USC Price School of Public Policy

USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

Type	Private public policy school
Established	1929 [1]
Parent institution	University of Southern California
Academic affiliation	TPC
Dean	Christopher G. Boone [2]
Academic staff	250 [1]
Undergraduates	763 [1]
Postgraduates	765 [1]
Doctoral students	81 [1]
Location	Los Angeles & Washington, D.C. , California, D.C. , United States
Campus	Urban
Website	priceschool.usc.edu

Founded nearly 100 years ago, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy ^[3] (USC Price), previously known as School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD), is the public policy school of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles & Sacramento, California. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including a doctoral program and several professional and executive master's degree programs. ^[4] USC Price also offers the Master of Public Administration program at a campus in Washington, D.C. The School is composed of four academic departments – Public Policy and Management , Health Policy and Management, Real Estate Development, and Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis – plus 11 research centers and institutes. US News and World Report ranked USC Price No. 3 among public affairs schools for the 2025-2026 period. The School has been ranked among the top 5 public affairs schools since 2016 and among the top 10 since 2008.

History

Urban planning classes were first delivered at USC in Fall of 1921 by Gordon Whitnall, who was instrumental in founding the Planning Commission of the City of Los Angeles. In 1929, the USC School of Citizenship and Public Administration opened its doors, becoming one of only two programs of its kind in the nation. The school did not resemble very much the larger complex school it is today, but it contained the seeds of what is currently the modern USC Price.

In addition to offering a degree in public administration, the School of Citizenship and Public Administration included classes in urban and regional planning from the outset, which eventually led to the urban and regional planning degree and school at USC. Over time, the School of Public Administration formed the health administration program and the public policy program. ^[5]

In 1955, the School of Public Administration and the School of Architecture and Fine Arts instituted a graduate program in city and regional planning. The graduate planning program grew into an independent academic unit in the 1960s. In 1971, the Irvine Foundation gave its first USC grant to establish an endowed chair in urban and regional planning. In 1974, the USC Board of Trustees merged the Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning with the Center for Urban Studies to create the School of Planning and Urban Studies, subsequently the School of Urban and Regional Planning, the first planning program in the nation to achieve status as an independent school. The Irvine foundation provided the new school with an additional endowment for the support of graduate students. ^[6] The school's undergraduate program was offered jointly with the School of Public Administration.

The School of Urban and Regional Planning formed a graduate program in real estate development in 1985, and founded the Lusk Center for Real Estate Development in 1988 with a private donation, with naming rights, from John Lusk and his family. The school also launched a new undergraduate program to complement its existing program with the School of Public Administration. A gift from Ralph Lewis and his wife Goldy, the co-founders of Lewis Homes, ^[7] enabled the School to break ground for a new building on May 24, 1995, USC's Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall. ^[8] The School was renamed the School of Urban Planning and Development in 1996; and in 1998, the USC Board of Trustees merged the School of Urban Planning and Development with the School of Public Administration to form the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The Lusk Center for Real Estate Development was reorganized into Lusk Center for Real Estate, a university-level research unit jointly administered by USC Price and the USC Marshall School of Business. ^{[9] [10]}

In November 2011, the Price Family Charitable Fund gave a $50 million naming gift to honor the life and legacy of USC alumnus Sol Price, founder of Price Club. ^[11] The school was renamed the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy with the shortened name of USC Price. ^[3]

Rankings

In addition to the School’s overall No. 3 ranking, U.S. News & World Report gave the following rankings to its specialty programs for the 2024-2025 period:

• #2 – Urban Policy
• #8 – Health Policy and Management
• #9 – Nonprofit Management
• #10 – Public Management and Leadership

Academics

USC Price currently offers:

• Three doctorate programs:
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Management (Ph.D.)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Development (Ph.D.)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Policy, Planning, and Development (Ph.D. Before Fall 2010)
  • Doctor of Policy, Planning, and Development (DPPD)
• Seven master's degree programs:
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Science in Public Policy Data Science (MPPDS)
  • Master of Public Administration (MPA)
  • Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management (MNLM)
  • Master of Urban Planning (MUP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Health Administration (MHA)
• Two executive master's degrees:
  • Master of International Public Policy and Management (IPPAM)
  • Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA)
• Three undergraduate degrees: ^[12]
  • Bachelor of Science in Public Policy
  • Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Development
  • Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies and Planning
• ROTC
  • The Price School is home to USC’s Air Force, Army & Naval ROTC. ^[13]
• Special Programs ^[14]
  • The Price School’s special programs include the Price Policy Semester in D.C. and Nautical Science.

Research Centers

• Judith and John Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise
• Center for Economic Development
• Center for Health Financing, Policy and Management
• Center for Inclusive Democracy
• Center for Sustainability Solutions
• Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy
• Center for National Defense and Public Safety
• CREATE Homeland Security Center
• Lusk Center for Real Estate
• METRANS Transportation Center
• Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government
• Population Dynamics Group
• Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy

Notable alumni

• Shinzō Abe (studied for three semesters, but dropped out in 1979 ^[15] ), Prime Minister of Japan (2006–2007, 2012–2020)
• Marouf al-Bakhit (M.P.A. 1982), 36th Prime Minister of Jordan (2005–2007, 2011–2011)
• Lee Baca (M.P.A. 1973, D.P.A. 1993), 30th Sheriff of Los Angeles County (1998–2014)
• Mike Davis (EML, 2010, Ed.D., 2018) California State Assemblyman, 48th District (2006–2012), President Pro Tem, Los Angeles Board of Public Works Commission (2013–present)
• Vecdi Gönül (M.P.A. 1970), 49th Minister of National Defence of Turkey (2002–2011, 2015–2015) and Member of Parliament for Kocaeli (1999–2015)
• Matthew Harper (B.S. 1997) California State Assemblyman, 74th District (2014–2018) and the 59th Mayor of Huntington Beach, California (2013–2014)
• Adam Herbert (B.A. 1966, M.P.A. 1968), 17th President of the Indiana University System (2003–2007) and 6th Chancellor of the State University System of Florida (1998–2001)
• Alan L. Hoffman (M.P.A. 1991), deputy chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden (2009–2012)
• Irene Hirano (M.P.A. 1973), President of the U.S.-Japan Council (2009–2020) and Chair of the Ford Foundation Board of Trustees (2010–2014)
• Sheila M. Kiscaden (M.P.A. 1986), Minnesota State Senator (2002–2007)
• Joyce L. Kennard (B.A. 1970, M.P.A. 1974, J.D. 1974), First Asian-American to serve as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1989–2014)
• Tim Leslie (M.P.A. 1969), California State Senator (1991–2000) and California State Assemblyman (1986–1991, 2000–2004)
• Dennis J. Murray (M.P.A. 1971, Ph.D. 1977), 3rd President of Marist College (1979–2016, 2019–present)
• Edward J. Perkins (M.P.A. 1972, Ph.D. 1976), 19th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1992–1993); U.S. Ambassador to Australia (1993–1996), South Africa (1986–1989), and Liberia (1985–1986)
• Rocky Seto (M.P.A. 2001), assistant coach for the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks (2010–2016)
• Hilda Solis (M.P.A. 1981), 25th United States Secretary of Labor (2009–2013), United States Congresswoman (2001–2009)
• Erroll Southers (M.P.A. 1998, D.P.P.D 2013), leading national expert in transportation security and counter terrorism
• Michael L. Williams (B.A. 1975, M.P.A. 1979, J.D. 1979), elected member of the Railroad Commission of Texas (1999–2011)
• Tomás Yarrington (M.P.A. 1986), Governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico (1999–2004)

Notable faculty

• Christopher Boone, dean and the C. Erwin and Ione L. Piper Chair
• Dana Goldman, professor of health and economic policy and director of the Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government
• Richard K. Green, professor and director of Lusk Center for Real Estate
• Houston I. Flournoy, former California State Controller and former Professor of Public Administration (deceased)
• William Fulton (urban planner), senior fellow and mayor of Ventura, California
• Daniel McFadden, USC Presidential Professor of health economics
• Jim McDonnell, former director of the Safe Communities Institute (currently chief of the LAPD)
• Leonard Mitchell, professor of practice of Economic Development and Executive Director Center for Economic Development*
• Dowell Myers, professor of urban planning and demography and director of the Population and Dynamics Research Group center
• David Petraeus, Judge Widney Professor of public policy
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, professor and director of the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy
• Erroll Southers, Professor of the Practice in National and Homeland Security Associate Senior Vice President, Safety and Risk Assurance, former president of the LA Police Commission
• Kevin Starr, professor of history and former California State Librarian (deceased)
• Jeffrey W. Talley, professor and former lieutenant general ^[16]
• Mark Baldassare, senior fellow, Bedrosian Center on Governance
• Ehsan Zaffar, visiting fellow at the Bedrosian Center for Governance and civil rights lawyer ^[17]
• Annette Kim, spatial planner

References

1. "Public Policy | Academics | USC". academics.usc.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
2. "About the Dean". USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
3. Knott, Jack (2011-11-23). "Announcing a Naming Gift for Our Great School". priceschool.usc.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
4. "About the Price School". USC Price. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
5. "USC Price School Facts". USC Price. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
6. School of Urban and Regional Planning, "About the School of Urban and Regional Planning and its 20th Anniversary as the Nation's First Such Autonomous Unit," L.A. Platina, University of Southern California, 1994.
7. Schenk, Darren (2006-03-23). "Lewis Homes Co-Founder Dies at 84". USC News. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
8. "Cementing urban ties". USC News. 1995-06-05. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
9. Sullivan, Meg (1998-08-31). "Public Administration, Urban Planning Combine Forces". USC News. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
10. Sullivan, Meg (1998). "There's a New School in Town". www.usc.edu. USC Trojan Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
11. Gordon, Larry (November 29, 2011). "USC School of Public Policy gets $50-million gift". LA Times. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
12. "Academic Programs".
13. "ROTC Programs".
14. "Special Programs".
15. "The Dragons of Troy". USC Trojan Family Magazine. Winter 2006. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
16. "Jeffrey W. Talley // USC Price". priceschool.usc.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26.
17. "Ehsan Zaffar, J.D." Bedrosian Center. 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2020-02-16.

34°01′10″N118°17′01″W / 34.01939°N 118.28356°W / 34.01939; -118.28356