USC’s Housing is divided into five communities North, South, East, West and Parkside. While each community is unique, all provide residents with access to world-renowned live-in faculty, programming targeted specifically to resident needs and interests as well as the support and mentorship of undergraduate, graduate and professional staff members. Scroll through the information below to learn more about each community, or visit USC Housing’s website for specifics on each building’s floor plans and amenities.
New and North Residential Colleges and the University Residential College at Birnkrant
The North area mainly houses freshmen, and is known for its social environment. Routinely receiving first, second and third in resident satisfaction surveys, North has three Residence Faculty members and a high Greek student population.Traditional programs in the North area include the Ed Wood Film Festival, a celebration where residents are given a theme and a prop and have 24 hours to make a five minute film, and Mardi Gras, a huge party for the whole university featuring food, shows and dancing. In addition, faculty in the North area host weekly dinners for their residents.
There are two Special Interest floors in the North area the Health and Wellness and Cinema Floors. In addition, the Residential College at Birnkrant is an exclusively freshman building for Trustee and Presidential Scholars. Residents in this building enjoy early move-in as well as a retreat.
Marks Tower, Pardee Tower, Marks Hall, and Trojan Hall
The South area includes three traditional first year residential communities, and is close to USC’s main libraries as well as important campus service departments such as USCard, Transportation, the Registrar and Housing. A signature of this residential area is its close-knit community; many describe South as being a true “family”.Traditional programs in the South area include Halloween Scream, a spooky fun party with a DJ, booths for activities such as pumpkin decorating and fortune-telling and a donation collection for local shelters; Snowball, a spring semi-formal evening that includes dancing, refreshments and free give-aways; and the fall Involvement Fair, where campus leaders, employers and peers with similar interests to the community discuss their passions, job openings and future projects.
Special Interest floors in the South area include the Great Outdoors (GO) Floor, which provides programming for students interested in hiking, surfing and other outdoor adventures; the Business Floor, which exists to invest in the academic, social and professional development of students interested in careers in the business world; the Leadership Floor, dedicated to developing the leadership potential of its residents; and the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Floor, which provides resources and opportunities throughout the school year, including lectures and panels by renowned science and engineering professionals.
Annenberg House, Severance Street Apartments, Manor, Troyland, Hillview, Stardust, Honors House, Max Kade, Bel-Air, Terrace, Fairmont, Cardinal ‘N Gold, Seven Gables, Regal Trojan, Regent, Helena, Twin Palms, Pacific, Founders, Senator, University Regent, Troy Hall, Sunset, Windsor, Vista, Sierra, Seaver, Centennial, La Sorbonne, and Troy East
The largest residential area, the East area includes a unique mix of upper-division students, grad students, families, international students, athletes, transfers, and Spring admits. There are six faculty members in the East area who reside in the Annenberg, Sierra, Founders, Honors House, Occupational Therapy and Chemistry PhD communities.Traditional programs in East include the Graduate Professional Student Awareness Week (GPSAW), which has been officially recognized by the City of Los Angeles; the Troy Diversity Dance and Art Show; the East Area Block Party; and an annual Thanksgiving Dinner celebration.
The East area boasts five Special Interest floors: the Occupational Therapy Floor in Centennial, the Chemistry Grad Program at Hillview, the Law Community at Terrace, the Annenberg Multimedia Program in the Annenberg House and the Honors House.
Century, Cardinal Gardens, Fluor Tower, and Webb Tower
The West Area is home to almost 1,800 residents, and houses a mix of first-year, sophomore, junior and senior students. Fluor Tower residential college is a first-year community and is suite style, with 4 suites per floor and 8 residents per suite. Webb Tower residential college is a high-rise apartment community. Since fall semester 2012, Floor and Webb will have live-in faculty masters and have become two of USC’s newest residential colleges. Century and Cardinal Gardens are both large off-campus apartment communities.West Area’s largest traditional program is Diversity Month, where residents participate in a month-long series of programs and events that encourage them to explore both their differences and commonalities. Like the four other areas, the West Area is also affiliated with dedicated Faculty Staff Mentors (FSMs) who help bring resources and support to the area’s residents.
Special Interest floors in West include the Rainbow Floor in Century, which is an inclusive community for members of the LGBT community and their supportive Allies; the Latino Floor in Fluor Tower, where freshmen Latino students are empowered to become prominent campus leaders; and Somerville Place, also in Fluor Tower. Named after John and Vada Somerville, the goals of Somerville Place are to foster an understanding of and respect for Black culture, while cultivating a sense of family and community.
Parkside Arts and Humanities Residential College, Parkside International Residential College, and Parkside Apartments
Parkside Apartments and Residential Colleges are an integral part of USC, serving as a center for cultural, artistic and internationally oriented academic and social events on campus. While the primary mission of the area is to house undergraduates, Parkside also has a mix of upper-division undergraduate and graduate students. Although the majority of the community are students from the U.S., the presence of a significant population of international students creates much more a global experience. Seven Residence Faculty members call Parkside home, working with Residential Education staff to develop programming for residents that maximizes their college experience and provides support to the development of programs with an international theme.Traditional programs at Parkside include weekly dinners hosted by Parkside’s faculty masters; Parkside Provides, an ongoing series of philanthropic programs; Reel World events, which celebrate the film, food and culture of featured countries; the International House of Coffee, a weekly morning break featuring gourmet coffees and discussions on international events; Meet the Music Floor, concerts celebrating the talents of Music Floor residents; and Arts in the Park, a series of interactive programs and events which allow residents to express themselves artistically. In addition, all residents in Parkside are eligible for the Parkside Piano Program, which provides free weekly piano lessons to students of all experience levels.
Parkside hosts multiple Special Interest floors, including the SChalom and Muslim Floors in Parkside Apartments; the Art and Architecture, Music, Creative Writing and Dance Floors in Parkside Arts and Humanities, as well as the International Residential College. While programming at Parkside is generally open to all residents, students housed in Parkside’s Special Interest floors enjoy support and programming geared specifically to their interests, as well as connections to prominent USC faculty and staff mentors.
