College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Southern California

CALarge private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #92 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A Los Angeles university ranked #92 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Southern California is a private nonprofit university in Los Angeles whose degree mix is led by Business, Visual & Performing Arts, and Social Sciences. Mobility is among the highest we track, and most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes the gap to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts, while the factors it measures adds to expected earnings.

Return is well above average, while the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools, so the raw and adjusted results pull in opposite directions. The price case turns on income: the lowest band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete below the overall rate, and access is among the highest we track, but affordability is below the levels seen at many peers. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and the largest departments are not the best-paid ones.

USC at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
9.8%
Six-year completion[2]
91.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$95,739

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,539
Median student debt[4]
$18,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$31,803

USC rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Southern California is a private nonprofit university in Los Angeles, California, enrolling 20,443 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university sits near the top of the composite ranking (94th percentile).

University of Southern California admits 9.8% of applicants, against a 47.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 95.9% return after the first year, against a peer median of 90.1%.

The six-year graduation rate is 91.8%, against a peer median of 80.0%. An estimated 27.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes only the first-time, full-time cohort.

Mobility is the strongest of the four (95th percentile), with access close behind (94th percentile). Return is next (89th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (22nd percentile).

The four pillars sit far apart, with mobility, access and return clustered near the top and affordability far below them.

Azimuth ranks University of Southern California #92 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's strongest pillar is mobility, where it sits in the 95th percentile, and its access pillar is also strong at the 94th percentile.

The return pillar lands in the 89th percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 22nd percentile, reflecting a high published cost of attendance that is only partially offset by institutional aid for many families.

22.2% of undergraduates at University of Southern California receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks University of Southern California #86 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 86.4%, 5.4 percentage points below the rate for the cohort as a whole. Azimuth ranks the university #70 for mobility. Graduates earn about $10,530 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

USC rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#92
California#27
West#32

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 95
Access & reach
National percentile: 94
Affordability
National percentile: 22
Return on investment
National percentile: 89

Top-ranked majors

  1. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering#1
  2. Fine and Studio Arts#1
  3. Real Estate#1

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / USC briefing

USC cost & financial aid[6][7]

University of Southern California publishes a cost of attendance of $90,300, an average across living arrangements. Its published tuition and fees are $72,097, and room and board are $19,931.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported sticker charges of $2,047 in required fees and $19,200 for on-campus food and housing for that academic year. After financial aid, the average net price for aid recipients is $32,740, a savings of $57,560 against the sticker price.

Aid covers about 64% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That sits below the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,471.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,100 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $13,516, reflecting a pricing structure where aid scales steeply with need.

University of Southern California publishes a cost of attendance of $90,300, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $72,097 and room and board are $19,931.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—varies sharply by family income. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $13,516; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) it is $19,539; and for families earning over $110,000 it is $56,116.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $42,600, a difference of averages that reflects the university's high-sticker, high-aid model. Azimuth ranks the university #1,100 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 64% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $57,560. The average net price across all aid recipients is $32,740, which sits below the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,471.

The sticker price is high, but the aid structure brings the net cost for lower- and middle-income families well below the published figure. The high-income band still faces a substantial average net price.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $18,000. That median sits below the peer median of $23,168 by $5,168, and about 84.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

For a graduate at the median four-year earnings, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $205 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS hold a separate median of $31,803.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,539

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at USC

Federal borrowing is widespread at University of Southern California: 84.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student debt is $18,000.

That median is $5,168 below the peer median of $23,168 for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $205 a month.

Parent borrowers are a separate population, with a median of $31,803 in Parent PLUS loans. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 34% of its 3,978 bachelor's graduates had borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative debt of $26,805 per borrower.

Of those graduates, 35% held federal loans averaging $16,568. Six percent held private loans averaging $65,401.

The University of Southern California's strongest pillar is mobility, where Azimuth ranks it #70 among nonprofit four-year institutions. On the return side, the median earnings four years after completion reach $95,739, placing in the 96th percentile.

Graduates earn about $10,530 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 17th percentile. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical earnings level of $95,739, with a downside scenario of $58,319 and an upside scenario of $134,498.

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median federal student debt of $18,000, which is below the $23,168 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $205.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $31,803. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $205.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$18,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$31,803

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$205/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$404/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / USC briefing

USC career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth ranks University of Southern California #158 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The return pillar sits in the 89th percentile nationally.

An earnings-beyond-expectations outcome in the 17th percentile nationally: graduates earn about $10,530 less than the model expects for similar students. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,545.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $20,075. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,409.

Median earnings four years after completion are $95,739 for working completers not enrolled, a level in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median runs above the peer median of $83,615 by $12,124 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

The University of Southern California's earnings picture is shaped by a large cohort of 5,232 federally aided completers, whose median earnings four years after completion reach $95,739. That figure sits in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions and is above the $83,615 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $12,124.

Graduates earn about $10,530 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 17th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, point to a typical outcome of $95,739, a lower-bound scenario of $58,319, and an upper-bound scenario of $134,498.

An estimated 29.4% of the programs' graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the program mix.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of University of Southern California graduates stand at $95,739, in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $83,615, placing the university above by $12,124.

Graduates earn about $10,530 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 17th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,545.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $20,075. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,409.

Azimuth ranks the university #158 for the return pillar among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $58,319 and an upside of $134,498.

The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 832 degrees and posts median earnings of $109,128; Azimuth ranks it #11 nationally in its field. Computer Science follows with 287 degrees awarded and median earnings of $192,897; Azimuth ranks it #15 in the field, and its earnings are 1.80x the national median for the field.

Communication and Media Studies produced 326 degrees and a median of $75,864, ranking #11 nationally. Computer Engineering reaches $166,369 with 45 degrees awarded.

Earnings at University of Southern California vary widely with program choice. The earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from a downside of $58,319 to an upside of $134,498, with a typical scenario of $95,739.

The upside scenario coincides with high earnings in programs such as Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $192,897 four years after completion, and Computer Engineering at $166,369. The downside scenario shows the lower-earning end of the program mix.

Graduates of University of Southern California earn about $10,530 less than the model expects for similar students. Yet the median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $18,000.

That figure is below the peer median of $23,168 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,168. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $205.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $31,803. The average net price for aid recipients is $32,740, which runs below the peer median of $36,211 by $3,471.

For families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $13,516; for those earning $30,001 to $48,000, it is $14,394. The spread between the lowest and highest income bands reaches $42,600.

The university's strongest pillar is mobility, where Azimuth ranks it in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That strength coincides with a six-year graduation rate of 91.8% and a Pell completion rate of 86.4%, which trails the overall rate by 5.4 percentage points.

These completion metrics, combined with debt levels below the peer median, show an institution where strong student outcomes coexist with borrowing that is lower than what comparable schools typically require.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$9,545
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$20,075
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$10,530

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / USC briefing

USC acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Southern California admitted 9.8% of applicants in the most recent cycle, a rate far below the median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 83,488 applicants, 9,345 admitted, and 3,759 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
9.8%
25th percentile
1470
Median
1510
75th percentile
1540

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / USC briefing

What are the largest majors at USC?[12]

Azimuth ranks 42 bachelor's programs at University of Southern California, and the highest-earning fields cluster in engineering and computing. Computer Science tops the list with a median of $192,897 four years after completion, alongside 287 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #15.

Computer Engineering follows at $166,369 on 45 degrees awarded. Among the university's largest programs, earnings spread widely.

Business Administration and Management, the biggest by degrees awarded at 832, shows a median of $109,128 and an Azimuth national rank of #11. Communication and Media Studies awards 326 degrees and reports $75,864, while Human Biology reaches $69,751 on 261 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth national rank of #3.

The university has 42 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with earnings data available for 50 fields. Its highest nationally ranked program is Fine and Studio Arts, which holds the #1 spot in its field and also ranks #1 in California.

It awarded 69 degrees, and graduates earn a median of $72,428 four years after completion. Business Administration and Management is the largest program by degrees awarded, with 832 degrees awarded and a national rank of #11; its graduates earn a median of $109,128.

Computer Science delivers the highest median earnings among the university's programs at $192,897, alongside 287 degrees awarded and a national rank of #15. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering ranks #1 nationally and #1 in California, with 49 degrees awarded and a median of $125,514.

University of Southern California awards bachelor's degrees across 42 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 50 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Business, which accounts for 21.7% of degrees awarded, followed by Visual & Performing Arts at 11.4% and Social Sciences at 11.3%.

The largest single programs are Business Administration and Management at 832 degrees awarded, Communication and Media Studies at 326, and Computer Science at 287. The highest-ranked program is Fine and Studio Arts, which awards 69 degrees a year with median earnings of $72,428 four years after completion.

Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering ranks #1 nationally and #1 in California within its field, with 49 degrees awarded and median earnings of $125,514. Real Estate also ranks #1 nationally and #1 in California within its field, awarding 41 degrees a year and earning a median of $143,977.

The highest-earning program is Computer Science, with a median of $192,897 four years out and a benchmark ratio of 1.80x against the national median for its field. Computer Engineering follows at $166,369 from 45 degrees a year.

Real Estate graduates earn $143,977 from 41 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of strength spread across fields rather than concentrated in a single family.

The largest programs in business and communication sit alongside highly ranked programs in engineering and business, and the best-paid programs are in engineering and computing. Across all fields, 24.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 832 degrees awarded
$109,128
Communication and Media Studies 326 degrees awarded
$75,864
Computer Science 287 degrees awarded
$192,897
Human Biology 261 degrees awarded
$69,751
Economics 210 degrees awarded
$94,435
Psychology, General 183 degrees awarded
$70,461

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / USC briefing

How does USC serve students from different backgrounds?

On mobility, Azimuth assigns University of Southern California a rank of #70 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The pillar sits in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The first-time full-time cohort graduates at a rate of 91.8% within six years; Pell recipients finish at 86.4%, which sits below the overall rate by 5.4 percentage points. Four years after completion, graduates earn about $10,530 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 17th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of University of Southern California in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university admits 9.8% of applicants, a rate far below the peer median of 47.1%, and enrolls 20,443 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients account for 22.2% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 27.8% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / USC briefing

What colleges are similar to USC?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with USC.

Admissions peerClaremont McKenna College9.6% admitted
Comparison with USC
MeasureUSCClaremont McKenna College
Peer earnings · 4 years$95,739$110,798+$15,059 vs USC
Average annual net price$32,740$28,849-$3,891 vs USC · lower cost
Admission rate9.8%9.6%
Explore Claremont McKenna College →
Higher-admission alternativePepperdine University62.9% admitted
Comparison with USC
MeasureUSCPepperdine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$95,739$84,459-$11,280 vs USC
Average annual net price$32,740$58,098+$25,358 vs USC · higher cost
Admission rate9.8%62.9%
Explore Pepperdine University →
Nearby alternativePepperdine UniversityNearby option · CA
Comparison with USC
MeasureUSCPepperdine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$95,739$84,459-$11,280 vs USC
Average annual net price$32,740$58,098+$25,358 vs USC · higher cost
Admission rate9.8%62.9%
Explore Pepperdine University →
Higher-earnings alternativeHarvey Mudd College$137,100 earnings
Comparison with USC
MeasureUSCHarvey Mudd College
Peer earnings · 4 years$95,739$137,100+$41,361 vs USC
Average annual net price$32,740$35,924+$3,184 vs USC · higher cost
Admission rate9.8%12.7%
Explore Harvey Mudd College →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of California-San Diego$12,470 average net price
Comparison with USC
MeasureUSCUniversity of California-San Diego
Peer earnings · 4 years$95,739$83,130-$12,609 vs USC
Average annual net price$32,740$12,470-$20,270 vs USC · lower cost
Admission rate9.8%26.7%
Explore University of California-San Diego →
Similar profileBrigham Young UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with USC
MeasureUSCBrigham Young University
Peer earnings · 4 years$95,739$77,018-$18,721 vs USC
Average annual net price$32,740$15,564-$17,176 vs USC · lower cost
Admission rate9.8%67.8%
Explore Brigham Young University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings