Welcome to the Thornton School of Music Graduate Certificate program! Along with information to help you get settled in the School of Music, this page contains information about your program requirements and registration.
Your home department corresponds with your primary instrument.
Classical Guitar
Prof. Scott Tennant, Chair
tennant@usc.edu
JiEun Park, Coordinator
jiepark@usc.edu
RHM 104 – 213-740-7702
Early Music
Dr. Adam Gilbert, Director
akgilber@usc.edu
Gordon LaCross, Coordinator
lacross@usc.edu
MUS 315 – 213-740-7416
Jazz Studies
Prof. Jason Goldman, Chair
jasonmgo@usc.edu
Jullanar Gamboa, Program Assistant
contemporary.music@usc.edu
TMC 118 – 213-740-3224
Keyboard Studies
Dr. Alan Smith (piano), Chair
alansmit@usc.edu
Dr. Ladd Thomas (organ), Chair
laddthom@usc.edu
Kyle Shafiee, Division Manager and Coordinator
shafiee@usc.edu
RHM 104 – 213-740-7703
Strings
Dr. Lina Bahn, Chair
lbahn@usc.edu
JiEun Park, Coordinator
jiepark@usc.edu
RHM 104 – 213-740-7702
Studio/Jazz Guitar
Prof. Nick Stoubis, Chair
stoubis@usc.edu
Darro Chea, Coordinator
dchea@usc.edu
TMC 118B – 213-740-3224
Vocal Arts
Dr. Lisa Sylvester, Chair
sylveste@usc.edu
Kyle Shafiee, Division Manager and Coordinator
shafiee@usc.edu
RHM 104 – 213-740-7703
Winds and Percussion
Professor Sharon Lavery
lavery@usc.edu
Gordon LaCross, Coordinator
lacross@usc.edu
MUS 315 – 213-740-7416
Academic Advisors
Daniel Andrade is the academic advisor for Strings and Winds and Percussion. He can be reached at daniela0@usc.edu.
Dr. Viet Bui is the academic advisor for Early Music, Jazz Studies, Studio/Jazz Guitar, and Vocal Arts. He can be reached at vietbui@usc.edu.
Nancy Wong is the academic advisor for Classical Guitar, KCA, Organ, and Piano. She can be reached at nanwong@usc.edu.
Requirements List
Familiarize yourself with your degree requirements.
Graduate Certificate in Performance Curriculum
Graduate Certificate in Performance Ensemble Requirements List
The Graduate Certificate Performance Course (554) encompasses 2 units of individual instruction in the primary instrument, studio class, and 2 units of ensembles or the equivalent as appropriate to the discipline. Students in this program will register for the one 4-unit 554 course; they will not register for separate courses for lessons and ensembles. The departmental coordinator will keep track of which ensembles Graduate Certificate students are participating in each semester. Therefore, students’ grades will be computed as an average of their grades for participation in their lessons and ensembles. See the link above for a list of appropriate ensemble options by major.
Students in this program will not be allowed to register for anything above and beyond the 4-unit 554 course. The only exception to this rule is that international students who are participating in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) will be required to register for at least one unit of MUSC 598 course as part of their CPT participation. If this applies to you, ask your advisor for a copy of the appropriate course contract.
Registration
You will be receiving an email from your assigned academic advisor at your USC email account with information on registration. Once you receive this email, you will be able to register for your GCRT performance course for the coming semester as long as you do not have a hold on your account and are able to log into Web Registration on your myUSC portal.