From Introduction to Medical Clowning to International Style Ballroom Dance, USC offers a wide range of elective courses that allow students to explore topics outside their fields of study. 

With busy courseloads, students may struggle to find electives that align with their academic plans and personal interests, needing to consider timing, number of units and reflections on the class from former students. 

With the Spring 2026 add/drop deadline approaching Friday, the Daily Trojan spoke with students about their favorite electives to fill potential holes in schedules. All of the classes mentioned in this article were still open for registration for students of all majors at the time of publication.

THTR-417: Stage Combat (2.0 units)

Stage Combat is taught by part-time lecturer Edgar Landa, an actor, director and fight choreographer for theater productions in Los Angeles. The class introduces students to the mechanisms of fake fighting on stage through training and practice. Sarah Brewer, a junior majoring in dramatic arts who is currently enrolled in the class, said she learns something new each class period and described Landa as “epic.” 

“I tell people he’s the stage combat and fight choreography guy of [Los Angeles] because he does it for everybody, everywhere,” Brewer said. “He’s really thorough with how he teaches each move. There’s always an emphasis on safety, because stage combat can be different than actually hitting someone … Every day in class is so exciting.”

PHED-104a: Self Defense (1.0 unit)

In this course, martial arts trainers and lecturers Carl Collins and Arthur Chivichyan introduce students to ground fighting and strategies of physical defense. Torie Holdgreve-Resendez, a freshman majoring in the business of cinematic arts, said she feels safer going out into the world by taking this course. 

“[Collins] pushes his students to be the best that they can be: no pain, no gain type of stuff,” Holdgreve-Resendez said. “It feels like something that could definitely be really useful in the future. Hopefully it doesn’t have to be, but it could be. ”

MPGU-125: Beginning Fingerstyle/Chord Guitar (2.0 units)

Taught by assistant lecturer and Thornton School of Music alum Doris Ćosić, this course introduces students to basic chords and patterns through classical pieces such as Bach’s “Minuet.” Elisha Park, a junior majoring in theatrical design, recommended the class to beginners who may not be familiar with the guitar.

“They take you from the start of the basics,” Park said, “What are the parts of the guitar? What are the strings? The teacher had a strum and a finger style. It was pretty slow-paced. My friend, who was an absolute beginner, improved a lot.”

Other Recommendations

Other classes mentioned by students were Seamanship & Navigation (NAUT-301a), Yoga & Meditation (PHED-122) and Los Angeles: Communication & Culture (COMM-360). 

“Take advantage of your extra units for classes,” Park said. “Where else are you gonna get these kinds of random classes?”