The new academic year is in full swing! Campus is bustling with energy as more than 9,000 new students have joined thousands more returning to classes after a busy summer.

In this issue:

USC Dornsife’s new Intensives let undergraduates build expertise in high-demand specialties — and earn a credential that appears on their diploma and transcript.

Why it matters: Intensives can help students show employers and graduate schools they’ve got valuable skills that go beyond their major.

How it works: Complete three courses in one focused area.

What’s next: More Intensives will be introduced later this year.

USC undergraduates spent their summer tackling real-world research — and getting hands-on experience rarely available this early in their academic careers.

Why it matters: Summer gives students time to move beyond learning about scientific discovery and start making discoveries themselves.

Case in point: USC Dornsife junior Nico Matias is studying how ethanol and glycerol affect bacterial growth.

What else? USC Dornsife sophomore Juliette Deiss analyzes patient blood samples for cancer cell detection.

In his words: “It’s made me want to explore sciences much deeper — I’ve already learned so much from the professors and the students,” Deiss says.

The big picture: Across USC, undergraduates are working on projects involving brain disorders, liver and brain health, cancer and aging — building research skills while contributing to potentially lifesaving discoveries.

A USC Dornsife education transcends Los Angeles. From Catalina Island to Oaxaca, Mexico, and Washington, D.C., see where learning opportunities took Trojans this summer.

Dornsife by the Numbers

The number of living USC Dornsife alumni after last commencement day.

USC Dornsife researchers turned the world into a laboratory, traveling to all seven continents as part of a broad research footprint that stretched around the globe. Trace their paths with our interactive map.

Grammy-nominated musician Aloe Blacc ’01 shares how studying psychology and linguistics at USC Dornsife shaped his legendary songwriting process.

USC was the only university to host the Freedom Plane, a traveling exhibit of the nation's founding documents. Historian Peter Mancall takes us behind the display glass to examine living history.

Life in the United States has changed considerably in the past 250 years. Find out how America has evolved since 1776 — and see exclusive online-only features — in the latest issue of USC Dornsife Magazine.

Create art and ask artist Barbara Carrasco about her mural LA History: A Mexican Perspective and its connections to themes of belonging in Los Angeles.

Experts break down the pros, cons and context behind each 2026 initiative, exploring who is funding them and what their passage may mean for Californians.

Professor Steve Ruiz shows how environmentalism in the American West was shaped by the labor, knowledge and activism of Asian migrants and Chicano communities.

Snow Place Like USC. While Los Angeles sweltered under a September heat wave, the USC campus became a winter wonderland for the filming of season two of HBO’s Rooster, starring Steve Carell. See more photos and read the story >>