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Research

Research with Real-World Implications

From climate action to democratic resilience, we leverage our interdisciplinary expertise to drive life-changing outcomes with evidence-backed policy guidance.

Research Areas

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

Our research has informed everything from vaccination policies to traffic safety to voting rights. Through our interdisciplinary research centers, the Price School provides students with enormous opportunities to engage in real research that changes lives.

Research Areas

Economic Development

USC Price School research analyzes drivers of economic development, examining employment strategies to promote growth; how fashion, art and culture affect economies; and the role of hospitals and clinics in neighborhood economic development.

Research Areas

Environment

Our faculty research multiple avenues related to the environment. They study alternative energy and efficiency strategies, demonstrate how to improve climate change communication, develop green ratings systems, and explore possibilities for collaboration across government and industry.

Research Areas

Governance

Governance is woven into many of our programs and has been a core research area since the school’s founding in 1929. Price faculty produce widely cited research and engage public officials as a result of their commitment to making government and civil society more effective.

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Research Areas

Health Policy and Management

USC Price School experts are leaders in numerous aspects of our healthcare system. They examine hospital administration, insurance design, Medicare, service delivery and health economics, as well as analyze the global consequences of policy affecting pharmaceutical and medical device innovation.

Research Areas

Housing Security

Our Homelessness Policy Research Institute – a partnership with the USC School of Social Work – collaborates with more than 100 researchers, policymakers, service providers and experts who have experienced homelessness to accelerate equitable and culturally informed solutions to homelessness in L.A. County.

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Research Areas

International Development

Our focus on international development is enshrined in our mission to improve the quality of life in communities worldwide. We’ve provided recommendations for improving trust in public drinking water around the world, demonstrated how a simple procedure could save millions of children’s lives in developing countries and so much more.

Research Areas

Nonprofit Management

From research presentations at the White House to groundbreaking studies, our experts have been leading the way in action-oriented empirical analysis for more than 25 years. Our renowned experts in the Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy engage in scholarly work that is rigorous, relevant and accessible.

Research Areas

Public Policy and Administration

Virtually every area of our research directly or indirectly informs and shapes more effective, equitable public policy. Our research led to expanding health insurance for 65 million people in India. We helped Southern California create or retain more than 8,500 manufacturing jobs. And on and on.

Research Areas

Real Estate

The USC Price School’s Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development is home to three powerhouse organizations — The USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, the USC Ross Program in Real Estate and the USC Casden Multifamily Forecast. The annual Casden Forecast is a widely cited source of information about trends in the multi-family residential real estate market.

Research Areas

Security and Risk Analysis

Our CREATE Homeland Security Center and the USC Safe Communities Institute (SCI) use a variety of fact-based approaches to evaluate and counter risks to foster safer communities. CREATE was the Department of Homeland Security’s first center of excellence; SCI is directed by a former Sheriff of L.A. County.

Research Areas

Social Innovation

From addressing homelessness in L.A. County to developing new economic pathways so that a person’s zip code doesn’t determine life outcomes, Social Innovation research is tackling today’s most urgent urban challenges — seeking to develop and inform new models that advance equity and opportunity for low-income families.

Research Areas

Transportation

Our faculty examine the role of transportation to improve mobility options for all people, reduce pollution and GHG emissions, and contribute to making more livable cities. The METRANS Transportation Consortium focuses on solving transportation problems of large metropolitan areas through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach.

Research Areas

Urban Planning

Our urban planning experts focus on designing more livable communities. They include renowned experts who have been named to leadership and advisory roles at the U.S Department of Housing & Urban Development and have provided expert testimony to the Senate Committees on Finance and Banking.

Centers and Initiatives

Breaking Down Barriers for Innovative Policies

As a student, you’ll learn from this research and have an opportunity to contribute to it. Students work as graduate and undergraduate research assistants, participate in student research conferences, and attend many research seminar series. Do you have a vital question you want to investigate? At USC Price, you’ll find the tools and support necessary to forge new types of knowledge.

Centers and Initiatives