Admission Requirements
Applicants to the Graduate Certificate in Narrative Medicine program must:
- have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution
- have a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0)
OR
- be currently enrolled in a graduate program at USC (internal applicant)
- If you are a current USC graduate student, please visit our Current USC Student Certificate page
Application Components
| A completed online USC Graduate Application | Online Application Portal Post code: 2011 |
| Guided personal statement | (750 words maximum) |
| Optional writing sample | Demonstrates evidence of promise in the field of narrative medicine |
| Letter of recommendation | One letter of recommendation required |
| Official Transcripts | All previously attended post-secondary institutions |
Applications for admission will be considered for the Fall term only. Applications received before May 1 will be given priority.
Optional writing sample
- Work written (published or unpublished) by the applicant that pertains in some way to narrative medicine, health humanities, arts and medicine, or related fields. This may be fiction, non-fiction, or poetry (e.g., a first-person essay or memoir, or an interpretive essay/analysis of a work of art or literature)
- A scholarly paper (published or unpublished), article, or book related to the applicant’s profession that they have authored
Letter of Recommendation
- For applicants who received their bachelor’s degree more than 5 years prior to the date of application, professional references will be considered in place of academic letters of recommendation.
- Recommenders can submit/upload letters via the online application system, or email letters directly to uscnarrativemedicine@usc.edu
Official Transcripts
- Send electronic transcripts to: etrans@usc.edu
- Paper transcripts can be mailed to:
- University of Southern California USC Office of Graduate Admission 3601 South Flower Street, Room 112 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0915
Visit USC Graduate Admissions for more information about graduate education at USC.
Note Regarding Standardized Test Scores
- GRE is not required
- For international applicants, TOEFL/IELTS proficiency in English language is required.