Graduate & Professional Degrees

Academic training in law and in communication management provides a powerful background for careers in business, entertainment or government life. The USC Gould School of Law and the USC Annenberg School of Communication collaborate in a program that enables these educational opportunities. Students complete both the JD and the Master of Communication Management in three years, the time normally required for the law degree alone.

Students must complete 20 units (five courses) of communication courses at the School of Communication: one required research methods course; one required core conceptual foundation course; one approved theory-practice integration course; and two courses from approved CMGT elective areas of focus.

Students are required to complete 76 units from the law school. 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 of the USC Gould School of Law may make exceptions to this rule for students enrolled in law school honors programs. 

First Year: Required law school courses.

Second and Third Years: 20 units of communication courses, including the 4-unit required research methods course in the first semester of the second year, and the 4-unit required core conceptual foundation course in the second semester of the second year, and an approved 4-unit theory-practice integration course; 46 units of law courses, of which 8 units must be approved as appropriate for acceptance by the School of Communication toward its degree.

Application to pursue the dual degree should be made before completion of 15 units of work in law or 8 units toward the Master of Communication Management degree. Admission by the law school to its JD degree will be evaluated as a substitute for GRE scores.

The dual degree program, Communication Management/Jewish Nonprofit Management, offers students the opportunity for advanced study of sophisticated communication processes and technologies in the context of the nonprofit arena. The program has been developed by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) to combine the study of communication theory, processes and technologies with postgraduate education in Jewish nonprofit management and leadership. The goal of this program is for graduates to perform more effectively in the nonprofit sector, having received specific training in areas such as organizational communication, media impacts and policy.

Students of this program are admitted separately to each school. Students are required to complete a minimum of 34 credits in Jewish nonprofit management. Eight of the 34 required credits of graduate course work at the Zelikow School are used to fulfill the School of Communication's cognate option.

In addition, students are required to take 24 units (six courses) at the School of Communication, including one required research methods course in the first semester; one required core conceptual foundation course in the second semester; one approved theory-practice integration course; and three courses from approved CMGT elective areas of focus.

Those interested in this 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.

The joint MD/MHA program with the Keck School of Medicine and the Price School of Public Policy seeks to train leaders in medicine who can function as managers and administrators for health care systems. Graduates will have the opportunity to transform health care through the innovative and collaborative evidence-based approaches they learn in this dual degree program.

The MD/MHA program spans five years. After the successful completion of the third year of medical school, students take one year off to complete the MHA program. Upon completion of the MHA program, students will return to medical school. The remainder of the program is devoted to clinical clerkships of the Keck School of Medicine. At the conclusion of the program, students will have completed 36 units in the Price School of Public Policy and four years in the Keck School of Medicine.

First, Second, and Third Years: Required MD courses

Fourth Year: Required MHA courses

Fifth Year: Clinical clerkships

Students who are enrolled in the Keck School of Medicine must apply to the Master of Health Administration program no later than February 1 of their third year. All requirements for admission to the regular MHA program must also be fulfilled by dual degree applicants.

All students in the MD/MHA program must meet course requirements, grade point average requirements and program proficiency requirements of both programs. Students must have a grade point average of 3.0 in the MHA curriculum to meet graduation requirements.

The MD and the MHA degrees are awarded simultaneously upon completion of the Keck School of Medicine and the Master of Health Administration program requirements.

Gerontology and health administration students can specialize in health care administration (profit and nonprofit) through the dual degree with the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the USC Price School of Public Policy's Health Administration Program. Students in the dual degree program must be admitted by both academic units and complete 78 units of post-graduate academic work.

The Master of Heritage Conservation/Master of Architecture dual degree program facilitates highly related cross-disciplinary studies in both fields at the master’s level. The Master of Architecture program explores the power of design to change the built environment. The Master of Heritage Conservation program explores the power of place to understand how the built environment changes over time, and how existing places can evolve in ways that serve and strengthen communities. With the urgent need to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, reusing existing buildings is at the forefront of architectural practice. The dual degree curriculum offers students a broad, practical foundation in the theories, techniques and strategies of both disciplines. It pushes students to envision a more just built environment by leveraging cultural heritage and emerging design technologies, centering people and communities, and challenging the status quo.

Qualified students who are admitted to the Master of Heritage Conservation and the Master of Architecture programs in the School of Architecture may complete both degrees in a highly integrated six- to seven-semester program.

Completion of the dual degree requires 36 units of courses in heritage conservation (including 8 units of thesis) and either 48 units of architecture (for students admitted with advanced placement) or 79 units of architecture (for students admitted to the three-year curriculum).

The Master of Heritage Conservation/Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism dual degree program facilitates highly related cross-disciplinary studies in heritage conservation and in landscape architecture at the master’s level. The primary objective of the dual degree curriculum is to impart to students a basic familiarity with the origins and development of the philosophies, theories, and practices of landscape architecture and heritage conservation. This curriculum has been developed so that students will graduate from this program with a broad practical knowledge of the techniques and strategies for conserving the existing built environment through the lens of cultural landscape studies and landscape architecture. Students will be expected to understand the critical methodological tools necessary for a professional engaged in the investigation, interpretation, and evaluation of the cultural landscapes that surround us.

Qualified students who are admitted to the Master of Heritage Conservation and the Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism program in the School of Architecture may complete both degrees in a highly integrated five- to seven-semester program.

Completion of the dual degree requires 37 units of courses in heritage conservation (including 5 units of thesis) and either 50 units of landscape architecture (for those students admitted with advanced placement); or 74 units of landscape architecture (for those students admitted to the three-year curriculum).

The Master of Heritage Conservation/Master of Urban Planning dual degree program facilitates highly related cross-disciplinary studies in heritage conservation and in urban planning at the master's level. The primary objective of the dual degree curriculum is to impart to students a basic familiarity with the origins and development of the philosophies, theories, and practices of planning and heritage conservation. This curriculum has been developed so that students will graduate from this program with a broad practical knowledge of the laws, regulations, and policies that apply to planning and conservation practice in the United States and internationally. This expertise will include knowledge of urban design, public policy, and architectural and planning history and theory. Students will be expected to understand the critical methodological tools necessary for a professional engaged in the investigation, interpretation, and evaluation of the urban built environment.

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

Requirements

Requirements for completion of the dual degree program are 60 units, including 30 units in heritage conservation and 30 units in urban planning, as follows:

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 on-campus Master of Laws (LLM) program is a master's degree program for foreign graduate students trained in law. This two- to three-semester, full-time program introduces foreign lawyers to American law and the U.S. legal system and prepares them for leadership roles in the global market. Students may enroll in an optional certificate track in Alternate Dispute Resolution, Business Law, Media and Entertainment Law, Transnational Law and Business, or Technology and Entrepreneurship Law.

The online Master of Laws (LLM) program is a master's degree program for foreign graduate students trained in law. This program is offered on a part-time or full-time basis in a completely online modality and introduces foreign lawyers to American law and the U.S. legal system and prepares them for leadership roles in the global market. Students may enroll in an optional certificate track in Business Law, Entertainment Law and Industry, Compliance, Health Care Compliance, Financial Compliance or Human Resources Compliance.

The on-campus Two-Year Extended Master of Laws (LLM) program combines a one-year certificate program with a one-year master's degree for foreign graduate students trained in law. During the first year, students complete mandatory law and English courses to prepare them for the master's program and further their English fluency. After successful completion of the first year, students earn a Certificate in U.S. Legal Studies. In the second year, students matriculate into our on-campus Master of Laws program.

Admission Requirements

Students submitting an application to either LLM program must have earned a basic law degree, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree or the foreign equivalent. Please visit the Gould School of Law Website for more information.

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.