UCLA vs USC

Choosing the right university plays an important role in every student’s life who wants to study abroad. When it comes to the universities in USA, choices are unlimited with the best student cities offering advanced degree programs. Among these student cities is the Hollywood town of Los Angeles. In LA, two cross-town rivals- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC) are always the top 2 choices when it comes to Indian students. Both universities rank highly and offer similar courses. So which one is the perfect pick for you? This blog brings you all the information about UCLA vs USC to help you in making the right decision!

Basis	UCLA	USC
Founded	23 May, 1919	6 October, 1880
Popular Courses	Political science Economics Chemistry Earth sciences Physics	BusinessManagementMarketing and Related Support ServicesSocial SciencesVisual and Performing ArtsEngineering
Application fee	$70	$85
Acceptance Rate	12.3%	11.4%
International students	33%	25.4 %

UCLA vs USC: Overview

University of California -Los Angeles is a public university founded in 1919. UCLA is an internationally renowned research university. Students can take part in initiatives in the arts, stem cells,international studies, and the environment among other areas. The campus community is diverse and promotes creative achievements, debate and critical inquiry etc.

University of Southern California is a private university which was founded in 1880. USC provides undergraduates with an extraordinary range of academic programs and encourages study and research across disciplines. This wideness of programs means that students can combine both strong liberal arts and professional studies.

UCLA vs USC: Ranking 

Ranking is the first thing that comes to mind while comparing any two universities. Many organizations rank universities all around the world. Here is the comparison of UCLA vs USC.

Rankings	UCLA	USC
Times Higher Education USA 2021	12th	43rd
US News 2021	13th	51st
Qs World Universities Ranking 2022	40th	112nd
National Universities USA	20th	24th

When it comes to ranking, the rankings clearing indicate UCLA is a better university in the UCLA vs USC race.

UCLA vs USC: Popular Courses 

UCLA offers more than 300 undergraduate and postgraduate programs to international students. One of the best Public Ivy’s in the USA, UCLA offers courses in the following departments:-

Undergraduate	Postgraduate
College of Letters and Science	Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
Social Sciences Division	School of Law
Humanities Division	Anderson School of Management
Physical Sciences Division	Luskin School of Public Affairs
Life Sciences Division	David Geffen School of Medicine
School of the Arts and Architecture	School of Dentistry
Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences	Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health
Herb Alpert School of Music	Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour
School of Theatre, Film and Television	School of Nursing
School of Nursing
Luskin School of Public Affairs

USC has been declared as R1: Doctoral Universities- Very high research activity. USC has 23 schools, colleges and departments that offer various undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral courses and they have been listed below:-

• USC Dana and David Dornife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
• USC Leventhal School of Accounting 
• USC School of Architecture 
• USC Roski School of Art and Design 
• USC Iovine and Young Academy of Art, Technology and Business
• USC Marshall School of Business
• USC School of Cinematic Arts
• USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism 
• USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance 
• USC Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
• USC School of Dramatic Arts
• USC Rossier School of Education
• USC Viterbi School of Engineering 
• USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
• USC Gould School of Law
• Keck School of Medicine of USC
• USC Thornton School of Music
• USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
• USC School of Pharmacy
• Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy 
• USC Bovard College of Professional Studies 
• USC Sol Price School of Public Policy 
• USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work 

UCLA vs USC: Application Requirements

UCLA and USC both offer a variety of courses in almost all fields of education- commerce, business, science, technology, medicine, arts and humanities. Before you make a choice in the UCLA vs USC race, make sure that your preferred course is available at one of these universities. You should also check the eligibility requirements to know whether you satisfy the minimum criteria to join either UCLA or USC. We’ve provided the minimum requirements to you in the table below:-

Criteria	UCLA	USC
Grade 12th	94%	94%
Graduation (for post graduation courses)	83%	83%
GMAT	713	745
TOEFL	77	90
IELTS	7	6.8
SAT	1335	1400
ACT	32	32

UCLA vs USC: Cost Of Studying

Studying in the USA can be a really expensive affair for Indian students, especially in the city of LA where the cost of living is higher than a lot of student cities around the world. UCLA vs USC? Let’s have a look at which university is cheaper for Indian students:-

Type of Expense	UCLA (INR)	USC (INR)
Tuition Fees of UG Program per year	31.7 lakhs	43.7 lakhs
Tuition Fees of PG Program per year	25-48 lakhs	24.7-49 lakhs
Hostel+Meals per year	25.11 lakhs	29.36 lakhs

The cost of living in Los Angeles while studying at both universities- UCLA and USC are similar. You can check your personalised living expenses through Leverage Edu’s cost of living calculator!

UCLA vs USC: Campus Life

While you spend 4 to 6 hours in classes, you spend the rest of the time on-campus. This is why a comfortable campus life plays a major role in an international student’s life. In the UCLA vs USC comparison, campus life is a must discussion. 

UCLA campus is located in the neighbourhoods of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills and Westwood. Roman architecture gives the university an old-school English appearance. The Student Affairs continuously strives to make the student community at UCLA more comfortable, active and accepting of different races. UCLA has various co-curricular activities like cheerleading, sports, athletics, music and dance. UCLA has over 1400 student organisations ensuring that student communities are involved in the campus activities. UCLA also has strict safety policies for students so that UCLA becomes a home away from home for various international students. 

Fun Fact: SRK’s My Name Is Khan was shot at the UCLA campus!

Campus life at USC is touted to encompass global culture. USC has more than 22 libraries in their two traditional American campuses- University Park Campus and Health Sciences Campus. Facilities for volleyball, basketball, football, aerobics, hip-hop, swimming, yoga, dance, fitness walking, water jogging, etc are available at the USC campuses. USC has more than 850 student organisations working towards personal development, leadership and other such soft skills. USC’s student community is allowed to participate in exclusive film and television premieres. 

This was all about USC vs UCLA. We hope that this blog covered all the major differences between USC and UCLA. Still confused and want to clear your personal doubts regarding the top destinations to study abroad? Call Leverage Edu uni-buddies at 1800-572-000 and book your first counselling session for free!