- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
Student Quick Links:
- Admissions
Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
- Alumni and Giving
Alumni and Giving
The global Trojan network of more than 10,000 law alumni and donors include recognized leaders in numerous fields who are deeply committed to supporting student and law school success.
- Admissions

C. David Molina First Generation Professionals Program
- STUDENT LIFE
- STUDENT RESOURCES
- STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
- + ACADEMIC JOURNALS AND MOOT COURT
- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW
- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (RLSJ)
- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INTERDISCIPLINARY LAW JOURNAL (ILJ)
- HALE MOOT COURT HONORS PROGRAM
- LIFE IN LOS ANGELES
- LIFE ON CAMPUS
- DIVERSITY AT USC
- + DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT PREVENTION AND REPORTING
- DESIGNATED EMPLOYEES (MANDATORY REPORTERS)
- SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT IN PARTICULAR
- REPORTING SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT AT AN EXTERNAL SITE
- SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT RESOURCES
- USC TROJAN NETWORK
- PEER SUPPORT
- + FIRST GENERATION PROFESSIONALS
- JURIST-IN-RESIDENCE

The C. David Molina First Generation Professionals (FGP) Program supports students who are the first in their families to earn a college degree, as well as students who are from working-class or lower-income backgrounds. The group is designed to enhance your academic success, professional growth and personal development.
We offer:
- Peer Mentorship — You will be paired with a current student and an alumni mentor.
- Seminar Series — You will have the opportunity to attend a variety of seminars focused on the unique issues and challenges facing FGP law students.
- Networking — You'll get to know other first-generation students, faculty and alumni, while your shared experiences will forge a sense of community that carries through to both academic and professional success.
Mentorship
At USC Gould, we know that FGP students face special hurdles in the law school assimilation process. The study and practice of law demand certain lifestyle and perspective changes. The time and intensity of focus required to achieve mastery of the law is daunting.
Many of the changes you experience may initially isolate you from your community of family and friends at a time when support is needed most. For example, you may have to cope with pressure to spend more time attending to family commitments at the same time that law school and professional life are making more demands on your time. You may also find that your voice or perspective is changing in ways that make it harder to relate to some of your community members and, additionally, you may experience some ambivalence about the study of law.
Finally, you may face economic pressures that are difficult to talk about with others who have not experienced the same kind of financial anxiety. Student-peer networks and alumni support networks can play a key role for you as you deal with the pressure of being a law student and a young professional. We see your perspective as a source of strength that, properly supported, can provide valuable insight into what it means to ethically practice law and what is required to allow the law to achieve its full social justice potential.
Seminar Series
Some of the seminars we offer for FGP students may include:
- School Work and Life Work
- Public Interest Work and the First Generation Professional
- Working Identity: Name Changes, Cultural Challenges and Other Assimilation Pressures
- Gender and the First Generation Professional
- Résumé Writing for the First Generation Professional
- Interviewing Skills
- The Interview Date
- Dressing the Part
- Debt and the First Generation Professional
Networking
We also sponsor a student support network and study groups as part of our programming. Our goal is to provide early, meaningful intervention to assist our FGP students and young alumni in managing their law school and early career experience.
Contact Us
RECENT NEWS

Dean Guzman joins law deans nationwide in statement on 2020 election and events at the Capitol
January 12, 2021
Over 150 law deans join effort.

USC Gould students selected for public interest law fellowships
January 6, 2021
Fellowships help four students advance their careers

Trading golf for the bench
January 6, 2021
Judge Charles F. Forbes skips retirement for new career