Los Angeles was little more than a frontier town in the 1870s, when members of the Methodist Episcopal Conference first sought to establish a university in the region. Although the city still lacked paved streets, electric lights, telephones and a reliable fire alarm system, the idea found an enthusiastic reception among Los Angeles more far-sighted residents.
Today, the University of Southern California has grown into an international center of learning, enrolling more than 28,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on two campuses and offering degrees through its College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Graduate School and 16 professional schools.
In addition to the contributions of its graduates, USC is itself the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles, contributing about $3 billion annually to the gross regional product, which in turn generates some 40,000 jobs.
USC is located in Los Angeles County, CA, and has an enrollment of about 28,000.
