. We are amongst the first institutions to offer this type of groundbreaking training for musical theatre artists. The program's values are deeply rooted in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access (EDIA). Our curriculum reflects the opportunities available in the 21st Century for representation in the post-pandemic entertainment industry. The curriculum will be implemented by emphasizing classical and contemporary material from the global canon and innovative training techniques influenced by many cultures.

During the first three semesters of the program, the focus will be on introducing and practicing the foundational skills needed in each of the four disciplines in our program. In the following three semesters, the emphasis is on integrating skills between the art forms in project-based workshop classes employing a variety of platforms. At the same time, the students become proficient in each of the four disciplines in technique classes. 

During the first semester of the senior year students will discover their unique artistic form of expression through classes in innovation and creation. Students experiment with new working methods, refine their skills and delve deeper into advanced techniques, such as creating a mini-movie musical, building a cabaret, pop-rock singing, etc. They can explore and expand their interests by choosing a specialization and working on a creative project.

Students focus on their professional potential in their final semester by expressing their unique artistic identity. In addition to preparing their senior showcase, their curriculum will concentrate on the business skills needed to be a self-sufficient artist in the 21st Century.

All BFA theatre majors are required to earn a minimum grade point average of 2.75 (A= 4.0) in their theatre courses each semester. BFA students that fail to earn a minimum GPA of 2.75 in their theatre classes will be placed on probation the following semester. Students who remain on probation for a second consecutive semester will be disqualified from the BFA program. A student disqualified from continued study in the BFA program for failing to meet the GPA standards outlined above will be given the option of transferring to the BA program. 

The minor in musical theatre, interdisciplinary in nature, is a 20-unit program incorporating the study of acting, dance or movement, vocal arts and related musical subjects. Admission to the minor requires an audition for music but not for theatre.

A minor in nanotechnology consisting of 20 required units is available to undergraduate majors in various fields. Nanotechnology involves the study of matter at length scales that are intermediate between the molecular and the bulk. In this minor, students will (1) learn in detail the properties of material structures on the nanometer scale, (2) examine a range of nanoscale materials, including metallic, ceramic, and polymeric particles as well as proteins, and (3) be exposed to a variety of specialized probes capable of visualizing matter on these length scales.

This interdisciplinary minor is intended for students with an interest in story-telling who are majoring in programs and disciplines other than narrative studies. The minor, based in the humanities, provides opportunities for undergraduates to study story structure from the perspective of several disciplines. As with all minors, students must choose at least four courses (16 units) outside their major department and four courses (16 units) that are not being used to satisfy any other subject requirement.

Course Requirements: five courses (20 units)

Narrative Studies prepares students for the development and evaluation of original content for novels, films, theatre and other narrative platforms, but recognizes that the range of professional opportunities in literature and the performing arts is much wider than the roles of author, screenwriter or playwright. To recognize a good story, to critique, help shape, realize and transform it, requires a background in the history of narrative, crosscultural and contemporary models, and an understanding of the broader context of popular culture.

Narrative Studies assumes that an effective narrative will be adapted from the medium in which it first appears as new media become available. To prepare students for a future in which the platform is likely to change, the Bachelor of Arts in Narrative Studies allows students to study across the current platforms while concentrating on the techniques of effective construction common to them all.

This minor is an overview of Native American studies. We will study Indigenous intellectualism and resistance through Indigenous language revitalization, art, decolonization and political resistance.

Minimum Required Units: 20

Students choose five classes in American Studies and Ethnicity, or courses certified for American Studies and Ethnicity credit. The five courses are distributed as follows: two core requirement courses and three additional elective courses chosen from the courses listed below.

The minor in natural science will first provide students with a foundation in the basic sciences of physics, chemistry and biology. Each student will then build on these foundation courses by selecting a variety of electives to meet individual scientific interests and academic goals. Eighteen units toward the natural science minor must be completed at USC. This minor is not available to majors in the natural sciences.

Coordinator: David McKemy, PhD
Undergraduate Advisers: Pablo Lopez, pablol@usc.edu; Mia Kirsten Santos, mnsantos@usc.edu.

Grade Requirements:

A grade of C- or higher is required to count toward major requirements.

Program Requirements:

The major requires eight core courses and a colloquium (33 units) and four or five elective courses (minimum 16 units) for a minimum total of 49 units.

The degree requires a minimum of 128 units.