Departmental Unit № 1
Spatial Sciences Institute (Dornsife College)
PhD in Population, Health and Place (Spatial Sciences / GIS Track)
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition waiver + 12-month living stipend (~$40,000/yr) + health/dental insurance guaranteed for 5 years through Dornsife Ph.D. Fellowships and Graduate Assistantships.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 1
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 100 minimum or IELTS 7.0 minimum
MS in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST)
Mostly Self-Funded (Target PhD)
Funding Reality: MS GIST is primarily self-funded; fully-funded packages are guaranteed on the PhD track.
Application Deadline: January 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. John P. Wilson
Professor and Founding Director, Spatial Sciences Institute
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He is one of the world's most renowned GIS leaders; he wrote the foundational books on how computers read 3D mountain and valley maps to simulate where rainwater flows and causes mudslides.
Core Research Topics: GIScience, digital terrain analysis, spatial environmental modeling, hydrologic terrain indices, GIS-based soil erosion and watershed modeling.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Founding Director of the USC Spatial Sciences Institute and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Transactions in GIS. Author of classic textbooks in digital terrain analysis; leads research integrating high-resolution topographic models into GIS watershed and environmental hazard simulation.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Digital elevation models (DEMs), GIS terrain algorithms (ArcGIS Pro, QGIS), spatial multi-criteria evaluation, Python/R spatial workflows.
Recruiting Context: Director of the premier Spatial Sciences Institute at USC.
Candidate Match:
GISSpatial AnalysisHydrologyGeography
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your background in GIS digital terrain analysis, spatial hydrology, and environmental geography at the Spatial Sciences Institute."
Departmental Unit № 2
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PhD in Environmental Engineering
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Tuition waiver + stipend (~$40,000/yr) + health insurance covered via Viterbi Fellowships and research assistantships.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 15
GRE Policy: Not required
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 90 or IELTS 7.0
MS in Environmental Engineering
Mostly Self-Funded (Target PhD)
Funding Reality: Coursework MS is self-funded; target PhD for full scholarship.
Application Deadline: December 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Adam W. Smith
Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He designs high-tech biological membrane filters that clean wastewater and sewage so thoroughly that it can be safely recycled into pure drinking water.
Core Research Topics: Environmental biotechnology, wastewater water reuse, anaerobic membrane bioreactors, emerging water pollutants, wet-lab water analysis.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Investigates energy-positive wastewater treatment technologies that filter toxic chemical pollutants and pathogens out of municipal sewage water, converting sewage into purified recycled drinking water.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Membrane bioreactors, analytical water quality testing (COD, TOC, spectrometry), DNA sequencing of microbial communities, gas chromatography.
Recruiting Context: Directs active, heavily funded environmental engineering laboratory.
Candidate Match:
Environmental PollutionWater QualityLab Water TestingEnvironmental Science
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Connecting your wet-lab water testing experience with his research on advanced water reuse membranes and contaminant filtration."