Minimum graduate stipend
$42,436 Official
Pay period not stated by source · 2026-2027
Official: published by the university · Source: USC Graduate School: Minimum Stipend Memo · Verified 2026-09-27
University profile
USC
Other stipend figures
Supporting detail: pay scales, specific schools or departments, and prior years. These are not the headline figure above.
- University-wide · Minimum $41,200 Official Pay period not stated by source · 2025-2026 Source: USC Graduate School: Minimum Stipend Memo · Verified 2026-09-27
Cost of living in Los Angeles, CA
City-median rent is a city-level figure, not a near-campus price; university graduate housing lines are the university's own published rates. Each line is labeled with its own source.
- Rent, 1-bedroom (university graduate housing, single occupant) $1,675/mo Official Stardust studio. 2026-27. Source: USC Housing: Stardust · Verified 2026-09-29
- Rent, 1-bedroom (city median) $2,170/mo Estimated City median 1BR. City-wide median; University Park not isolated. Same figure as UCLA. Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
- Rent, 2-bedroom split two ways (university graduate housing, shared, per person) $1,730/mo Official Stardust 2-bedroom per person. 2026-27. Troy East 2-bedroom (4-person) at $1,110 per person is open to master's students, so it is excluded. Source: USC Housing: Stardust · Verified 2026-09-29
- Rent, 2-bedroom split two ways (city median) $1,480/mo Estimated City median 2BR, split two ways. City-wide median; University Park not isolated. Same figure as UCLA. Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
- Utilities $284/mo Crowdsourced Basic utilities (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage). 85 m2 apartment, excludes internet; overstates a studio. Source: Numbeo (Americas table, Sept 27 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
- Public transit $18/week (weekly fare cap) Official LA Metro 7-day fare cap ($5/day); no monthly pass. Monthly passes were replaced by fare caps. Source: LA Metro fare policy · Verified 2026-09-27
- Public transit $6/week (weekly fare cap) Official LA Metro college/vocational 7-day cap ($2.50/day). Requires enrollment in a participating program. Source: LA Metro college/vocational fares · Verified 2026-09-27
- Parking $477 to $612/semester Official Cardinal $477; Gold $612 (plus $5 online fee). FY27 (from Jul 1 2026), includes the 10% LA tax. Source: USC Transportation: Parking Rates · Verified 2026-09-28
- Groceries (state-level estimate) $375/mo Estimated State-level estimate (California). About $4,500/yr, single adult; not a city basket. Source: MIT Living Wage food cost via Bankrate · Verified 2026-09-27
Master's tuition
Published tuition (before any aid). PhD students usually have tuition waived; their offer letter confirms. This is not part of the stipend-versus-cost-of-living comparison.
- Master's tuition at USC Not yet available
PhD program profiles at USC
No PhD program profiles at this university yet.