Current USC Students
Only students currently enrolled in a Masters or Doctoral degree at USC are considered ‘current USC students.’
Graduate Certificate Admissions - USC Students
Dates and Deadlines
Applications must be received before Final Examinations of the semester in which the student will complete the certificate and/or combined master’s degree.
Students are considered for admission once they have enrolled in or completed at least one qualifying course listed in the “Required and Elective Courses” dropdown of their desired Graduate Certificate program. If you’ve already completed units toward the certificate program as part of your graduate degree, you may apply to the Certificate program. Be sure to carefully read “Combining your current USC program with the graduate certificate” if you are nearing graduation from your primary USC degree.
Combining Your Current USC Program with the Graduate Certificate
The graduate certificate may be completed in conjunction with coursework required for the program in which the student is already enrolled. Applicability of these courses to the student's primary degree program is determined by the student's home department. Current USC MBA students may apply all units of their graduate certificate program to their MBA degree.
While we recommend you apply to the certificate in conjunction with registration for classes which will apply to the certificate, note that we can apply prior coursework completed in your primary graduate degree retroactively toward the certificate if your primary degree has not yet been awarded.
If your primary degree at USC is awarded prior to completion of the certificate, it’s no longer possible to overlap units and you will be required to complete 15 unique units for the certificate.
Note: conferral of the certificate and documentation on the transcript requires that the individual formally apply to the program and be admitted.
Prerequisite Coursework
| Program | Prerequisite Coursework |
|---|---|
| Business Analytics | GSBA 506A/b, GSBA 545, GSBA 524 or equivalent graduate level statistics course. If you have not taken a prior 500-level statistics course, you must begin the certificate program with GSBA 545 during the Fall semester. |
| Marketing | GSBA 509, GSBA 509a, GSBA 528, or equivalent graduate level marketing course. If you have not taken a prior 500-level marketing course, you must begin the certificate program with GSBA 528 during Fall semester. |
| Financial Analysis and Valuation | GSBA 548 or prior 500-level corporate finance course. |
| Strategy and Management Consulting | No Prerequisite Requirement. |
| Sustainability and Business | No Prerequisite Requirement. |
| Optimization and Supply Chain Management | No Prerequisite Requirement. |
| Technology Commercialization | No Prerequisite Requirement. |
| Product Management | No Prerequisite Requirement. |
| Risk Management | No Prerequisite Requirement. |
Application
Applications for the Graduate Certificate programs can be submitted via the form below.
The application will take about 5 minutes to complete. We recommend that you complete the application on your computer in one sitting. Once submitted, you may not edit your application. If you have any questions about this application or your application status, please email gradcert@marshall.usc.edu.
Students who submit their application to a Graduate Certificate should expect to receive a decision within one week of submission.
If you have question or would like to know the status of your application, please email gradcert@marshall.usc.edu. Please include your name, USC ID number, and certificates you are interested in pursuing.