Welcome to USC Thornton!

close

Congratulations on your recent admission to the USC Thornton School of Music!
We are excited about your admission and we look forward to personally welcoming you to the Thornton School in August.

Letter of Admission and YouSC Portal

USC issues Letters of admission electronically via a secure portal called YouSC. To view your admission letter, you must create an account (register) on the YouSC portal, then log-in. Note that the YouSC login is not the same as your application log-in credentials. If you do not see your admission letter in the YouSC portal right away, please be patient, it may take 2-4 business days for it to appear.

Be sure to print your admission letter and also save a copy to your computer. Admission letters are only available via the YouSC portal for a few months. Once the letters are removed from the portal, they are no longer available, so it is very important to save a copy of your letter now.

Read your letter of admission carefully. If the second page of your letter indicates that you have “continuing registration requirements,” you must satisfy them as stated in the letter. (For example, you may need to verify your previous degree, or your department may require you to complete a project or maintain a specified grade point average.) If you have questions about these requirements, you may contact Thornton Admission and Student Affairs, or speak to your academic advisor when you meet before fall classes begin.

Statement of Intent and Commitment Deposit – Deadline April 15, 2026*

Please communicate your plans to us through the online Statement of Intent form. 

• To accept the offer of admission, submit the statement of intent form and pay the $500 deposit via YouSC.
  Note that the $500 deposit is waived for Teaching Assistants.
• To decline the offer of admission, indicate your decision via the statement of intent form in YouSC.

* Applicants admitted after April 15 may be assigned a later commitment deadline. Please abide by the deadline listed in the e-mail you received from Thornton Admission.

USC Graduate Welcome Website

Please visit the Graduate Welcome Website to find information on a variety of important topics including financial aid, housing, orientation, immunization requirements, tuition and fee payment methods, prior degree verification, and more. 
International Student Grad Welcome Page
Domestic Student Welcome Page 

Be sure to click “Next Steps” on the welcome website to ensure that you complete the steps necessary to enroll at the university. (Exceptions:  you’ll register for classes during or soon after Thornton’s Graduate Orientation session, and you can’t pay your tuition until after registration – all other items on the checklist should be completed before orientation.)

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and Fees for USC Thornton programs are different than most other programs at USC. Please be aware that the cost of attendance figures you find on the Financial Aid website and in your Financial Aid Summary may not accurately reflect the actual tuition and fees for your program. In particular, MM and DMA students in Jazz and Classical Performance, Music Teaching and Learning, Early Music, Choral and Sacred Music, and Music Composition should note that the most accurate representation of tuition and fees for Thornton Graduate Students can be found on our website. Please refer to the tuition and fee estimates posted on the Thornton website for the most accurate information. (scroll to the bottom of the page to “tuition and fee estimates”)

Please be aware that the tuition and fees listed in the FAST portal and on the USC Financial Aid website may not match the actual cost of attendance for Thornton students.

Financial Aid

Thornton Merit Aid: Scholarships and Assistantships

• Scholarship and TA award notifications are sent by April 1, or within about 2 weeks of the admission notification.
• International and Domestic students in all eligible programs are automatically considered for scholarship funding – a scholarship application is not required. 
• Assistantships for 2026-2027 have been awarded. Click here for full details about Thornton Assistantships. 

Financial Aid: Student Loans And Work-Study

• Domestic Students (US Citizens and Permanent Residents) are eligible for student loans and work-study funding through the USC Financial Aid Office. 
• Use the FAST portal to monitor your financial aid status, submit documents, request loans, and communicate with the Financial Aid Office.
• Direct Stafford Loan funding up to $20,500 per year is available.
• Additional loan funding may be available through private lenders such as your own bank or credit union, the USC Credit Union, or through the private financing options listed on the USC Financial Aid website.
• Be aware that the US Department of Education, under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), has made significant changes to graduate loan funding. Graduate Plus Loans are no longer available to students beginning a new graduate program in fall 2026. We encourage students to review the detailed breakdown of changes to student aid funding under the OBBBA located on the USC Financial Aid website.
• Work-study funding allows students to apply for on-campus jobs. Pay starts at about $17.00 per hour, and students are limited to working 20 hours per week. Many offices and departments in the Thornton School and across USC offer work-study positions. Students can apply for work-study jobs in the fall. 
• Need-based grants are not available to graduate students.
• Details and Financial Aid application instructions are available on the USC Financial Aid website.
• Graduate Financial Aid packages are released during the summer, only to applicants who have accept the offer of admission.
• Graduate students will not receive their financial aid package before the commitment deadline.

USC Graduate Housing

If you are interested in living in USC housing, we encourage you to apply early as graduate housing tends to fill quickly. You’ll be eligible to apply for housing 24 hours after you submit your statement of intent through the YouSC portal. There are some accommodations reserved especially for Thornton Graduate Students – Click here for details.
Information about all other USC housing options can be found on the USC Housing Website.

Off-Camus Housing (not owned or managed by USC) is available in the USC neighborhood and around greater Los Angeles. To locate housing near USC, do an online search for “apartments near USC, Los Angeles” or “Apartments in University Park, Los Angeles.”
USC Housing also provides an online listing of non-USC-owned housing: Off-Campus Housing Listing Service

USC Thornton Orientation, Advisement, & Course Registration 

New students are required to attend two orientation sessions, both will take place online in August 2026:
1. USC’s General Graduate Student Orientation Session. Follow the link for more information.
2. Thornton Graduate Student Orientation session.
At Thornton’s Graduate Student Orientation Session, new students will meet their academic advisor, receive information about their curriculum and degree requirements, and will learn how to register for classes.

Music Graduate Entrance Exams (MGEEs) for master’s and doctoral students will be administered online for the most part, on August 13-14, 2026. Piano Literature and Choral Conducting exams will be administered in-person on August 18. The Instrumental Conducting exam requires an online video submission, which is due August 18. These entrance exams are not part of the admission process, but are required of students entering a graduate degree program in the Thornton School in order to assess their background knowledge in core music subjects. Follow the link above for details. 
Students in Screen Scoring, Music Industry, Arts Leadership, as well as Graduate Certificate and Artist Diploma students do not take MGEEs.

Detailed information about orientation, academic advisement, registration, MGEEs, and other important items will be provided separately, via our “New Student Information Website” to applicants who accept the offer of admission and choose to enroll at USC Thornton. A link to that information will be sent starting in mid-April to all students who accept the offer of admission. Additional details related to orientation, advisement, and registration will be emailed to students in July. 

Important Dates

For planning purposes, please make a note of the following.
Specific dates and times for most items will be provided after May 1 to students who accept the offer of admission.

• USC General Graduate Student Orientation will be held online. Information will be sent from the office of Orientation Programs in July- August 2026.
• Thornton Orientation and Registration (online) – August 2026, specific date and time TBA.
  • Information about orientation and registration will be provided to new students in July so they can prepare for orientation and registration sessions which will take place online in August.
• In-person welcome events and departmental meetings – August 17 – 21.
• Arts Leadership Intensive – August 17– 21. For Arts Leadership students only.
• Departmental Activities for Screen Scoring students – will be scheduled during the week of August 17-21. Screen Scoring students will receive information directly from the Screen scoring department when plans are finalized.
• Fall Deadline to register and pay tuition: Friday, August 21 at 5:00 p.m. (orientation and academic advisement will be scheduled in advance of the deadline)
• First day of Fall Classes: Monday August 24.
• The full academic calendar can be found on the USC website.

Connect With Us!

Online Information Sessions for Admitted Students

Join Kit Bellamy, Associate Director of Graduate Admission to learn more about USC Thornton graduate programs, curricula, cost of attendance, financial aid, housing and more. A brief slide deck will be presented at most sessions; attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions. Dates and times listed below are in the Pacific Standard Time-Zone. (Helpful time zone conversion tool here).
Pre-registration is required – Click the session you’d like to attend below and complete the brief registration form.

MM Students in Performance (Classical and Jazz)
Tuesday March 24, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST

Screen Scoring
Tuesday March 24, 3:00 – 4:00 PM PST
Co-hosted by Jeanine Cowen, Screen Scoring Program Director, and Kit Bellamy

MS Music Industry
Monday March 30, 4:00 – 5:00 PM PST
Featuring representatives from the Music Industry Department and current students.

“Office Hours” Drop-In Sessions (No formal agenda, join any time)
Thursday March 26, 5:00-6:00 PM PST
Wednesday April 8, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Informal drop-in sessions open to all admitted graduate applicants. Join any time.

DMA Students (All programs)
Wednesday April 1, 12:00 – 1:00 PM PST

Arts Leadership
Friday April 3, 12:00 – 1:00 PM PST
Co-hosted by Angelica Cortez, Arts Leadership Program Director, and Kit Bellamy

If you don’t see a session for your program, or if you can’t make it to any of the scheduled sessions, reach out to us directly.

---

Experience the Thornton School

If you’re in Southern California, consider attending a Thornton concert or performance event. Upcoming concerts and events are listed on Thornton’s online Events Calendar.

Attend a Performance

Upcoming Events

Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Questions? Contact Us!

USC Thornton Admission Office
Email: uscmusic@usc.edu
Phone: (213)740-8986
Office: The Music Complex (TMC) 200 (office suite on the top floor of TMC)

Kit Bellamy,
Associate Director of Graduate Admission
Email: keb@usc.edu
Phone: (213)740-8986