About My College - USC

Los Angeles was a rough-and-tumble frontier town in the early 1870s, when a group of public-spirited citizens led by Judge Robert Maclay Widney first dreamed of establishing a university in the region. It took nearly a decade for this vision to become a reality, but in 1879 Widney formed a board of trustees and secured a donation of 308 lots of land from three prominent members of the community – Ozro W. Childs, a Protestant horticulturist; former California governor John G. Downey, an Irish-Catholic pharmacist and businessman; and Isaias W. Hellman, a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist.

When USC first opened its doors to 53 students and 10 teachers in 1880, the city still lacked paved streets, electric lights, telephones and a reliable fire alarm system. Today, USC is home to more than 33,000 students and nearly 3,200 full-time faculty.

The founding of USC was made possible through a collaboration of civic leaders who provided both land and financial backing, establishing the foundation for what would become one of the nation’s leading private research universities.

USC’s Olympic participation began in 1904 when Emil Breitkreutz ’06 became the first Trojan to compete in the Games. Since then, USC has produced more Olympians and medalists than any other U.S. university.

USC’s star-studded Olympic roster includes hundreds of athletes representing dozens of countries.

USC has a long history of supporting the armed forces, including ROTC programs, veteran scholarships, and specialized academic programs designed to assist service members transitioning to civilian careers.