Itinerary: Back to School at USC

They were feeling pretty smug around the University of Southern California. Time magazine and the Princeton Review named USC the “college of the year,” pointing out their admirable community service programs. But then the Trojan football team lost to Oregon 33-30 last Saturday, and quarterback Carson Palmer got sidelined with a broken collarbone.

No matter. There is life beyond football at USC. Really.

USC is the oldest university in the West. It was created in 1880 by the Methodist Episcopal Church--but the three founders were a Protestant, a Catholic and a Jew. From 53 students its first year, the university has grown to an enrollment of 28,000.

Thursday

Free 50-minute tours of the campus start at the admissions center, Trojan Hall 101, on the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reservations are recommended. (213) 740-6605.

The campus is densely packed, filling the blocks between Jefferson, Hoover and Exposition boulevards, Vermont Avenue and Figueroa Street. Architecturally speaking, USC is a mixed bag, with many brick, northern Italian Renaissance-style buildings from the 1920s, then more modern buildings, from the 1960s on.

Though it’s been moved multiple times, Widney Alumni House, in the southeast corner of campus, is the first university building, dating to 1880. The most impressive buildings are in the center of campus: Bovard Administration Building and Gwynn Wilson Student Union Building, both designed by John and Donald Parkinson. And don’t miss Tommy Trojan, the school mascot.

Doheny Memorial Library, also in the center of campus, and Mudd Hall of Philosophy, on Childs Way at Exposition Boulevard, might be recognizable from countless TV shows and movies.

The Commons, between the student union and the bookstore, houses a few places to eat, including a Wolfgang Puck Pizza cafe. If you’re around in the evening, stop by Ground Zero Coffee House, next to Pardee Tower. Jazz students perform there each week starting at 8 p.m.

Friday

While not a local cultural destination like UCLA, USC has some of the best fine arts programs in the country.

Watt Hall houses the School of Architecture, and its gallery displays student designs. Previous students have included Frank Gehry, Jon Jerde and Pierre Koenig.

Nearby at Fisher Gallery (823 Exposition Blvd.), the exhibition “Treasures of USC: The Collecting Continues” shows off some of the artwork donated to USC. (Open Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. [213] 740-4561).

The highly regarded Thornton School of Music teaches everything from opera to swing. At 8 p.m. in Alfred Newman Recital Hall, you can check out a Chamber Orchestra concert.

Some of USC’s most popular classes are offered in the School of Cinema-Television. While only a fraction of applicants are accepted, anyone can have the film student experience. Every Friday night, films are screened in the cushy Norris Cinema Theatre, where large cinema classes are held. Tonight, “Election.” $3. (213) 740-1945.

Saturday

No USC experience is complete without a football game. Sitting among thousands of people dressed in cardinal and gold cheering for a man in a leather skirt riding a white horse, you really start to understand the “Trojan Family” dynamics.

The Trojans take on Oregon State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 3:30 p.m. $27. (213) 740-GOSC.