The University of Southern California is a private institution located in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1880, USC is California's oldest private research university. The school has a total undergraduate enrollment of 18,300 and 20,600 graduate and professional students. It has a 226 acre urban campus and utilizes a semester-based academic calendar.

USC is comprised of the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and 17 graduate and professional schools. The university has a high level of research activity and receives millions in sponsored research. Its graduate programs include the highly ranked Marshall School of Business, Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering, Gould School of Law, Rossier School of Education, School of Social Work and Keck School of Medicine. USC is also well known for its Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and its highly esteemed School of Cinematic Arts, which has graduated students such as directors Judd Apatow and George Lucas. The university has establish many exchange programs with research and cultural institutions throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim. USC has the largest number of international students of any university in the United States.

The USC's central campus is called the University Park campus, and is located in Los Angeles's Downtown Arts and Education Corridor. The university has other campuses in the city as well as sites around Southern California and in Sacramento, Calif., and Washington. Students participate in the more than 700 on-campus organizations, ranging from religious groups to club sports. USC students are not required to live on campus, but the university offers housing in its 40 or so residence halls and apartment buildings. A thriving Greek life comprises more than 60 chapters representing more than 3,500 students. USC sponsors a variety of intercollegiate sports and competes in the NCAA Pacific-12 Conference. Members of the sports teams, the Trojans, have won 99 NCAA team championships, ranking them third in the nation, and 361 NCAA individual championships, ranking them second in the nation.