Why Los Angeles?

Los Angeles is a city of the future. Since the days of the gold rush, people have come to California to seek their fortune. Now the state is experiencing a new wave of fortune-seekers, eager to take advantage of the State's technology, large market, strong infrastructure, diverse industrial base, and entrepreneurial spirit. Los Angeles is a new Mecca for diversity of cultures, new ideas and businesses, from "dot-com" start-ups to aerospace industry giants. The city is the entertainment and multimedia capital of the world and accounts for nearly half of the economy of California. It also is the gateway to the Pacific, with the largest customs unit in the United States. While Southern California beaches are legendary, its world-famous amusement parks, ski resorts and outdoor recreational areas are just a short drive away.

USC is both a beneficiary and a contributor to the increasingly powerful international cultural and commercial hub of Southern California. The University's 155-acre main campus is located 1.5 miles from Los Angeles' downtown business center. In the past decade, USC has emerged as a global leader in the fields of communication and multimedia technologies and solidified its status as one of the nation's leading teaching and research facilities. USC is the oldest and largest private university in the western United States, offering graduate degrees in 129 areas of study and 17 professional schools. Its 27,500 students come from all 50 states and 105 countries. USC has awarded over 250,000 degrees since its founding in 1880. It has enrolled more international students than any other university in the United States.

USC President Steven B. Sample is the founder and chair of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, an alliance of 34 leading research universities in 16 countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. The university is also a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of the 62 elite research universities in the United States and Canada.

Opened in September 1999, Jane Hoffman and J. Kristoffer Popovich Hall, houses all four Marshall MBA programs and the Career Resource Center. At a cost of $25 million, the 55,000 square foot structure is one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world. Its special features include: eight tiered case study rooms equipped with audio-video teleconferencing with data and electrical connections for every student; more than 1,100 data connections throughout the building, courtyard and café; thirteen experiential learning rooms which contain state-of-the-art video equipment used for cross-cultural negotiation training; and more than 15 miles of fiber optic and cable wiring. Popovich also features breakout rooms and common areas where students from all four Marshall MBA programs can participate in networking and student club activities.

The Marshall School also includes four other buildings with two libraries that house over 100,000 volumes, receive over 1,400 periodicals and offer on-line access to more than 20 databases; the Keck Management Science Center which is equipped with 200 computers for student use; and the Learning Services Center, which conducts computer education training programs.