Majors & Minors

Qualified students who are admitted to the Master of Landscape Architecture program in the School of Architecture and to the graduate program in the USC Price School of Public Policy may complete both degrees in a highly integrated five-seven semester program.

Completion of the dual degree requires 26 units of courses in urban planning, 9 units of Advanced Design Research and either 49 units of landscape architecture (for those students admitted with advanced placement); or 71 units of landscape architecture (for those students admitted to the three-year curriculum).

The Master of Public Administration/Master of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management (MPA/MA) has been developed, in cooperation between the USC Price School of Public Policy and the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management at HUC-JIR, to prepare those students who want to pursue a career in Jewish nonprofit management. Students in this dual degree program develop policy and leadership practices that support a strategic understanding of how the application of financial and program resources shape a community's future. The MA in Jewish Nonprofit Management program is project based. Through paid field internships in Jewish organizations and consulting projects, students apply what is learned in the classroom in a real world experience that develops their professional expertise.

Students must complete 68 units of course work, 34 in Public Administration and a minimum of 34 credits in Jewish Nonprofit Management. There is an opportunity to spend either 12 months in Sacramento, California, or Washington, D.C. At these sites, students attend classes while serving internships in the offices of politicians, lobbyists or other advocates.

Students must meet admission requirements and be admitted by both the Price School of Public Policy and the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management.

Curriculum Requirements

The program begins in June of each year and continues for the next 24 months. Students are expected to work out individual course plans with advisers from each school.

In addition to applying to the Price School of Public Policy, those interested in the program should contact Melissa Garai at the Zelikow School at (213) 765-2173 or visit the Website at ZSJNM.HUC.edu, for more information about its requirements.

Public administration course work may be taken in Los Angeles or Sacramento. In Sacramento, a student will complete the Price core and elective courses, will take independent study with an HUC professor, and will serve in an internship while enrolled in HUC fieldwork classes.

The Master of Public Administration/Master of Science in Gerontology (MPA/MS) dual degree offers students interested in management of agencies and institutions the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of the administrative and organizational processes and management skills necessary for the effective delivery of services to older persons.

In the MPA/MS dual degree, students spend their first year taking the required courses in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. The research course, GERO 593 Research Methods and the capstone course GERO 555 Integrating Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Approach, are taken in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. The student begins courses in the Price School of Public Policy during the second semester of the first year.

Two versions of this dual degree are available, one with a general orientation and one with an emphasis on health services administration. Students must apply to both schools and, if accepted to both, participate in a specially designed program combining course work from both schools.

Curriculum requirements for the general focus dual degree are detailed in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology section of this catalogue. Students are encouraged to seek advisement as they plan their actual programs, since curriculum changes may occur.

The Master of Public Administration/Master of Social Work (MPA/MSW) dual degree offers students interested in careers as administrators of social agencies the opportunity to prepare for social work while developing the administrative capabilities necessary in the public sector.

The MPA/MSW requires two calendar years of full-time study. The first academic year is devoted to the standard social work first year curriculum. During the second year, the curriculum combines social work and public administration course work. The curriculum for both summers will be in public administration.

Course requirements in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work include the required courses outlined in the Social Work (Integrative Social Work) (MSW) section of the catalogue. Students will take their remaining MSW units in specialized courses in integrative social work. Students will be advised into the appropriate courses. 

Students can enter this program only with the written consent of both schools. Students who apply initially to the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work must declare their intention to pursue the MPA/MSW dual degree at the time of their application. If admission is approved, such students will be admitted to the dual degree program. 

Students must complete 73 units (45 in social work and 28 in public administration).

The School of Pharmacy and the Master of Public Health program, in recognition of the rapidly changing health care environment, and in response to the growing demand for pharmacists who are knowledgeable in both pharmacy and population-based health care issues, have developed a dual degree program. The joint PharmD/MPH degree will enable graduates to be more responsive to today's health care needs and will provide training for pharmacists who seek to be agents of change within the profession and to assume leadership roles in the pharmacy field and in public health at the local, state and national levels.

Students who are enrolled in the School of Pharmacy must apply to the Master of Public Health program no later than January of their first year. All requirements for admission to the regular MPH program must also be fulfilled by dual degree applicants.

The PharmD/MPH program spans five years (four years of pharmacy school courses and one year of public health courses). Students begin the core MPH courses following the successful completion of the first year of pharmacy school. The last three years of the program are devoted to course work and the clinical rotations of the School of Pharmacy and to the completion of the elective courses and practicum (field experience) of the MPH program.

All students in the PharmD/MPH program must meet course requirements, grade point average requirements and program residency requirements of both programs. Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the PharmD curriculum and a 3.0 in the MPH curriculum to meet graduation requirements.

The PharmD and the MPH degrees are awarded simultaneously upon completion of the School of Pharmacy and the Master of Public Health requirements.

Admission Requirements and Procedures

Students applying for the dual degree program must meet the respective admission requirements for each program. This includes having completed a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and having acceptable GRE and TOEFL or IELTS scores as applicable. Students will not be given special consideration for admission to either program because they are applying for the dual degree. Students may apply to the dual PharmD/MPH degree program in two ways. First, they may apply at the time they submit their PharmD application by concurrently submitting applications to both programs. Students who elect this approach must identify themselves on both applications as potential dual degree students. Students who are admitted to both programs will be offered admission to the PharmD and will be offered admission to the dual degree program contingent on passing all courses in their first year of the PharmD with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students who are accepted by only one program may choose to attend that program, but will not be eligible for the dual degree. Second, students can apply to the dual degree by submitting an application to the MPH program during their first year of enrollment in the PharmD prior to the MPH published application deadline. Students who elect this approach must apply through the School of Pharmacy. Students admitted to the MPH program using this approach will be offered admission to the dual degree contingent on passing all courses in their first year of the PharmD with a minimum 3.0 GPA.

The Master of Public Health/Master of Urban Planning (MPH/MUP) dual degree is designed for individuals who envision a career that combines urban planning and public health disciplines. This dual degree combines the knowledge of urban planning with an understanding of health from a population perspective. It will provide training for planning, evaluating and guiding healthy community and urban development, and will enable graduates who seek to be agents of change within the profession to assume leadership roles in planning and in public health at the local, state and national levels. The degree requires 32 MUP units and 34 MPH units for a total of 66 units required for the dual degree. 

The Master of Public Policy/Master of Urban Planning dual degree program gives students the opportunity to develop a depth of analytic and design skills with which to effectively address the problems of urban communities. The dual degree program normally requires six semesters in residence.

Requirements

Completion of the dual degree requires 72 units.

Prerequisites

All entering students must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and are required to demonstrate proficiency in foundational statistical methods. The statistics prerequisite can be satisfied in one of two ways:

Statistics or Econometrics Course Taken Prior to Enrollment in the MPP

Completion of a college-level statistics or econometrics course with a grade of "B" or better within three years of matriculation. At minimum, prior course work must have included essential topics in descriptive and inferential statistics such as measures of central tendency and dispersion, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. If relevant statistical coursework was completed more than three years prior, a waiver may be granted based on the level of statistical training completed and the degree to which currency with this material was maintained through subsequent professional use.

PPD 504 Essential Statistics for Public Management

If a student has not completed a college-level statistics course with a grade of "B" or better within three years of matriculation, they will need to complete a summer course prior to starting the MPP program. USC offers PPD 504 Essential Statistics for Public Management each summer; a grade of "C" or better in PPD 504 is sufficient to satisfy the statistics prerequisite. Students may instead choose to satisfy the requirement by completing a qualifying statistics course at another institution prior to enrolling at USC. If the course is completed outside of USC, it must be taken for a grade and the student must earn a grade of "B" or better. Regardless of which course is used to meet the prerequisite requirement, the units associated with the course will not be used toward the 72 required degree units.

Pre-semester MPP Labs

The Professional Fundamentals and Statistics/STATA Labs provide an introduction to the program, acclimate students to skills that will be further developed in their first-semester courses and help to create a genuine camaraderie within the first-year student cohort. Entering MPP students are required to participate in the Statistics/STATA Lab as well as the Professional Fundamentals Lab. The labs meet the week prior to the start of the fall semester. The Professional Fundamentals Lab will lead directly into PPD 554 Foundations of Policy Analysis, while the Statistics/STATA Lab will provide initial exposure to the statistical software that will be utilized extensively in PPD 558 Multivariate Statistical Analysis.

The Juris Doctor/Master of Real Estate Development dual degree program provides the opportunity for in-depth study of legal issues and real estate development. The increasingly regulatory environment developers work within demands that professionals in the real estate industry have a strong understanding of the legal system. Lawyers who plan to specialize in real estate law will benefit from a thorough understanding of the development process, including financial, planning, marketing and design issues. Application must be made to both the USC Gould School of Law and the USC Price School of Public Policy. This program normally requires three years (including one summer) of full-time study in residence to complete.

Requirements for completion of the dual degree program are 112 units, including 78 units in law and 34 units in planning and development. To earn the JD, all students (including dual degree students) must complete 37 numerically graded law units at USC after the first year. The associate dean may make exceptions to this rule for students enrolled in law school honors programs.

The Master of Real Estate Development/Master of Business Administration dual degree program enables students to expand their skills in planning, land development, marketing, decision sciences, accounting, management, finance and economics. The program is targeted for students who have a clear career goal of becoming real estate developers but who lack formal training in business. The program normally requires two years (including summers) of full-time study in residence to complete.

Requirements

A total of 82 units is required. Required courses include: all required courses in an MBA program; FBE 565 Economics of Urban Land Use: Feasibility Studies (3 units); FBE 588 Real Estate Law and Transactions (3 units); graduate business electives sufficient to bring the total units completed in the USC Marshall School of Business to at least 48; and Policy, Planning, and Development courses (34 units). Dual degree students may not count courses taken outside the USC Marshall School of Business toward the 48 units. Students must have an approved laptop computer as required by instructors and must demonstrate calculator and spreadsheet skills.

The emerging impact of the elderly on the health care system has created a need for health care providers who understand the unique needs of the elderly. As drug therapy remains the primary therapeutic option for chronic disease, the demand for prescription drugs will continue to rise. There is a demand for pharmacists who are equipped to meet the pharmaceutical care needs of this population. Geriatric pharmacy is recognized as a specialty, with board certification through the Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy. The PharmD/MS, Gerontology program will provide extensive education and training in the unique health care needs of older adults. It will allow student pharmacists with a career interest in geriatrics or gerontology to work with health care planning or delivery organizations to develop and implement progressive pharmaceutical care programs for the elderly.

Application and Admissions Requirements

Students who intend to pursue the dual PharmD/MSG degree must be accepted by both programs. This includes having completed a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum G.P.A. of 3.0 and a minimum equivalent GRE score of 297. Students will not be given special consideration for admission to either program because they are applying for the dual degree. Students may apply to the dual PharmD/MS degree program in two ways. First, they may apply at the time they submit their PharmD application by concurrently submitting applications to both programs. Students, who elect this approach, must identify themselves on both applications as potential dual degree students. Students who are admitted to both programs will be offered admission to the PharmD and will be offered admission to the dual degree program. Second, students can apply to the dual degree by submitting an application to the MS in Gerontology program during their first year of enrollment in the PharmD prior to the MS, Gerontology published application deadline. Students, who elect this approach, must apply through the School of Pharmacy. Students admitted to the MS program using this approach will be offered admission to the dual degree contingent on passing all courses in their first year of the PharmD with a minimum 3.0 G.P.A. Students accepted to the dual degree program must maintain a minimum 3.0 G.P.A. in their gerontology and PharmD courses.

Recommended Program

Dual degree students may begin taking GERO courses, as available and as their schedule permits, starting in the 2nd year of the PharmD program.  Students may consult with the academic adviser for GERO course recommendations.

Graduation Requirements

Students must complete all requirements for the PharmD and MS degrees as listed in the catalogue with a minimum cumulative 3.0 G.P.A. Students must complete 32 Gerontology units as indicated. The PharmD degree course requirements are listed in the School of Pharmacy section.