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The University of Southern California Student to Faculty Ratio & Faculty Composition

Does USC have a good student to faculty ratio?

Get a feel for student life at USC by checking out the information on classes and faculty below.

Student to Faculty Ratio is Well Above Average

Student to faculty ratio is a common metric used to gauge the number of teaching resources a school provides for its students. With 9 students for every one instructional faculty member, University of Southern California ranks among the best colleges when compared to the national average of 15.

Instructional Staff at the College

The following table shows all the employees the school considers instructional, and therefore, part of the above student-to-faculty ratio. These include both those employees designated as either "primarily instructional" or as "instructional combined with research/public service". It does not include employees that have been identified by University of Southern California as primarily performing research or public service.

TotalFull TimePart TimePercent Full Time
Total of Instructional Employees3,3902,1131,27762.3%
Total of Those With Faculty Status3,3902,1131,27762.3%
Tenured Faculty956956-100.0%
On Tenure Track250250-100.0%
Not on Tenure Track2,1849071,27741.5%
Without Faculty Status----
Graduate Assistants661-661-

Above Average Use of Full-Time Teachers

University of Southern California has more full-time teachers than the average school, with 62.0% of instructors teaching full time.

Below Average Reliance on Part-Time Teachers

At University of Southern California , only 38.0% of the teaching staff are part-time non-faculty or non-tenure track faculty. This use of adjuncts is low, below the national average of 51.4%, which could be indicative of University of Southern California's commitment to building a strong, long-term instructional team.

Colleges often use part-time professors and adjuncts to teach courses, rather than full-time faculty. This hiring practice is primarily a way to save money amid increasingly tight budgets. However, it is a controversial practice with strong views on either side. We encourage you to understand this topic more deeply, and how the colleges you are interested in approach faculty hiring. It's your education and your money on the line. Make sure you know what you are getting for it.

Additional Information

You May End Up Getting Taught by a Grad Assistant

University of Southern California has 661 instructional graduate assistants that teach or provide teaching-related duties. These responsibilities could range from entirely teaching lower-level courses themselves, to assisting professors by developing teaching materials, preparing or giving exams and grading student work. We suggest you ask the college to what extent graduate assistants are relied on for instruction, so you know what you are paying for.

Additionally, the school has 1,008 non-instructional graduate assistants.

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