Student Support

Helping To Make Their Dream A Reality

Did you know that many of our country's most creative and academically gifted students lack the financial resources to attend college, and therefore consider a prestigious private institution such as USC to be completely out of reach?

The rising costs of an exceptional education, coupled with diminished state and federal financial aid resources, make financing college a serious concern for many potential film, television, and interactive students. What is more, each and every one of our students, no matter the degree track or specialization, receives hands-on experience in the filmmaking process by the time he or she graduates from USC. Unlike other institutions, the school makes every effort to underwrite the greater part of these costs, which adds significantly to the financial burden faced by our program. With undergraduate tuition, on-campus housing, books, supplies, and minimal personal expenses averaging more than $46,000 per year, scholarship support can make a tremendous difference in a future artist's, executive's, or scholar's life.

Ongoing support from parents, alumni, and other friends not only stimulates curricular innovation and industry involvement, but also enables USC students and faculty to conduct trail-blazing research in such cutting-edge areas as large-format animation, interactive and high-definition television, multimedia, virtual reality, and advanced imaging techniques for special effects, animation, and graphics.

Scholarships have been established at the school by such prestigious organizations as Creative Artists Agency, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, NBC, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Warner Bros., and William Morris Agency. Scholarships have also been created to honor some of the industry's most influential figures, including James Bridges, Gary Cooper, George Cukor, Rock Hudson, Jack Nicholson, Mary Pickford, Jay Roach, and Ray Stark. Many of these funds have been directed toward specific areas of interest, such as writing, directing, project finishing funds—or to foster a more diverse student body.

Endowing a fund for student support is one of the most distinguished and permanent forms of philanthropy, immortalizing the namesake while ensuring the continued support of students far into the future.

No fixed formula governs the structuring of a gift. With the creation today of an initial endowed gift, a donor and/or his or her estate can add to the fund or redirect the purpose of the fund in the future. A gift may comprise appreciated securities, real estate, trust instruments, or a combination of devices that best suits the donor's needs. While the profile and precise contours of a gift are a matter of the donor's discretion, the school's development staff can assist in structuring a gift to take maximum advantage of the benefits afforded by a pledge paid over a period of three to five years.

For more information, or to make a contribution toward student support, please feel free to contact us at 213.740.2804.