Los Angeles was little more than a frontier town in 1880 when the University of Southern California first opened its doors to 53 students and 10 teachers. Today it is a world-class research university, the oldest private research university in the West.

The University Park Campus of the University of Southern California, located in the heart of Los Angeles' Downtown Arts and Education Corridor, is home to the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and many professional schools. The Health Sciences Campus, to the northeast of downtown Los Angeles, is home to the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, the School of Pharmacy, three major teaching hospitals and programs in Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. This California college also has programs and centers in Marina Del Rey, Orange County, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., Catalina Island, Alhambra and around Southern California. Children's Hospital Los Angeles is staffed by University of Southern California faculty from the Keck School of Medicine and is often referred to as the third campus of this California college.

Under the leadership of the 10th president of University of Southern California, this California college has become world-renowned in the fields of communication and multimedia technologies, has received national acclaim for its innovative community outreach programs and has solidified its status as one of the nation's leading research universities.