Deciding what you want to do in college is one of the most difficult decisions students have. For me, it was my varied interests that added to the confusion. I knew I wanted to study computer science, but what about my other interests in film, design, marketing, and game development? I was interested in learning programming, so I decided to apply to my prospective schools as a computer science major. At USC, I discovered that it didn’t have to stop there.
USC offers a variety of joint programs and minors, so you can customize your degree to what suits you. After my first semester, I learned about the other degree programs fellow students were involved in, and I decided to switch my major to Computer Science and Games, which is a part of USC Games, a joint program between the Viterbi School of Engineering and The School of Cinematic Arts. This program also gives me about 20 units of free electives that I need to complete, so I decided to pick up a Designing Products minor at the Iovine Young Academy. I’m so happy with my decision and the vast subjects I learn daily.
In my CS class, I’m learning about logical proofs and the fundamentals of binary. In my game design workshop class, I’m coding and designing a video game in Unity from scratch. For my product design class, I’m learning about packaging design to create enticing marketing campaigns. As a developer and designer, I’m a big advocate for adding the A for Arts in STEAM, and I’m constantly trying to find ways to reflect this in my life. I believe my major and minor are a perfect reflection of this. I truly couldn’t have asked for a better program that satisfies all my interests in learning. One of my side goals is to build a mobile app game, and my degree is preparing me to do so by coding and making the game production-ready.
At USC, I’m not alone in having an interdisciplinary schedule. The university encourages students to follow their interests and offers a wide variety of majors and programs. For instance, I have friends who pursue majors like Computer Science and Business, Biomedical Engineering and Psychology, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Guitar, and many more! At USC, I constantly meet new people who share their interests with me, and this has inspired me to pick up different classes.
Ultimately, I believe that enjoying what you study is what keeps you motivated and paying attention in class. USC is unique in its ability to balance the benefit of having a self-standing engineering school while allowing the students to explore multiple majors, intellectual interests, and talents.
