The USC Rossier School of Education is one of the graduate schools of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Rossier offers six master's degree programs, a Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership (Ed.D.) degree, a Global Executive Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) and a Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy. Rossier also offers online programs including a master's in

teaching English to speakers of other languages English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EF ...

, an online Ed.D., an online master's in school counseling, and an online master of arts in teaching. Rossier places an emphasis on the study of urban education locally, nationally and globally. The school also houses the USC Language Academy and the Office of Professional Development.

History

Waite Phillips Hall, University of Southern California

When USC was founded in 1880,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

was transforming from a small town to a progressive city. In eight years, the city's population swelled from 11,000 to 70,000. Before L.A.'s streets were even paved, these new Angelenos had established the University of Southern California in order to train the professionals necessary to serve the emerging metropolis. Among the professionals most in demand were teachers and school administrators. Classes in education at USC began in the 1890s with a Department of Pedagogy. The Department of Education was established in 1909 as part of the College, and the formal School of Education was established in 1918 with Thomas Blanchard Stowell as the founding dean. During the 1960s, the teaching profession changed substantially. Explosive growth in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

led to a rapid expansion of the

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

system. There was a sudden shortage of qualified

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

s, a rise in the development of teachers' unions, a demand for greater professionalism of school administrators, and the centralization of schools into unified

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

s. Rossier responded to these changes by refocusing on the professional training and expertise administrators needed in these new governance structures. Over 100 superintendents in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

are USC education alumni. In 1998, alumni Barbara J. and Roger W. Rossier gave $20 million to the school, which was at the time the largest gift to any school of education in the world. In recognition of their generosity and the importance of their vision for the future of education, the school was renamed in their honor. In 2009, Dean Karen Symms Gallagher joined up with USC philanthropist and technology innovator

John Katzman John Katzman (born October 10, 1959) is an American EdTech pioneer. He has established a number of companies which assist students with their studies and career choices, including Princeton Review, 2U (company), 2U, and Noodle Partners. The last tw ...

and his company 2U to create a new online Master of Arts in Teaching degree program, the MAT@USC. The program was a new initiative to prepare thousands of students to be teachers in high-need schools. The program has since expanded its degree offerings to include a Master of Education in Advanced Instruction degree,a Special Education Credential and Gifted Certificate, and a Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Change and Leadership. The combined program is known as USC Rossier Online.

Rankings

The U.S. News & World Report ranked the school at No. 11 (tie) in 2022. However, the ranking was withdrawn from US News's graduate school rankings after the school found out that it had submitted inaccurate data for at least five years.

Notable alumni

Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You and ...

(B.S. 1959) - Actress, producer, and social activist known for starring on the sitcom ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...

'' and her award-winning feminist children's franchise, Free to Be... You and Me. *

Ethel Percy Andrus Ethel Percy Andrus (September 21, 1884 – July 13, 1967) was a long-time educator and the first woman high school principal in California. She was also an elder rights activist and the founder of AARP in 1958. In 1993 she was inducted into t ...

(M.A. 1928, Ph.D. 1930) - First woman high school principal in California; founder of the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) and the

American Association of Retired Persons AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization said it had more than 38 million members in 2018. The magazin ...

(AARP) *

Leo Buscaglia Felice Leonardo Buscaglia (March 31, 1924 – June 12, 1998), also known as "Dr. Love", was an American author, motivational speaker, and a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California. Life and car ...

(B.A. 1950, M.A. 1954, Ph.D. 1963) - Bestselling author, professor of

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

and

counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...

at Rossier *

Loren Grey Loren Grey (1915–2007; born Middletown, New York) was an American novelist and educational psychologist who attended the USC Rossier School of Education. He was the son of the writer Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23 ...

(Ph.D. 1959) - Author and educational psychologist *

Ellis O. Knox Ellis O'Neal Knox (1900-1975) was the first African American to be awarded a PhD in California. Knox received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1922 from the University of California, Berkeley and his doctorate in the history and philosophy of educati ...

(M.A. 1928, Ph.D. 1931) - First

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to be awarded a Ph.D. on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the University of Southern California and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Cindy Hensley McCain Cindy Lou McCain (; born May 20, 1954) is an American diplomat, businesswoman, and humanitarian. McCain has served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture since November 5, 2021. She is the widow of U.S. Senat ...

(B.A. 1976, M.A 1978) - Chair, Hensley & Co., Philanthropist * Kent M. Keith (Ed.D. 1996) - Former president,

Chaminade University Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private Marianist university in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, Chaminade is located in Kaimuki, Honolulu at the base of St. Louis Heights. Chaminade offers bachelor's degrees in ...

* Thelma "Pat" Nixon (Teaching Credential, 1937) - Former

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Robert A. Underwood Robert Anacletus Underwood (born July 13, 1948) is an American politician and educator who served as the delegate from Guam to the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 as a member of the Democratic Party. He subsequently serv ...

(Ed.D. 1987) - President,

University of Guam University of Guam ( ch, Unibetsedåt Guåhan) (U.O.G.) is a public land-grant university in Mangilao, Guam. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers thirty-four degree programs at the undergraduate level a ...

; former

Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United ...

from

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

* Frances C. Wilson (Ed.D., 1981) - President,

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

; former lieutenant general in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

* Mike Davis (EML, 2010, Ed.D., 2018) - President Pro Tempore, City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works; California State Assemblyman (2006-2012) *

Rao Machiraju Nagabhushan "Rao Machiraju" is an Indian American scientist and business executive, and holds 10 patents in information retrieval. Background and career He has an interdisciplinary educational background: Master of Public Health, Masters in P ...

(EdD, 1987 Instructional Technology) DigiKeyIH Partner, Executive in Residence, University of Southern California

References

External links

* {{Coord, 34.021924, -118.283899, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Schools of education in California

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

Educational institutions established in 1880 1880 establishments in California