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As you learn more about Dornsife, there’s one word you’re bound to hear over and over again: interdisciplinary. As the heart of USC and the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Dornsife hosts a variety of different majors and minors that tend to come together in interesting and unique ways. This is what being ‘interdisciplinary’ means. It means having a host of options open to you at any given moment, each providing an excellent education in its respective field. And as a Physics/Computer Science major, minoring in Russian, I can most definitely attest to this fact. 

As a young girl, I always knew I wanted to major in physics. I had been passionate about the sciences, and once I had a name for the particular science I was interested in, you could not pull me away. So, applying to USC, I applied as a Physics major, considering a potential double major in Computer Science. But, upon acceptance and further research, I discovered a secondary option: the Physics/Computer Science dual degree. So, I emailed my advisor, asking her about the difference between double majoring and the dual degree, trying to decide which would be right for me. And, considering the difficulty of each of these two majors on their own, I decided on a Physics/Computer Science dual degree. What this means is that I study in the physics department, as a Physics student, but take classes in the Viterbi Computer Science department alongside my regular Dornsife classes (about 60% physics, 40% computer science). I remember thinking that this was a very unique combination of majors, one that most other universities don’t seem to have. And yet, if we consider what is at the heart of both of these, we’ll find problem-solving is the common factor. Whether writing an algorithm to complete a given task, or calculating the electric field of a charged sphere, I am able to approach problem-solving through various directions, providing me a solid base of information that opens up a plethora of job opportunities in the future. 

And, taking further advantage of Dornsife’s interdisciplinary nature, I added on a Russian minor (a process as easy as sending one email to the Russian advisor). As a heritage-Russian speaker who has forgotten most of the language, Dornsife’s foreign language requirement reminded me of what I loved about the Russian language, connecting me with a past I had long forgotten. So I added the minor, hoping not only to relearn what was once my first language, but to help me in my dream career, working as a scientist in the government. 

One of the hardest aspects of college life is often the task of picking out your class schedule and charting your own personalized four-year academic path. The long list of available courses alone can seem daunting and even overwhelming, especially for a freshman experiencing the process for the first time. Luckily, as a student at USC Dornsife, you have access to a great team of academic advisors who are ready to work with you and develop a plan that fits your personal goals. Dornsife students are assigned an advisor for each major and minor they declare; as a double major in political science and French, I got to work with two advisors, each of whom specialized in offering advice and support in their respective departments. Before registering for classes each semester, I scheduled a meeting with my advisors to examine class options, to review my degree progress, or even simply to discuss any concerns I had about my academic experience thus far.