Description
The University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1880 by Robert Maclay Widney, it is the oldest private research university in California. The university is composed of one liberal arts school, the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and 22 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, enrolling roughly 21,000 undergraduate and 28,500 post-graduate students from all fifty U.S. states and more than 115 countries. It is a member of the Association of American Universities, which it joined in 1969.
USC sponsors a variety of intercollegiate sports and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Members of USC's sports teams, the Trojans, have won 107 NCAA team championships and 412 NCAA individual championships. As of 2021, Trojan athletes have won 326 medals at the Olympic Games (153 golds, 96 silvers, and 77 bronzes), more than any other American university. USC has had 537 football players drafted to the National Football League, the second-highest number of draftees in the country. In August 2024, USC will become a member of the Big Ten Conference.
USC has graduated more alumni who have gone on to win Academy and Emmy Awards than any other institution, largely due to the School of Cinematic Arts, and has conferred degrees upon 29 living billionaires. USC presently has ten Nobel Laureates on staff, eleven Rhodes Scholars, twelve Marshall Scholars, six MacArthur Fellows, 181 Fulbright Scholars, and one Turing Award winner.
