Our Mission

USC Gayle Garner Roski School of Art and Design is committed to inspiring students to create aesthetically powerful, politically responsible, and inclusive ways of being in the world.

The school’s mission is to contribute to the vibrant research and creative environments of USC, the greater Los Angeles art and design communities and the world at large. We believe that art and design are viable and important means of expression that critically examines the complex, globally networked world in which we live. We specifically nurture creativity in the arts via an immersive studio curriculum built upon a foundation of historical and critical discourse to develop the rigorous critical thinking skills necessary for artists and designers in the 21st century. We believe that the creative professions have a special charge to illuminate, question, and reshape how we understand ourselves, each other, and the world. All of our teachings are contextualized within issues of diversity, equity, and sustainability. And in our quest to support, guide, and develop great creative minds, faculty and students explore together new innovative hybrid forms of art, design, and critical studies practices, forging new ways of imagining the future.