About the
USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy

Founded by Jimmy Iovine and Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation at the University of Southern California (USC) is disrupting academic spaces. It’s not the typical curriculum you’d find on other college campuses. It’s education through a different lens.

The Academy promotes an inclusive, equitable, accessible, and diverse academic environment, with students learning at the intersection of technology, design, culture, and business. Its unique atmosphere offers challenge-based instruction and real-world professionalizing experiences, allowing Academy scholars to gain expertise in disciplines indispensable for the 21st century.

The History of the USC Iovine and Young Academy

Education can be siloed. Students typically become proficient in a single discipline, not the fusion of studies necessary to succeed in today’s ever-evolving, tech-driven career landscape.

Jimmy and Dr. Dre felt the need to change that. They wanted to create a learning framework that integrated technology and the liberal arts — a pivotal union that would help students flourish post-graduation.

In 2013, the same year Jimmy received his honorary doctorate in music at USC, the duo donated a transformational $70 million to bring their education vision to life. The USC Iovine and Young Academy welcomed its inaugural class of undergraduate students in the fall of 2014. In 2017, the Academy expanded its learning opportunities with a graduate degree program.

Academics and Programs

Bachelor of Science in Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation

The USC Iovine and Young Academy imparts undergraduate students with the knowledge needed to emerge as the next leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Participating in project-based learning, focusing on disciplines that underscore the importance of human-centered strategies and methodologies, and preparing students with intersectional expertise to thrive in their respective careers is the basis of the four-year undergraduate program: Bachelor of Science in Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.

Academy minors consist of designing for digital experiences, designing products, health innovation, extended reality design and development, and disruptive innovation.

Students can expand their knowledge through major elective coursework at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, Marshall School of Business, School of Cinematic Arts, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and Keck School of Medicine.

Intersectional areas students encounter during their tenure at the Academy include:

Transformative AI

Product Innovation

Extended Reality

Interactive Technologies

Business of Innovation

Design Strategy

Challenge-Based Learning

Health Innovation

Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business and Technology

The Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business and Technology program helps students employ cross-disciplinary thinking and enhances the way they work, learn, engage, and collaborate. Graduate students gain skills that can be used across industries and learn how disciplines work together toward innovative ideas and modernistic solutions.

The Academy offers two five-day immersive residential experiences. Graduate students can take part in the Academy’s Integrative Practices Residential (IPR) elective, offering on-campus coursework for first-semester students. IPR is a fast-paced workshop geared toward team-based, collaborative problem-solving that requires students to pitch ideas to a panel of faculty and professionals at the end of the program.

Both undergraduate and graduate students can partake in the Professional Practices Residential (PPR) program that places students in organizations to propel innovation. PPR puts students in contact with personnel, stakeholders, and users from these organizations and gives students the chance to implement human-centered design to develop solutions.

The M.S. program was first available only online, but starting in fall 2024, the Academy will offer an in-person graduate program pathway. A hybrid program will also be available, which combines the online program with the use of the Academy’s fully outfitted studio and lab spaces. So, Academy students working toward advanced study in integration innovation can complete the program online, in-person, or via a combination of both.

The Learning Experience

The USC Iovine and Young Academy bestows an unrivaled multidisciplinary education from esteemed professionals and educators with backgrounds in information technology, arts, design, finance, entrepreneurship, and engineering. The Academy’s framework redefines how individuals will pursue their life’s work. Through this framework, the Academy cultivates graduates who are agile thinkers, adaptable, and multifaceted.

The Academy embraces collaborative and inclusive education and supports different learning styles. Students develop a purpose-driven mindset; emotional, cultural, and social intelligence; and skills to communicate and collaborate across cross-disciplinary teams.

Challenge-based learning is at the core of the USC Iovine and Young Academy, using real-world prompts to solve complex problems facing local and global communities. Students gain knowledge through experimentation and reflection. These challenged-based learning experiences also extend to coursework regarding industry and society-driven challenges and student-driven ventures as part of the Academy’s rigorous curriculum.

Because of the Academy’s multidisciplinary approach, students are in demand and securing competitive internships and full-time roles at tech giants and other companies, like DreamWorks, Google, Apple, Hulu, and Ernst and Young. Of the Academy’s graduates, 90% land jobs within six months of graduation. Additionally, graduates of the Academy are becoming industry pioneers, launching startups and other business ventures.

Iovine and Young Hall

Iovine and Young Hall is a 40,000-square-foot building forged to spur innovation and creativity. It’s where new ideas come to light and prototypes are born. As the epicenter for the Academy’s cohort-based collaborative educational model, the Hall features classrooms and workshops for instruction and areas for networking and incubation, along with 10,000 square feet of maker spaces.

The Creator Studio influences creativity and is the ultimate maker space, with the following state-of-the-art amenities and tools: