ACAD-176: Rapid Visualization (section 10203 ONLY) (M/W 8:00am-9:50am)

Techniques, methods, concepts, tools, and materials that are used to quickly visualize and communicate ideas and develop problem-solving skills.

ACAD-177: Digital Toolbox: Design (T 10:00am-11:50am) (2.0 units)

Basics of industry-standard creative, analytical and presentation software. Applications include design, illustration, presentation, and publishing.

ACAD-182: Disruptive Validation (T/Th 8:00am-9:50am)

Employing a case-study methodology, students analyze the artistic, technological, and entrepreneurial factors and address the conceptual, ethical and logistical issues that lead to disruptive innovation.

ACAD-189: 3D Tools for Product Design (Th 10:00am-11:50am) (2.0 units)

Investigation of a range of tools and techniques specific to intermediate CAD design and design improvements, focused on the ideation and development of new products.

Recommended Preparation: ACAD 188 or equivalent 3D modeling experience for product design

ACAD-190: Making with Materials (T 8:00am-9:50am)

Material properties, fabrication processes and their interdependencies; the transformation of ideas into reality through simulated and traditional fabrication techniques.

ACAD-191: Python for Machine Intelligence (W 10:00am-11:50am) (2.0 units)

Python programming for machine learning; topics include classification systems, training models, support vector machines, decision trees and random forests and ensemble learning.

ACAD-217: Extended Reality Design (M/W 8:00am-9:50 am; F 10:00am-11:50 am)

Students design and develop live immersive experiences in a variety of mediums including AR, VR, and small- to large-scale interactive environments.

ACAD-230: Introduction to Interactive Physical Computing (M/W 8:00am-9:50am)

Design and development of physical computing prototypes within the intersection of electronics, computing, design, consumer electronics, and product design.

Recommended Preparation: Previous programming experience.

ACAD-245: Fundamentals of Product Design (M/W 12:00pm-1:50pm; T/Th 12:00pm-1:50pm)

Introductory course in learning how to design physical products, including the processes for determining consumer needs, market opportunity, and competitive product analysis.

Prerequisites: 1 from (ACAD 176 or DES 102)

ACAD-261: Human Health and Technology (T/Th 10:00am-11:50am)

Introduction to major concepts and theories on the biological, scientific and technological aspects of health care and disease prevention and management. mHealth, surveillance, electronic/personal health records, wearables, virtual/augmented realities, telehealth.

ACAD-274: Designing Interactive Data Systems (T/Th 2:00pm-3:50pm)

The design of interactive interfaces for data systems and simulations; introduction to business intelligence, data engineering, web development and user experience design.

Fundamentals of server-side scripting and web templates. Design and creation of data structures and databases. Visualize analytics and data.

Recommended Preparation: ACAD 274 or ACAD 275

ACAD-309: Dreams and Madness: The Art of Japan's Golden Age of Animation (M 3:30pm-6:50pm)

An in-depth look at the art, politics, and cultural impact of several Japanese filmmakers including Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Hosoda and Makoto Shinkai.

ACAD-325: Human Technology Interaction and the User Experience (M/W 8:00am-9:50am)

The user experience lifecycle from ideation to prototype evaluation with a focus on principles, processes and practices essential for designing effective digital products and experiences.

ACAD-406: Purpose-Driven Innovation Incubator (T 4:00pm-5:50pm) (2.0 Units) (online + in-person)

Evolve student projects into investor-ready ventures through exposure to industry best practices including market sizing, defining/pursuing key performance indicators, customer development, validated learning and innovation accounting.

ACAD-444: Designing Products for Industry (T 2:00pm- 5:20pm)

Develop desirable, feasible and viable solutions for specific industry prompts, implementing all aspects of R&D including consumer insights, competitive analysis, ideation, prototyping, testing and manufacturability.

Prerequisites: 1 from (ACAD 245 or IDSN 524)

ACAD-499: Designing Human Technology Interaction Systems and Applications (M/W 10:00am-11:50am)

The course cultivates the ability of students to co-design a specified human activity, the physical environment(s) of the activity and the technology hardware/software components involved in the activity as interconnected parts of a Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) system.

ACAD-499: Understanding AI (W 3:30pm-6:50pm)

This class explores the concept of AI (Artificial Intelligence) from its foundation in Alan Turning 1950 article "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" up through the development and launch of LLM (Large Language Models) and the importance of AI in contemporary society.

Fall 2026 Course Offerings for Non-Majors

The Academy makes many of its most popular courses available to non-majors. See the links below for assistance with registration, clearances, and advisement. 

Departmental clearance ("D-Clearance") is permission for a student to register for a class. Class sections with a "D" designation are restricted by the department offering the course, requiring students to obtain the department's permission ("D" clearance) before attempting to register.

Please email iyadvise@usc.edu about course availability for non-majors.