University of Southern California - Department of Pathology - Overview
The Prominent Keck School of Medicine
The University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine is one of the leading centers for clinical care and research. The school's departments of pediatrics, ophthalmology, and preventative medicine are consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation.
Located on the 30.8-acre Health Sciences Campus near downtown Los Angeles, Keck faculty service the major hospitals and cancer centers in the area.
One of the Nation's Largest Pathology Departments
With more than 122 dedicated and shared faculty members, and over 42 residents-in-training, USC maintains one of the largest pathology departments in the United States. The department has made significant contributions in both theoretical and clinical sciences.
Not surprisingly, faculty research covers a wide range of topics, including cellular and molecular biology of cancer, particularly prostate, mammary, brain, ovarian cancer, stem cell and developmental pathology; liver diseases; skin, hair, hematopathology, circulatory, endocrine, neurodegenerative, diseases, immunotherapy and virology.
Master of Science in Experimental and Molecular Pathology
The Department of Pathology offers a 2-year Master of Science degree that trains graduate students in the emergent biomedical and experimental pathology technologies.
The master's program is rigorous, requiring 34 units of courses in such areas as biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, and experimental and advanced pathology. Master's students have the option of completing a benchwork thesis or library project.
For USC undergraduates, it is possible to obtain a Progressive Degree which is a combination of a Bachelor's Degree in Science and Master's Degree in Pathology.
The department offers a wide variety of electives so that students may customize their coursework to suit their future needs. Electives range from such subjects as molecular pharmacology, stem cell biology, biometry principles, and animal virology.
State-of-the-art facilities equip Master's degree candidates with research, lab, diagnostic, and therapeutic tools necessary for careers as researchers or technicians in academia, biotechnology firms, and government health departments. In addition, many graduates go on to teach at community colleges or enroll in doctoral programs.
Ph.D. in Pathology
Many of the Pathology faculty train Ph.D. students. To enter the laboratory of a Pathology faculty for the Ph.D. program, students apply and are admitted through the Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (PIBBS), an integrated Ph.D. admission program for all students who want to study biomedical science in USC. Ph.D. students enrolled in PIBBS have the opportunity to rotate through different laboratories, thereby gaining an opportunity to meet different faculty advisers and experience different projects. PIBBS fosters an interdisciplinary approach to biological and biomedical research and introduces students to computational biology methods for analyzing complex data sets. In second year, students can then choose to major in pathology under Genetics Molecular Cellular Biology track.
Graduate students must take a minimum of 60 units of course work while maintaining a 3.0 grade point average. Over half of these units, however, may be devoted to electives and dissertation research, allowing students the flexibility to adjust the program to meet their future goals.
The department also participates in Keck's M.D./Ph.D. program for graduate students who wish to pursue careers as physician scientists.
Most doctoral students graduate with several manuscripts and publications to their names.
Cutting-Edge Research Facilities
Approximately 10 miles from the main university campus, the Health Sciences Campus consists of the School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, LAC-USC Healthcare Network, Doheny Eye Foundation, Norris Cancer Research Institute, Topping Research Tower, Harlyne J. Norris Research Tower, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, and USC University Hospital.
With access to Keck's esteemed network of institutional affiliates, students conduct independent research and perform experiments in fully equipped laboratory and clinical settings. The department's assets include not only biochemistry, histology, molecular biology, and tissue culture facilities, but also a separate containment level-3 facility for research into AIDS, human retroviruses, and oncogenes.
The Application Process
In addition to the basic requirements of USC Graduate School, the Department of Pathology Master program requests that applicants have a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from an accredited college, with at least a 3.0 grade point average. Candidates must score a minimum combined total of 1100 on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), which may be substituted with a high MCAT score. Admission to the programs also requires English language proficiency; a TOFEL score of at least 600 is necessary for students with English as a second language.
Eligibility for the Master programs is contingent upon acceptance by both the USC Graduate School and the Department of Pathology. Admission may be granted for the fall or spring semester.
For PhD, please apply through the PIBBS Program (www.usc.edu/pibbs).
On-campus interviews are strongly recommended for USC Graduate School applicants.
Located in a Vibrant, Urban Center
The USC Health Sciences Campus is located in the heart of Los Angeles, the second most populated city in the USA. L.A. is a vibrant panoply of culture and art, education and technology, international business and media and, of course, entertainment. The sunny year-round Pacific climate encourages all manner of outdoor pursuits, and both beaches and mountains are within an hour's drive of USC.