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I completed the University of Southern California online Master’s program in Learning Design and Technology, and overall it was a very solid and practical experience. The program structure is clear and well organized, which is very helpful for working professionals. Even though it is an online degree, the instructors are very engaged and responsive, and they provide detailed feedback on assignments.
The coursework focuses a lot on real-world application, such as instructional design projects, learning... Read More theory, and using technology to improve learning outcomes. Many assignments are project based, so you can directly apply what you learn to your job. Students come from different professional backgrounds, which makes discussions more interesting and helps broaden perspectives.

My time at USC was pretty awesome, despite everything that was going on with the pandemic, all the professors managed to accommodate well for all the students, and due to the commute for me personally, all of my classes except for 1 were taken online at home. A lot has changed in regards to the campus at least since i've been there but it's an easy place to recommend to any new prospecting students (pro tip: make sure to get grants before attending, USC is expensive). Best of Luck in your studies... Read More

I attended USC on a full merit scholarship, which gave me access to a school I probably couldn’t have afforded otherwise. I loved the CS Games program and didn’t realize game dev was even an option for me before USC. The USC network was very helpful, I had the opportunity to go to DC to present a game, and also landed a Microsoft internship. On the downside, USC’s response to the Palestine protests felt dismissive, especially since they called LAPD on students and didn’t really listen. There’s also... Read More a heavy focus on Football spending over other programs and increasing gentrification around campus, which gets reflected in the students who somehow become afraid of every POC they see.

Pretty worthless as a career advancer. While I found the curriculum to be rigorous, it turned out to be a negative value proposition in terms of actually getting a job in the field. Case in point, I applied to a community college to be a TESOL instructor. I got all the way to finishing paperwork for the job, only to have the administrator come back and say that me MAT-Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages did not, in fact, qualify me to teach English to speakers of other languages. I actually... Read More had better prospects abroad with only a Bachelor’s in English. So now I’m stuck with no job and a huge pile of debt I’ll probably never make enough to pay off. I honestly could not recommend the program to anyone looking to do this job.

If you are white, you'll have a decent experience with this school. You'll be able to meet with advisors and professors in a timely fashion, get relevant feedback, connections and help. You'll essentially get what you pay for: instruction, objective feedback etc. If you're not white, hold on to your hat. You'll be ignored, probably told to leave, you'll have to hold meetings and formal inquiries to get basic needs met. It's even more difficult online because I sometimes have to rely on my white peers... Read More to email faculty on my behalf to ask my questions or find out what is going on with the scheduling and the future of the program. Many school-wide and department-wide announcement emails don't make it to all the students and they have yet to do anything about that. Registration has been a mess every time--they make lots of changes to schedules and professors after registration is over, which would be one thing, but then they don't even tell students. Some have complained, and they are told that schedule changes are due to the pandemic. International students have no option to defer their enrollment even though their classes are at odd hours of the night sometimes. Also, USC has almost no opportunities for work study at all, about two job postings a semester--financial aid staff however, are very good at staying connected and answering all your questions. Unless you need the clout, just go to a small school where your needs will be met.

The FNP program at USC is taught by very professional instructors. The on-campus study required is very useful. This review is not regarding the quality of this aspect of the program by any means. What this review is intended for is a warning to future or current students. The FNP program is inexplicably in the school of Social Work. After taking a required social work masters course from an instructor who evidently only teaches the one course as her day job is something between being a "life coach"... Read More and running "Dream building workshops" the instructor didn't bother to check on the submitted assignment that was worth 40% of the grade (which should tell you something right there) until almost two weeks after it was submitted and the semester was essentially over. She sent an email telling me I needed to resubmit it but I was at work so I got a friend to go over and resubmit it and email a copy et al. Two weeks later in the midst of a preceptorship I could not log into the system. The reason for this being that as I had contacted the instructor to ask when the paper was going to be submitted for a grade I had been informed "I told you grades were due at noon and you sent them at 3:00" which was untrue but I digress. As a result I contacted the vice dean to see what my options were, essentially what happened next was she was told that because she'd had weeks to get herself in order and didn't she needed to submit a grade...so she did...she submitted a perfect 75%. Now this is unacceptable enough but when taken into account that classes that require multiple videos or trips to California to complete etc are pass/fail this ridiculous waste of time course (the meat of her course was taken from Psychology such as theories of development, the rest was week after week of Critical Race Theories, Sociological Feminism etc none of which was applicable to her "final"). I of course questioned this assignment and wanted to see her rubric and a graded paper in person (some 1600 miles from home). Acknowledging that at best this nonsense had cost me the summer semester I wanted this all straightened out. After eventually receiving what I'd requested I see a paper with comments on it that state things such as "Font" for 3 pages or "Indent" for an entire page referencing nothing specific. There were however four comments scattered throughout the 22 pages (four comments coinciding with the four theories one was supposed to cover presumably.) None of these comments had any details save one that said "Why did you pick this theory if it did not really fit!?" Quoting from her instructions that we were supposed to pick a theory from sections xyz that "best" fit I submitted a letter addressing everything as able and questioning the grading rubric that was basically check boxes with points assigned labeled "Mastery" "Excellence" "Failure to understand" etc. If you displayed Excellence you got x points etc. Now this is where it becomes important for those who are considering this extremely expensive newly accredited program. The process for questioning grades goes first back to the instructor, then to the dean, then to a panel of non-associated deans. In this circumstance with I daresay no leg to stand on whatsoever to justify anything this was passed on to the dean, NOT the director of the FNP program the dean of the SOCIAL WORK department. As it happened for me the dean found a "computational error" and bumped it to a 78%.... as a result of this "improved grade" I no longer can pursue this outside of their closed ranks. I find this intolerable, I wouldn't expect the Dean of the English department to sit over the top of the Engineering department but perhaps they do...

If you are planning to attend USC to study theater, my biggest piece of advice would be to take advantage of your resources outside of the department. Los Angeles is not an easy place to get started as an actor, and school will incubate you from trials and tribulations of beginning a career. It's a great idea to get your feet wet while you're still studying. Go see productions at local theaters, and start cultivating relationships with working professionals as your mentors. Take a class over the... Read More summer at a professional studio (if you can afford to, or see if they have a work-study program that works for you), or participate in the LACCA internships. Start meeting people and building your professional skillset NOW, because it will serve you as a safety net once you graduate. Within the theater department, get involved in student productions. Classes and official SDA productions will give you exciting, near-professional experiences. But student productions will link you with your peers who are creating work from the ground up. They were consistently my most fulfilling experiences, and my connections from those independent productions are the same ones that have gone on to produce work (and hire me) after school. I also cannot emphasize enough how you should take advantage of studying abroad. Even if it is not with BADA (which I loved), go for a semester to just branch out and try something new. The best artists are often those who can incorporate a wide variety of perspectives and experiences in their work, and it's important to go out and live a full life. Going to another country will never be as easy and well-supported as it is within your school program, so find out early on what it might take to get to the place you want to go (for example, language classes, literature classes, or a long time-line on the application process), and find a way to make it work. If you're on scholarship, make sure you remember to apply your scholarship along with your general abroad application -- I didn't know I needed to do that with mine, and ended up incurring a larger cost than I needed to. For the star ratings on the questions below, please note that we had a different dean running the school when I was there (2010-2014), and I believe elements of the program have since changed. I'd look at someone's rating who graduated more recently than I did for a more accurate assessment. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL, please feel free to get in touch with me, or other SDA alumni. We're a good group, and will be happy to help you in your choice.

Going to USC was a very unique experience. I am a first generation Latina, so I definitely went through a culture shock when I first started. The good thing though is that there are a lot of programs that help facilitate the transition. There is an organization called First Generation Student Union that is meant to bring together first-generation students and has monthly meetings that touch on important topics in college. So, what I overall love about USC is that there are so many organizations that... Read More it doesn't matter what your background, interests, or goals are you can definitely find your niche here!

At first I was hesitant because the program is only offered for online-distance learning students. But I find that this really benefits students who are not living near USC and want to become school counselors, and still want to keep their day jobs. I recommend to anyone wanting to enroll in this program to be good at self-discipline and have high self-efficacy skills. I love this program and wouldn't change anything about the way that I have received my learning, and I have gotten to know my professors... Read More and classmates very well (even those virtually!) I love the trauma informed focus that they teach, and how diverse the student and faculty body is.

I think the academics at USC Rossier are strong, but the online MA for Teaching Certification is absurdly expensive. I ended up transferring to another online program that was a fraction of the cost. Rossier blows up the tuition costs for no good reasons. The USC name has status, but teaching at the K-12 level is not directly tied to the status of the graduate institution attended and so it is not necessary to pay $90,000 when the teaching certification might be almost as good for just $5000. Rossier... Read More is engaging in highway robbery Ivory Tower-style.

The professors are incredible, and I still keep in touch. So if you're going to go, take advantage of your access to the faculty! The tuition is absurd, and random charges will be added to your account that you'll only be told about later. The financial aid office is quick to take money slow to let you know about aid. Very few scholarship opportunities and again with the random charges. The MPH school is a building off campus, it's not pretty or in a convenient location like the undergrad campus... Read More is. The education itself is quite standard. The university claims to help with career opportunities, it literally sends an email with free/minimum wage internship opportunities, not actual connections. Getting a job will be based on networks, not on your degree, so be aware of that.

Things will always fall through the cracks anytime you try to do something on a mass scale. The same is true for USC Annenberg's Graduate Journalism programs. Basically, this program is just the BA Journalism curriculum but for students who didn't major in the subject in college. If you're a slab of clay who doesn't know what a newspaper is, USC will mold you. But the more experience you have in journalism entering this program, the more frustrated you will be. The tricky thing about a Journalism... Read More MA is figuring out if you really need it. You need a law degree to become a lawyer, but don't need a BA or an MA journalism degree to become a journalist. But then again, if you're writing for a small town paper and want to make the leap to the New York Times, or if you're at a small market TV station and want to get to NBC News, USC might have the internships and a couple of resources to get you there. There's no clear answer to "who" the MA is really for, and who it is for not. But do not think for a second that the staff or faculty USC will help you answer that question. They will accept anyone who applies and is willing to pay the tuition. If you're already skilled in say radio, you will not have the opportunity to test out of an intro radio class or seminar. The professors are honestly very insecure about that and will take it personally if you suggest you don't need their help. Many of them are in their 60s and 70s and have been in a position of power for so long that nobody can question their intelligence or authority. Often times instructors teach outdated materials to students since they've been out of the field for so long but there's nothing students can do about it. Then there's the opposite problem. Some of the younger professors covering topics like digital media or social video haven't spent enough time in the field mastering those subjects before becoming teachers, with it being very evident that they have no idea what they're talking about. And don't you dare think about dropping out, because you'll be missing out on USC's incredible professional network who will make all your dreams come true. "Then why are so many former students still unemployed or not practicing journalism after they graduate?" "Because they didn't love Annenberg enough." "But they got really good grades, and it looks like they were involved with student activities and built relationships with professors and professionals, and..." "NO THEY DIDN'T LOVE ANNENBERG ENOUGH THAT'S WHY THEY FAILED!!!!!" What's most ironic is that the school emphasizes the need to question instutions and authority, except of course for Annenberg, which students must always have blind faith in. If you have no prior professional or student experience in journalism, USC is a great fit. If you know what a byline is and have had one or two before, stick to Northwestern, Mizzou, Syracuse, or anywhere else. It is not worth it.

USC is an excellent school for Human Resources Management. The courses are all online. There are two options for course loads. There is a one year full-time track which consists of w class at time, while the two year part-time track consists of one class at a time. I work full-time and am taking the full-time course load. The corse work is challenging and incorporates a good mix of reading and case studies. I would recommend this course to anyone willing to take on this challenge and want to forward... Read More their career in Human Resources.

USC Gould School of Law gave me the opportunity to further advance my career. With seven years of investment banking under my belt, gaining a background in legal gave me an advantage. The admission team along with professors work with your schedule fairly and candidly. There is no pressure for you to tackle more credits than you need. Because the program suits to mid-career professionals, the cohort and professors understand your time flexibility. Syllabus are outlined on the first day of class,... Read More so you can time manage effectively. All live classes and recorded for reviews. I am excited to graduate with my masters next year, and can proudly say that I will be a USC Trojans Alumni. Fight On!

This program is excellent for students looking to go into healthcare and related fields. Good majority of the students from the program has gone on to medical or dental schools. Quite a few students also is now in healthcare-related work, whether it is non-profit, law, or business aspect of medicine. The classes could be challenging, especially if you take the clinical track, since you'll be taking first-year medical school classes with medical students. It is a good way to prepare for medical school.... Read More If you get into this program, you should definitely take advantage of all the overseas trips taken over breaks because it will be very hands-on experience that you may not experience outside this program. Be aware that it can be pricey, but overall, this has been a good program.