Summer Start students can take one or two classes. The options are: a) one course in either Session 1 or Session 2 or b) one course in Session 1 and one course in Session 2. If you plan to do one course in each session, make sure that the course days and times do not conflict with each other.

All international students are required to enroll in either (1) full-time for 8 units OR (2) part-time for 4 units plus apply for Reduced Course Load.

For degrees from domestic institutions

Students must submit official transcripts to the Registrar’s office. There are 2 options for submission.

• Mail a paper copy of the official transcript to the following address:

USC Degree Verification
C/O The Degree Progress Department
University of Southern California
University Park Campus
700 Childs Way, John Hubbard Hall 106
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0912

• Electronic transcripts sent through email attachments from issuing institutions may be received by USC if sent to etrans@usc.edu. 

See the website for more instructions

For degrees from international institutions

Students will need to obtain a “Certification of Studies for USC” from the International Education Research Foundation (IERF).* This service is not offered on campus. You will need to send IERF your original documents for inspection, but in most (though not all) cases, your prior institution will  not need to send IERF independent verification. When your verification is complete, IERF will mail your documents back to you. 

See the website for more instructions

Deadline for both types of degree verification is by the end of the semester when you were admitted.

Review reduced course load (RCL)  guidance and policies in the Office of International Students website. When you are ready to submit follow the steps below:

1. Viterbi graduate students must submit the online Viterbi RCL form.
2. Viterbi Admission & Student Engagement (VASE) reviews the RCL form and notifies students of the decision via email.
3. VASE’s RCL decision will automatically be routed to OIS for final review and approval.

An ADM40 is a degree verification hold. All graduate students must verify that they have been awarded a bachelor’s-level degree from an accredited institution in the United States or an equivalent degree from an institution outside the United States. An ADM40 hold will allow you to register for courses.

You can find more information regarding degree verification on the USC Degree Progress website.

ISE and ITA Exam: The International Student English (ISE) Exam and International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Exam are free placement exams given to assess the English proficiency of international students at USC.

To find out if you are required to take the exams, check your letter of admission or I-20. Registrations are open now! After you sign up, you will receive more detailed instructions regarding taking the exams online. Students are either released from any ALI requirement (ALI 01 hold) or receive an ALI placement based on the exam results.

Please click the links for ISE and ITA exam registration and instructions. You may also contact askali@usc.edu for your questions.

All international students are required to enroll in either:

• full-time for 8 units OR
• part-time for 4 units plus apply for Reduced Course Load.

Tuition Refund Insurance is an optional insurance that students may purchase for a small fee during fall, spring and summer terms. It provides a refund of tuition and fees to a student who must withdraw from all classes due to an illness or accidental injury.

By default, at the time you register, Web Registration will enroll you in Tuition Refund Insurance. During the fall and spring semesters, the Web Registration system automatically enrolls students in Tuition Refund Insurance.

You may decline Tuition Refund Insurance up until the end of week three of the semester by clicking on the Tuition Refund Insurance button in Web Registration and selecting the Opt Out button  and update. If you decide before the 3rd week of classes that you want Tuition Refund Insurance, you can follow the same process to purchase tuition refund insurance.

You are not automatically enrolled in Student Health Insurance for the Summer semester. If you would like to enroll for health insurance during the Summer semester contact USC Student Health at studenthealth@usc.edu.

All graduate students must complete two online learning modules designed to provide knowledge and skills on the critical topics of sexual assault prevention and campus safety in order to register in future terms at USC.

https://studentaffairs.usc.edu/prevention-education-requirements/