Is USC on the rise academically?

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
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<p>That just shows how messed up people’s perception is. Just because it’s not hysp, it’s not prestigious?</p>

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<p>Hahah, wow, that insult took an incredible lack of awareness.</p>

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<p>“You can’t buy prestige. No one in academia’s impressed that USC can buy a faculty member or two who earned a major prize at some other university. That academic adds prestige to either the universities he attended earlier on, or the one that he was affiliated with when he received his award. They don’t add prestige to the ones that they’re associated with afterwards”.</p>

<p>Yours is a contrived trollish interpretation. Accomplished individuals in academia, as in other endeavors, seek environments they perceive as most enabling for them. The choice of those you cite who have left UCLA and other fine institutions is now USC.</p>

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<p>**I’m getting my PhD from the University of Southern California.</p>

<p>I got my PhD from the University of Southern California. **</p>

<p>I don’t know. That sounds pretty fracking prestigious to me!! :smiley: :smiley: :D</p>

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<p>^ Sure it does. In what field and to what other PhD programs did you apply and were accepted?</p>

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<p>The original question was “Is USC on the rise academically?”
The answer is an unequivocal “yes”. USC is attracting the best and brightest students and faculty. SAT/ACT scores are very close to Ivy levels overall and for merit scholars surpass them. Outstanding faculty are seeking out USC. USC offers an undeniably vibrant academic and social atmosphere. Just ask someone who attends USC.</p>

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<p>“Is USC on the rise academically?”</p>

<p>Yes. </p>

<p>When the 2013 USNWR rankings come out, USC should jump past Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown. I would not be surprised if it tied with UC Berkeley. That would move heads in California! </p>

<p>If they continue on the current path, I can see SC breaking into the Top 20 within four years, easily moving past Emory, U Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.</p>

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<p>lagunal, i would not count on that as the USNWR rankings are not that great and reliable. Emory and UC Berkeley are on a whole another level with USC. Read the methodology of USNWR and you will see why.</p>

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<p>^^ Is that so? Because I am pretty positive every other ranking has USC ranked higher than Emory. </p>

<p>You perceptions of prestige is coming from USNews.</p>

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<p>Your*</p>

<p>10 char</p>

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<p>A lot of these comments are laughable because they come from science folks, which is NOT USC’s strong suit. Of course any ranking that weighs those factors is going to disadvantage USC.</p>

<p>How about some rankings that put Fields and Nobel medals on par with Academy Awards, Emmys, and Grammys? Then you’d see USC getting more of the respect it deserves. Its strengths have always been its arts and professional schools - NOT the sciences - which is why those rankings hurt us. USC’s strengths in arts are less quantifiable, as is the fact that the university has only risen in the last two decades. Likewise, those same rankings overemphasize the strength of state schools (like the UCs) which have been atrophying for decades because of budget cuts and are resting on the laurels of past accomplishments. Berkeley was a great university 40 years ago. It still is a great university, but that doesn’t help students who can’t get the classes they need to graduate. This year in particular USC’s admissions office said that they received a lot more inquiries from parents whose kids had been admitted to Berkeley and UCLA and who still wanted to know about USC because, being private and free of the state’s budget cuts, their kids could get a solid education and get in and out in 4 years.</p>

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<p>BTW, to answer the original question of the post, USC is ABSOLUTELY on the rise, and has been for 15 years. Twenty years ago, the university was around #51 in the U.S. News rankings and has risen to be #23. Still a long way to go, but the dynamism and energy on the campus is amazing. USC is perfectly positioned here at the beginning of the Pacific Century and has all the raw ingredients to (in time) join Stanford and Caltech as one of the finest universities in the West, if not the world. Right now the university unfortunately has the stench of new money (ugh), but even in the last few years that has already changed dramatically. People have gone from saying “party school” to, “Wow, that place has changed.” The university is very innovative and has the full attention of the broader educational community for just that reason. In the meantime, Dr. Nikias (president for the last 2 years or so and provost before that) has a very simple goal for has presidency - “undisputed elite status” for the university, and after the $6 billion fundraising campaign is over, they’ll have it.</p>

<p>Here is a good video highlighting the university’s growth from good to great under the Sample presidency:</p>

<p>[USC:</a> The Spirit of Transformation - YouTube](<a href=“USC: The Spirit of Transformation - YouTube”>USC: The Spirit of Transformation - YouTube)</p>

<p>And here is the video for the fundraising campaign:</p>

<p>[The</a> Campaign for the University of Southern California - YouTube](<a href=“The Campaign for the University of Southern California - YouTube”>The Campaign for the University of Southern California - YouTube)</p>

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<p>BandTenHut- </p>

<p>I am sure most people who read the whole thread got a laugh out of it.</p>

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<p>Are suggesting Penn changes its name to Wharton?</p>

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<p>USCAlum, </p>

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<p>Academics don’t care about entertainment. USC needs to boost its science reputation before it can:</p>

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A few things to correct here. The budget cut impacts to undergrad education have been overblown. Berkeley has more funding now than it did back in 2003. It is just the source of this funding that has changed…from majority state support to tuition, private donations and federal research grants providing more financial support than the state.
See page 8 of the attached report:
<a href=“http://controller.berkeley.edu/FINRPTS/2010-11/Master.pdf[/url]”>http://controller.berkeley.edu/FINRPTS/2010-11/Master.pdf&lt;/a&gt;

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Berkeley revenues:
2003-4: $1.593 B
2010-11: $2.357 B</p>

<p>Berkeley is becoming more private…which is why everyone is up in arms. They fear it’s losing its public character and access. Berkeley has resources to see through the decline in state support better than other UC campuses.</p>

<p>The whole not graduating on-time due to budget cuts is overblown, especially at Berkeley. I’ve talked to numerous undergrads who don’t have any problems graduating on-time. In fact, they can graduate early with AP credits. Berkeley has added more core undergrad classes with the increased funding. The 4 and 6 year graduation rates have also increased from 2003-4. See page 1 of the attached report:
<a href=“http://controller.berkeley.edu/FINRPTS/2010-11/Master.pdf[/url]”>http://controller.berkeley.edu/FINRPTS/2010-11/Master.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Berkeley is also not riding its past reputation. Its faculty continue to earn prestigious academic awards for current research. 2 Nobel prizes (2011 and 2009 both in physics) and Berkeley’s faculty continues to earn membership to prestigious academic academies.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1334351-national-academy-sciences-announces-new-members-news-item.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1334351-national-academy-sciences-announces-new-members-news-item.html&lt;/a&gt;

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1149431-american-philosophical-society-elects-new-members-news-item.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1149431-american-philosophical-society-elects-new-members-news-item.html&lt;/a&gt;

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1084863-national-academy-engineering-announces-68-new-members-2011-news-item.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1084863-national-academy-engineering-announces-68-new-members-2011-news-item.html&lt;/a&gt;

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<p>Berkeley is far from riding its past reputation.</p>

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<p>“Academics don’t care about entertainment. USC needs to boost its science reputation”</p>

<p>While science had once brought us a man on the moon and the internet, most “science” has since become corporatized. We now are bombarded with widgets (e.g i-phone 5, really?), apps, fracking, Smart meters/cell phones/routers with emf producing questionable adverse health effects (WHO 2011), Google engineers stealing personal data from routers while supposedly mapping the world, Apple among others evading taxes in California by opening a 5-person office in Reno and Stanford inviting corporate tech into its hallowed halls (“Stanford Inc”, Washington Monthly) overtaking the intellectual atmosphere of this great university. These are but a few examples of the decline of “science” in our society. Corporatized science appears to have become the tail wagging the dog dumping the latest start up widget on society and causing an ever fatiguing dog to jump. </p>

<p>I believe many are considering more broadly now what defines a great university. While there is no consensus overall, it no longer appears to be USNWR rankings based disproportionately on scientific society accolades. These rankings no longer seem accurate or relavent to many. For students and parents looking for a dynamic, diverse, vibrant environment with a forward thinking administration, USC is top-rated. To others, I suggest you can’t go forward looking in the rear-view mirror.</p>

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<p>Is there some USC alum who lurks on the Cal forum posting every flattering statistic about USC at every possible opportunity?</p>

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<p>The posters from the illustrious UofC are secret USC fans, IMO, just like Aaron Rodgers who couldn’t wait to don a USC hat and jersey by placing a bet (with very bad odds) with Clay Matthews on who would win the USC-Cal game. The internet photo of Rogers is on my smart phone screensaver. You should see the looks on peoples’ faces when they see it!</p>

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<p>Everyone here agrees that USC is on the rise academically, but some people are getting carried away by placing it on the same level as the Ivys, Berkeley, Caltech and Stanford. Maybe one day, but not yet. (Although as I’ve said, I do rate USC’s undergraduate programs as equivalent to Berkeley’s.) And USC is certainly not destined to reach those levels. It will take continued effort over several decades.</p>

<p>You’ll know USC has reached the top-level when people with connections to the school stop telling others how great it is. I got my alumni magazine last week, and cringed at the number of times the term “world-class” was used when describing USC. If you’re confident that you’re “world-class”, you don’t have to say it.</p>

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<p>Simba you have a valid point. What USC confronts though is dichotomy between its current status and reputation. Part of this seems to be due to its rapid rise. This has produced a university far different from when graduates, such as yourself, attended. Part seems to be due to those from regional institution members that resist USC’s rise. </p>

<p>What I think you are seeing in USC publications is an attempt by USC to bring attitudes of its past graduates and the outside community in line with its current status. I read a past USC alumni magazine and was favorably impressed by an article which reflected my observations from recently carefully examining USC, then saw the same article used to demean USC by a frequent trolling poster from Stanford. </p>

<p>My sense is there is an active process for those within (current and past graduates) and without USC struggling to accurately identify and accept the reality of USC 2012.</p>