The Master of International Trade Law and Economics (MITLE) degree provides an interdisciplinary, global perspective for students with an economic or other quantitative background who wish to develop knowledge and skills related to relevant laws, policies and business practices that shape international trade and economics.
Master of International Trade Law and Economics students are required to complete 24* or 32 units of study. Students are required to enroll in 12 core units from Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and 12 core units from Gould School of Law, with an additional 8 units of electives chosen from a list of approved course offerings.
*Progressive Degree Program candidates with a GPA of 3.3 and above may qualify to have 8 units of electives waived.
To apply to the Progressive Degree Program (PDP), you must:
The basic structure of government in the U.S., including the constitutionally mandated division of power in the federal government and the federal system of power sharing between state and federal systems. A comparative perspective on selected substantive and procedural matters, such as common law reasoning, jury trials, adversary process, and various aspects of civil procedure.
Examination of the institutions and laws that regulate international economic relations. Students will be introduced to the major international agreements and national laws that regulate international trade goods, services and capital.
Survey of legal aspects of international trade and investment transactions, including tax considerations.
Legal principles subject to judicial control and the alternative ways in which agencies can be organized to serve their purposes.
Theories of the household and the firm; product and factor markets; perfect and imperfect competition; welfare criteria.
Theories of aggregate economic activity; design and use of macroeconometric models; stabilization and control of inflation, unemployment, and growth.
Introduction and exploration of quantitative methods and data sources used for applied trade policy analysis.
Introduction to regimes that regulate business practices on a global level and compliance of such regimes, such as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, and other regulations.
Organization of economic activity - especially the modern corporation - as institutions of social power. The roles of managers, owners, and public regulatory agencies in shaping processes of decision-making.
Provides students with understanding of protection offered to foreign investment and investors through bilateral investment treaties and multilateral and regional investment and free trade agreements.
Principles of international law involving relations among governments. The function of international tribunals and organizations.
Principles of international law involving relations among governments. The function of international tribunals and organizations.
Laws designed to preserve and promote business competition, with heavy emphasis on the federal antitrust laws.
Provides students with the foundation for advising clients on transactions involving patents, trade secrets and other technology-related rights.
The protection of intellectual property and encouragement of creativity. Explores copyright, trademarks, patents, and selected state law theories.
Brings an international perspective to understanding the impact of culture in the most commonly used international and domestic dispute resolution practices (negotiation, mediation, and arbitration).
Application of econometric tools using standard econometric software packages for microcomputers; empirical applications to selected economic problems of estimation and inference.
The balance of payments, macroeconomic policy in an open economy, exchange rate determination, exchange rate systems, currency crises, international financial arrangements and monetary history.
Apply microeconomics to explore public health issues throughout the world, with an emphasis on developing countries
Efficiency, market failure, government regulation, some basics for antitrust economics, competition policy analysis and collusion and agreements among competitors.
Economic methods to analyze issues of intellectual property, environmental damage, trademark infringement, brand value and consumer demand, using an applied econometric approach.
General equilibrium theory applied to theory and practice of commercial policy, economic growth, and trade.
This course first proposes various means of evaluating an economic program. It then applies the tools to specific problems.
(elective units may be waived for students with a GPA of 3.3 and above)
Read more on the application process here: About the PDP Application
| Program Start | Application Deadline | First Day of Classes | |
| Spring 2025 | November 6, 2024 | January 13, 2025 | |
| Fall 2025 | June 18, 2025 | August 25, 2025 |
All USC undergraduate students admitted to our MITLE Progressive Degree Program will be considered automatically for merit scholarships. Those who are awarded a scholarship will be notified after their course plan has been reviewed by the MITLE Program staff and approved by USC's Degree Progress Office. Scholarship awards are merit-based and range from $2,500 to $10,000.
Scholarships are only applied to a MITLE/PDP student's account in the semester or semesters when he or she is enrolled in graduate classes only. Scholarship awards are not applied in semesters in which the student is enrolled in a mix of undergraduate and graduate classes.
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