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Academy students have direct access for learning, mentoring and feedback from leaders in industry and professional practice. Throughout their academic career at the Academy, students are provided with regular access to both new and legendary makers, creators and doers. Past speakers include co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz; former Director of Industrial Design at Apple, partner at Pentagram, and founder of Ammunition Group Robert Brunner; music industry legends and Beats co-foundersJimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre; co-founder and CEO of Snap, Inc. Evan Spiegel; former Editor-in- Chief of WIRED and co-founder of Godfrey Dadich Partners Scott Dadich; Apple Music’s Head of Global Content Larry Jackson; former Managing Director of IoT Strategy at Intel and Global CTO for IBM Bridget Karlin; basketball great and philanthropist Steph Curry; and artist, philanthropist and entrepreneur will.i.am.

The Academy offers two unique five-day immersive residential experiences through its Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business and Technology (MSIDBT). 

The Integrative Practices Residential (IPR) is a required, on-campus intensive for first-semester MSIDBT students. This fast-paced workshop focuses on the dynamics of team-based, collaborative problem solving, taking students through proven methods and tools for addressing issues that most often affect companies and their constituents. Students benefit from direct input and insights from industry experts, culminating in a live pitch to a panel of select professionals and faculty. 

Available to all graduate and undergraduate students, the Professional Practices Residential (PPR) places student teams on the ground and inside organizations in the U.S. and elsewhere to research areas in need of innovation. Through direct contact with company personnel, stakeholders and users, students apply the techniques of human-centered design to develop solutions to significant, even intractable real-world problems.  PPR partners have included the American Heart Association, IDEO, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Two Bit Circus, Los Angeles World Airports (LAX), and Verizon Media. 

Academy Career Treks allow students to benefit from USC’s strategic location in Los Angeles, widely viewed as the creative and media capital of the world. Through curricular and co-curricular treks in and around the city, the program provides an unrivaled opportunity for students to learn in a living laboratory where technology, business, media and the visual arts are deeply intertwined. In addition, the university’s proximity to the city’s burgeoning Silicon Beach provides access to the world’s premiere technology companies from which students can learn and draw inspiration.

Academy Domestic and InternationalStudy Tours take students beyond city limits to see creativity at work across the U.S. and around the world. Students travel together on trips to national and international hubs critical to the business of innovation, and experience life close-up inside firms, companies, and even whole innovation ecosystems. Whether it’s a behind-the-scenes look at the Tate Modern in London, a founder’s masterclass on the lifecycle of aSilicon Valley startup, or a deep dive into the design and manufacturing culture of Zhenzhen, China, these faculty-led trips encourage students to reflect on and respond to the many ways that creatives, technologists, and entrepreneurs apply the types of knowledge and skills taught at the Academy.

Designed to complement Academy coursework, RLMs provide critical learning opportunities in response to students’ evolving needs. Non-unit bearing and free to all Academy students, RLMs are diverse enough to address a wide variety of student interests, and flexible enough to deliver each subject in the most useful, relevant, and timely way.  

RLMs range in length from one to multi-day two-hour sessions, and can take on many different modes of learning to suit the material. Prior sessions have included master classes on specialized topics such as intellectual property, venture capital, machine learning, negotiation and deal-making, branding, and many more. 

Each year, the Academy offers its students the opportunity to compete for one of three $10,000 development prizes. The goal of the awards is to provide early-stage funding for the development of student-driven innovations and ideas.Finalists pitch their ideas to an audience of students, faculty, staff, industry experts and funders.

The Student Opportunity Fund provides Academy majors, undergraduate and graduate, with access to funding for career-focused projects and programs. Funds are awarded by competitive application and cover a broad range of areas of assistance toward individual career and development goals.

The Materials Fund exists to support Academy majors, undergraduate and graduate, with financial need related to their Academy in-class educational experiences. Current students who have a demonstrated financial need are eligible to apply to receive funding for materials, books, software or other essentials required for Academy coursework.