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Graduate Students

Conditional Admission

Graduate students who have not yet met all requirements for admission to full graduate status or who have not filed all relevant documents with the appropriate office of admission may be conditionally admitted. Students admitted in this provisional status must satisfy all of those conditions by the end of the first semester of enrollment. Full graduate student standing is not granted until all conditions have been met within the time limit given.

Thesis 594

A master’s candidate who is writing a thesis and has completed all course work for the degree must enroll each fall and spring semester in the appropriate thesis registration until the thesis has been approved. Students should consult the appropriate school or departmental section of the USC Catalogue for specific thesis registration requirements. No more than four units of credit in 594 may be received or applied toward the degree regardless of the number of semesters the candidate may be required to register.

Dissertation 794

Doctoral students completing a dissertation are to be registered in Dissertation 794 each semester after being admitted to candidacy. If the student is admitted to candidacy before the end of the third week of classes, the student must register for Dissertation 794 for the remainder of that semester and must do so before the end of the third week of classes. If the student is admitted to candidacy after the third week of classes, the student may not register for Dissertation 794 until the following semester. After registration in 794abcd, students must register and pay for two units of 794z although the registration carries zero units of credit. Grades recorded for 794 will remain as “IP” (In Progress) until the degree is conferred. Credit will be applied toward 794abcd registrations when the degree has been cleared by the Degree Progress Department. Refer to the Graduate School section of the USC Catalogue for further information.

GRSC 800 Series

The GRSC 800 series is a mandatory non-credit registration for graduate students who have completed all course work and are not otherwise registered while taking the master's comprehensive or the doctoral Qualifying Examination. Fees are equivalent to one unit of tuition. All registrations in the GRSC 800 series are by permission of the Graduate School only and are subject to verification of the completion of the following prerequisites for each course.

GRSC 800 Studies for the Qualifying Examination: approval to take the doctoral qualifying examination by the appropriate academic unit and special exception from the Graduate School if the enrollment exceeds three semesters. Refer to the Graduate School section of the USC Catalogue for further information on eligibility to take the qualifying examination.

A student must enroll in GRSC 800 during the semester in which the qualifying examination is to be taken if not otherwise enrolled. Students are strongly encouraged to take the qualifying examination during the first semester in which they are enrolled in GRSC 800 and to enroll in no more than three semesters of GRSC 800 before taking the qualifying examination.

GRSC 810 Studies for the Master's Examination: completion of all course work for the master’s degree as verified on the Credit Summary. The Credit Summary is issued by the Degree Progress Department after the student has filed the proper forms with the appropriate school.

GRSC 596

GRSC 596 Internship for Curricular Practical Training is a one-unit course designed to allow an international student to gain practical work experience in the student’s field of study. The internship must be located at an off-campus facility, but USC faculty must individually supervise students in the academic component. To enroll, students must be in good academic standing (have completed one academic year of full-time enrollment with at least a 3.0 GPA) and be enrolled full time in the term of intended GRSC 596 registration. All students must complete an application (available from a student's academic department) and provide a copy of the internship/employment offer letter.

USC Diploma in Innovation Program

The USC Diploma in Innovation Program is a signature twelve-unit certificate program designed to help current USC Ph.D. students become agents of change in their respective disciplines. This selective program is offered at no additional charge to current USC Ph.D. students in good standing from all disciplines. Students who successfully complete this supplement to their graduate study will be awarded a Certificate in Innovation.

Applications for program participation should be submitted to the USC Graduate School by the last day of classes in the spring semester preceding enrollment. Please see the Graduate School Website for more information on the application requirements and process.