Global Experiences

You can do it - you can change the world! But first why not learn a second (or third) language, study abroad, and meet and talk to your classmates. With the largest population of international students in the nation, the USC student body is your connection to the global community.

Global Scholars

There's an international dimension to every program of study. Prepare yourself for world-citizenship through global experiences and education and become a USC Global Scholar in the process. How can I add global learning to my education? USC's faculty have provided six goals to help you do it. Whether you're an engineer or an actor, these global learning objectives will help you get started.

Engage in international activities: Participate in curricular and co-curricular activities that expose you to patterns of life and ways of thinking that are different than your own—different cultures, religions, languages and literatures, political systems, economies, and uses of science and technology.
Raise your global literacy: Become more knowledgeable about “the state of the world,” current global conditions and political issues, especially related to the environment, natural resources, health pandemics, poverty, genocides, human rights, population migrations, and regional and international conflicts. Raise your awareness of the presence of global realities in everyday local life.
Increase your intercultural competence: Explore the rich variability of perspectives and cultural practices, especially as expressed in different value systems, family structures, gender relations, symbol systems, and tastes related to music, art, clothing, food, and shelter.
Expand your awareness of global interdependence: Raise your consciousness of the interconnectedness of life and our existence within a complex biological, planetary, social, and moral ecosystem in which we are linked together, dependent on others, and yet responsible for one another. You should be able to distinguish between seeing the world as a global system versus a collection of nations.
Critique knowledge from a global perspective: Ask yourself whether interpretations offered by “authoritative” sources, especially those in your program(s) of study, are valid from a global vantage point. Let this shift in perspective guide you to new insights, fresh knowledge, critiques, original inventions, and better ways to structure human relationships, both politically and economically.
Develop your own global perspective: Re-examine the basis of your ethical judgments, and the impact you can have in making life more just, equitable, joyful and creative. Weigh the implications of your personal choices in terms of your obligations to others and ask yourself what citizenship in a global context means to you.

USC Globalization

Here's a great resource that will help you appreciate USC's global presence. Learn more about what faculty and students do overseas.

Office of Overseas Studies

Students who study abroad have at least one thing in common: they see their experiences in other countries as transformative in terms of how they view the world and their learning. Where do you want to study?

Global Programs by School

Understanding the increasingly interdependent global community is a goal of every academic unit at USC. Check out how different schools integrate the international into the educational experiences of their students.

Undergraduate Education