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Spatial Sciences Institute

Resources

FAQ

To declare an SSI undergraduate major or minor, or to set up a Progressive Degree Path:
Please contact Monica Pan at monicap@usc.edu.

To apply to an SSI graduate certificate or masters program:
For admissions-related questions, please visit https://gis.usc.edu/admissions/apply-now/, email gis@usc.edu, or call 877.650.9054.

To request d-clearance:
D-clearance stands for “departmental clearance”. Certain courses have D-clearance restrictions and students must request D-clearance and receive clearance in order to register for that course.

You cannot register if you have any registration holds on your student account. Please check for holds on your my.usc.edu portal and clear any registration holds so you can register for courses. Once d-clearance is granted, you will be able to register for your course.

Important: International Status students should only request d-clearance for the in-person (residential) course section.

To request d-clearance from the Spatial Sciences Institute for SSCI and GSEC elective courses:
o Use this link to submit your request for d-clearance using our d-clearance form: https://forms.gle/2LWu1atWsrqThH8Q9.
o Kindly note that it may take up to 2-3 business days for our team to review and process your request.

If you are an MS Spatial Economics and Data Analysis (SEDA) student, to request d-clearance from the USC Dornsife Economics Department for ECON courses:
o If you have not already received clearance for your required course, email ECON advisor, Alexis Teodoro, at ateodoro@usc.edu, and copy your SEDA advisor, Jocelyn Ward, at jw_097@usc.edu in your to request clearance for your required course. Make sure to include your USC ID.

If you are an MS Spatial Data Sciences (SPDS) student, to request d-clearance from the Viterbi School of Engineering for DSCI courses:
o Request d-clearance on your myviterbi.usc.edu portal. Students in the residential MS SPDS program, including Progressive Degree Program students, should only request and will only be cleared to register for the in-person (residential) section.
o Students in the online MS SPDS program will need to request d-clearance for the DEN Section using the myviterbi.usc.edu portal as well.

If you are a PhD in Population, Health and Place student, to request d-clearance from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine of USC for PM courses:
o Submit a PM D-clearance form: https://phstudents.usc.edu/dc and contact Laura Sims at simsl@usc.edu.

If you are a PhD in Population, Health and Place student, to request d-clearance from the USC Dornsife Sociology Department for SOCI courses:
o Contact Stachelle L. Overland at overland@college.usc.edu.

To visit the USC University Park campus:
Prospective undergraduate students can reserve a student-led or self-guided campus tour. Prospective graduate students may visit via a self-guided tour.

Anyone can explore the UPC campus through our immersive online tour: https://admission.usc.edu/immersive-tour-of-usc/.

To talk with an SSI faculty member about our PHP PhD program:
Please contact Dr. Darren Ruddell, Spatial Sciences Institute Director of Graduate Programs, at druddell@usc.edu.

To make an advising appointment:
If you are an undergraduate or Progressive Degree Path student, you may schedule an appointment with Monica Pan using this link: https://calendly.com/monicap-5/15-minute-advising-meeting

If you are a graduate certificate or masters student, you may schedule an appointment with Jocelyn Ward using this link: Schedule Your Chat Session – USC GIS Graduate Programs or emailing her at jw_097@usc.edu.

If you are a Population, Health and Science PhD student, please email Dr. Darren Ruddell at druddell@usc.edu to schedule an appointment.

To prepare a PowerPoint presentation, poster or StoryMap:
See the Graphic Identity section below.

To request an ArcGIS license:
Please email Stephanie Tran at transtep@usc.edu.

To get ArcGIS help:
Please email Myron Medalla at mmedalla@usc.edu.

Help Desk

Help Desk hours are MON 3 – 4 pm | FRI 11 am – 12 pm

Need help with maps? Considering geospatial analyses to enhance your research design? Want to geolocate your survey results and look at related population demographics? Looking for GIS (geographic information science) data for an ArcGIS StoryMap?

Bring us your questions about maps, data visualization, spatial data acquisition, geospatial modeling, spatial sampling strategies, GIS, web mapping and applications.

Drop-in the Spatial Sciences Help Desk for all USC faculty, staff, and students two hours a week in Allan Hancock Foundation (AHF) 146. We offer professional guidance: we’ll discuss your project with you, answer questions, give feedback and suggestions, recommend data and software alternatives, and help you develop the framework for geospatial success.

Additional geospatial services we offer are fee-based and will vary according to need; these may include complete project support or help with scope of work or proposal development.

The researchers we have partnered with include faculty from the USC Dornsife Departments of Biological Sciences, Earth Sciences, History, and Sociology; the USC School of Architecture; the USC Viterbi School of Engineering along with the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT); the Gould School of Law; and Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI). We also partner with other educational institutions, non-profits, mission-based for-profits and government agencies.

Questions? Email us at spatial_support@usc.edu. How may we assist you?

Graphic Identity


When preparing presentations, posters, maps and other materials related to the Spatial Sciences Institute and its academic programs, please use the logos and templates that have been developed under the graphic identity policies of the University and of USC Dornsife for use when representing the Institute.

USC Dornsife Spatial Sciences Institute logos and PowerPoint template

Making Maps and Posters

If you are an undergraduate student in a Spatial Sciences Institute (SSCI prefix) course but not one of our majors making a map or a poster, please use these materials:

If you are a B.S. in Geodesign major making a map or poster, please use these materials:

If you are a B.S. in Human Security and Geospatial Intelligence major making a map or poster, please use these materials:

If you are a B.S. in Global Geodesign major making a map or poster, please use these materials:

If you are a student in the Spatial Sciences Institute Graduate Programs in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST) making a map or poster, please use these materials:

If you are a student in the Spatial Sciences Institute/Viterbi School of Engineering M.S. in Spatial Data Science Program (SPDS) making a map or poster, please use these materials:

If you are a student in the Spatial Sciences Institute/Department of Economics M.S. in Spatial Economics and Data Analysis Program (SEDA) making a map or poster, please use these materials:

If you are a student in the Spatial Sciences Institute Population, Health and Place Ph.D. Program (PHP) making a map or poster, please use these materials:

To prepare a PHP poster in LaTeX, please use this link for Overleaf or on github.

For all others representing the Spatial Sciences Institute making a map or poster, please use these materials:

Please consult with the guide for the USC Dornsife Graphic Identity Program.

Contact Us

Spatial Sciences Institute

University of Southern California
3616 Trousdale Parkway, AHF B55
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0374
213.740.5910
spatialsciences@usc.edu
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

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Undergraduate Programs

Dr. Diana Ter-Ghazaryan
213.821.1190 | terghaza@usc.edu

Graduate Programs

Dr. Darren M. Ruddell
213.740.0521 | druddell@usc.edu

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