Student Perspectives: Thematic Option
Hi there! My name’s Jack. It’s nice to meet you! I’m a rising third-year student from Charlotte, NC studying Themed Entertainment here at USC. I wanted to take a bit to tell y’all about the Thematic Option Honors Program and why it’s been genuinely one of my favorite parts of USC so far! I’ll also be peppering in a few quotes along the way from some of my closest friends, all of whom I met while in Thematic Option. :)
“TO provides an entire group of interconnectedness you get through almost no other program. You have a network that’s not only strong but also caring.” - Sydney H., TO Student
So, what exactly is Thematic Option (or, TO, as we like to call it on-campus!) Well, it’s essentially an intensive writing and reading program which satisfies a lot of the typical General Education requirements here at USC. If you look on the program’s website, you’ll see it described as a “curriculum that centers on interdisciplinary approaches that develop students’ ability to think critically about themselves and their place in history and society.” And that’s all true! But I could probably distill it into this: do you like to read? Do you like to write? Do you like to be challenged in an environment where it’s okay to fail? Then I’d really encourage you to look into TO! It also comes with a ton of other perks, like your own dedicated TO advisor, free field trips and classes taught in small group settings by some of the best professors around!
“I used to think I wasn’t a writer, but this class changed my mind.” -Richard Z., TO Student
To give you an idea of the type of class you might be in, we can take a look at a course I took last semester! It’s called The Process of Change in Science: Told Through Its Greatest Books. It’s taught by premier oceanographer Dr. James Moffett, and it delves into the very evolution of science itself through a hands-on look at the actual books that helped the field grow! I’ve gotten hands-on research time with books that are 436 years old and books that are worth over $1 million! I’ve even held a first edition copy of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. And all of this is taking place in a class of about fourteen students, so I’ve gotten to know my other classmates and professor exceedingly well! It truly has been one of my all-time favorite courses. :)
“If you want to meet nerds, do Thematic Option!” - Owen F., TO Student
If all of this sounds like something that is up your alley... Awesome! You can apply to Thematic Option once you’ve been admitted to USC; you’ll see the option to do so on your admission portal. Until then, I hope I’ve at the very least got you thinking about it! It really is an opportunity you don’t want to miss! :)
Written by: Jack Murchison