Graduate studies officially began at the University of Southern California in 1910, but it was not until 1923 that the university established official graduate school regulations.
More than 100 years later, on April 4, USC President Carol Folt spoke at the Graduate School Gala and spoke about why graduate education is essential to the nation and the world.
“When I think about graduate school, I can’t help but think about the fundamental value of graduate education,” Folt said at an afternoon event held in the graduate school’s offices in the Gwynne Wilson Student Union building. Ta. She went on to say, “Our competitiveness as a nation depends on it, our humanity depends on it, our art depends on it, and our future depends on it.” She said her own graduate school education was foundational to her career, and she still celebrates Thanksgiving every year with friends from her graduate school days.
Folt praised the staff and faculty who work with graduate students in the graduate school. That's because they are “committed to building community among the most disparate populations from our 491 programs.”
Graduate School Dean Andrew Stott unveiled a mural on his office wall celebrating a milestone for the City of Los Angeles and the University of Southern California Graduate School. “Our story is the story of our city. USC has developed advanced educational programs that serve the burgeoning legal, political, commercial, and creative infrastructure of a growing metropolis.” he said.
Mr. Stott also presented the Graduate School Centennial Award, given to an outstanding graduate, to alumnus Joycelyn Yip. Yip is a member of the Trojan Marching Band and has been involved in many activities, including from 2016 until 2020, when he served as past president of the University of Southern California Graduate Student Government. She earned her bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees at USC.
Reflecting on USC's past 100 years of graduate education, Professor Stott said: “Graduate education itself is always forward-looking, always optimistic that there is a new breakthrough, a new discovery, a new way of expressing the human condition just around the corner.”
100 years of USC Graduate School and beyond
1880
USC was founded with 53 students and 10 teachers.
1887
Future USC President George F. Bovard receives a Master of Arts degree, becoming USC's first graduate graduate.
1910
The Graduate School Council is established.
1918
Vada Somerville graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree and became the first black woman to receive a dental license in California. She later co-founded the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission and established the Pilgrim House Community Center, which was designed to support black families who immigrated to Los Angeles during World War II.
1923
A graduate school is established, and Rockwell Dennis Hunt is appointed its first dean. The Trojans form a graduate student alliance to increase spirit and unity among graduate students.
1927
USC awards its first doctoral degree to David Welty Lefever in the School of Education. Lefever's doctoral dissertation investigated “the prognostic value of specific groupings of test elements of the Thorndike Intelligence Test for high school graduates.”
1935
To commemorate its 25th anniversary, the Graduate School held a conference titled “Social Applications of Academic Scholarship,'' emphasizing the importance of graduate research as a public good.
1937
Emory S. Bogardus (1882-1973) is appointed dean of the graduate school. Bogardus joined the University of Southern California in 1915 as a professor of sociology. He developed the Bogardus Social Distance Scale, a principle of sociology. This scale is still used today to empirically measure people's willingness to engage in social contact with members of different racial and ethnic groups.
1939
Joseph Medicine Crow received a scholarship to earn a master's degree in anthropology, becoming the first member of Apsa Aluoke (Crow) to earn a graduate degree. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he was appointed tribal historian for the Apsaluk (Crow) Nation for over 50 years and published seminal and influential works on the history and culture of the Native Americans. Did. He received his honorary doctorate in 2003. In 2022, the International Public Affairs Center was named in honor of Dr. Joseph His Medicine Dr. Joseph His Crow.
1951
Corita Kent holds a master's degree in art history. Born Frances Elizabeth Kent and known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, she was an American artist, educator, and former religious sister. In the 1960s, her vivid serigraphs drew international acclaim and reflected her concerns about poverty, racism, and war. Her social comments, informed by her Kentish spirituality, promoted her love and tolerance.
1952
The National Science Foundation has launched a Graduate Research Fellowship Program to celebrate and support outstanding graduate students in STEM fields. Approximately 70 of his NSF fellows enroll at USC each year. Brian Leung PhD ’18, who received the fellowship in 2014, currently works at NSF. While attending the University of Southern California, Leung received funding to travel to Washington, D.C., to talk about his research with members of Congress who were wondering about the effects of air pollution. He explained the connection between pollution and Alzheimer's disease that USC researchers have been investigating. “I think in that moment, legislators understood the power of science and when the time came to vote, they supported science instead of against it,” he said.
1976
The Rockwell Dennis Hunt Scholastic Award was established to recognize current graduate students who have completed their undergraduate degrees at USC. To date, 47 of her students have received this award, including Joycelyn Yip's 15 years, master's degree 17 years, and Ph.D. 20 years. Yip, who served as president of USC's Graduate Student Government, said the Beyond the PhD Conference event hosted by the Graduate School and Career Center influenced her professional trajectory. This “highlights the strength of the Trojan family, and I was truly honored to be a part of it as an alumnus of hers.”
1988
The Dr. Rodolfo Montez Memorial Scholarship was established to recognize a University of Southern California graduate student with outstanding academic achievement and a history of involvement in the local Hispanic community. More than 500 students have received support so far.
1989
The Fellowship is established in memory of Theodore Shen Cheng (1902-1991) and his wife Wen Hui Cheng (1903-2010). Theodore and Wen Hui, originally from Fuzhou, China, both received their Ph.D.s from his USC. After graduating, Theodore Chen became the first professor of Chinese descent at the University of Southern California in 1939.
1993
Dean Barbara Solomon calls interdisciplinary graduate degrees “the wave of the future.” She cites the study of the environment, multiculturalism, communication, and international relations as particularly important for fostering cross-disciplinary discussions.
2007
For the first time, the number of graduate students enrolled at the University of Southern California (17,024) exceeds the number of undergraduate students (16,384).
2011
USC signs a memorandum of agreement with Taiwan's Ministry of Education to launch the USC Global Fellows Program.
2018
The USC Graduate Student Government will host the inaugural International Student Appreciation Week, aimed at highlighting the presence of international students in the graduate school community.
