Global Scholar Distinction

The Global Scholar distinction recognizes graduating seniors who have excelled in their studies both at USC and abroad. 

Eligibility

To qualify for the Global Scholar distinction, graduating seniors must:

  • graduate with a 3.5 minimum cumulative GPA (with University Honors)
  • graduate within 5 years of matriculation at USC
  • spend at least 10 weeks outside of the U.S. during undergraduate experience. Programs can be combined to reach 10 week minimum as long as they are founded in academic study, work experience, or service learning. Programs must be administered by USC or a alternative external organization. Student-run international programs will need to be verified for quality by the student’s USC school.

Dates & Deadlines

View Calendar

USC Overseas Studies and GPA

These courses are considered USC units. However, the courses appear on the USC transcript as CR/NC. Marks of CR/NC do not affect a student’s GPA.

After submitting an application, students should closely review emails from Academic Honors and Fellowships for notifications regarding status of distinction, follow-up for prize nominations, and instructions for receiving a medallion at the beginning of May.

Prize winners must demonstrate evidence of enrollment in a graduate program (within or outside the U.S.); or submit a proposal for a creative project that advances their career. Prize funding must be utilized within 5 years of graduating from USC.

Award Details

Project Requirements for Global Scholars

Capstone Project or Research Paper

The project must demonstrate learning and validate the depth and quality of the student’s experience abroad.

Review the 2024-2025 Capstone Requirements for each USC School

Tip: School Criteria may be reviewed before traveling abroad to help conceptualize Capstone Project; however, prospective applicants should avoid using criteria as the sole lens through which to see their experience.

For additional guidance on the Capstone Project criteria:

  • Global Scholar School Coordinators organize a committee for internal application review within each school or academic unit. Coordinators should only be contacted to clarify written school-specific criteria if needed. This step is not mandatory.
  • For feedback on content or structure of Capstone Project, applicants should contact faculty mentor(s) within their discipline or the USC Writing Center.

If you are applying for the Global and Discovery Scholar distinction, you must submit a completely different project for each application to earn both distinctions and/or prize nominations. If you submit the same project for Discovery and Global, your school will certify you for just one of the distinctions based on which program criteria (if any) best fits your submitted work. In addition, you may be considered for each distinction’s Prize Competition; however, no student can be awarded more than one prize.

Group Projects: Applicants may submit a project that a group collaborated on, but it must also include a significant individual work component. Individuals are selected for the Prize awards based on their contribution to and beyond the group project.

View Project Examples