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To address a ballooning deficit, USC implemented budget cuts
Since Fiscal Year ‘23, USC has faced an operational deficit which ballooned to $251 million in Fiscal Year ‘25. While addressing the deficit, the University cut some scholarship funding and employee benefits, and froze merit-based raises. USC also laid off over 1,000 employees since July 2025 across the University Park Campus, the Health Sciences Campus and its health system.
During the University’s financial crisis, USC also transitioned leadership from former President Carol Folt to President Beong-Soo Kim. The Daily Trojan reported on the University’s actions to address the operational deficit and how it has affected the campus community.
Read our coverage below.
Feb. 6, 2026
Nicholas Corral & Adam Young, Daily Trojan
USC CFO ‘really optimistic’ after Fiscal Year ‘25 report releases
The University released an expanded version of its consolidated financial statements on Friday, reflecting for the first time Big Ten revenue, a restructuring of USC’s health care footprint and growth in USC’s endowment.
The report expands on USC’s consolidated financial statements released in December 2025. It and the statements cover USC’s finances from June 30, 2024, through June 30, 2025. The University released the expanded report for the first time since 2018, but has released the consolidated statements every year in between.
Nov. 25, 2025
Nicholas Corral, Daily Trojan
USC reaches 1,000 layoffs
USC laid off 27 employees and reduced hours for 33 others at the University Park Campus, according to a notice filed with the state on Thursday and released Tuesday. One thousand employees have been laid off by the University, and 39 have had their hours reduced since July, according to state data.
The 27 positions affected by layoffs include communications, program administrator and marketing roles. Thirty-three adjunct or part-time faculty positions face reductions of 50% or more of their work hours.
Nov. 3, 2025
Zachary Whalen & Miranda Huang, Daily Trojan
USC expects to ‘eliminate’ long-term deficit by July 2026
The University expects to eliminate its long-term budget deficit by the end of the fiscal year, which ends June 2026, according to an email to faculty and staff from interim President Beong-Soo Kim on Monday afternoon.
Since July, USC has laid off at least 974 employees according to state layoff data, among other budget cuts, to address the $230 million in operating deficits from previous years.
Oct. 31, 2025
Adam Young, Daily Trojan
USC reports 259 layoffs
The University reported 259 layoffs across University Park Campus in a notice to the state and city released on Thursday. The layoffs encompassed 85 advisor positions, but the notice did not specify which school the advisors were in. Two employees were also laid off from the Health Sciences Campus, according to the notice.
The notice is the first since September that includes a bulk of advisor positions being laid off. On Oct. 10, the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences announced it was laying off 162 employees in a departmental restructuring, according to an email sent by Dean James Bullock. The layoffs encapsulated “nearly all” academic support staff. Annenberg Media also reported that 57 Viterbi academic advisors were laid off Oct. 5.
Oct. 15, 2025
Anusha Alam, Daily Trojan
Dornsife undergraduates react to advisor dismissals
The decision to lay off nearly all academic advisors by the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences on Friday has sparked confusion and uncertainty among many Dornsife students. Advisors were asked to stay at their jobs for the next 60 days. Following this, Dornsife will provide centralized hubs for each Dornsife division where students can still receive academic advice.
Several Dornsife students interviewed by the Daily Trojan said they were unaware of the layoffs and did not receive a formal announcement from the University.
Oct. 10, 2025
Zachary Whalen, Daily Trojan
Dornsife lays off ‘nearly all’ academic support staff, dean announces
The Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences laid off 162 employees Friday morning in a departmental restructuring, according to an email sent by Dean James Bullock. The layoffs encapsulated “nearly all” academic support staff, according to his email.
Bullock wrote that Dornsife did not expect to lay off any more staff positions. The layoffs were first reported by Morning, Trojan.
Oct. 7, 2025
Aiden Pavon, Daily Trojan
USC lays off 21 employees
The University laid off 21 additional employees across the University Park Campus on Friday, revealed in a notice filed with the state and city that was released Tuesday.
There have now been over 700 employees laid off since July. This comes after interim President Beong-Soo Kim announced in a July statement that the University had a more than $200 million operating deficit left in the previous fiscal year.
Sep. 30, 2025
Aiden Pavon, Daily Trojan
USC announces 55 layoffs
The University has laid off 55 additional employees across the University Park Campus, according to a notice filed with the state and city Tuesday.
At least 637 employees have been laid off since July. This comes after interim President Beong-Soo Kim announced in a July statement that the University had a more than $200 million operating deficit that was left in the previous fiscal year.
Sep. 22, 2025
Feiyu Long, Daily Trojan
SDA in ‘distress’ amid program cuts, layoffs in production
Starting next year, the School of Dramatic Arts will “sunset” two of its degree programs: the Bachelor of Fine Arts in technical direction and the Master of Fine Arts in dramatic writing, according to a letter from Dean Emily Roxworthy to SDA faculty and staff on Aug. 28. The decision came alongside layoffs in production and design staff, reductions in student worker budgets and plans to release leases on certain spaces.
The students currently in the program will still graduate, but SDA will not be admitting new students to these programs starting in the Fall 2026 cycle, the letter read. The school will try to ensure the “same quality of education” for current students that they were guaranteed when they enrolled.
Sep. 18, 2025
Sean Campbell, Daily Trojan
‘Large bulk’ of layoffs have already happened, Provost says
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrew Guzman said that a “large bulk” of layoffs put in place to resolve a projected $230 million structural deficit for the previous fiscal year have been completed in a presentation to the Academic Senate on Wednesday.
At least 637 employees have been laid off since interim President Beong-Soo Kim announced the deficit in a July 14 memo, according to state documents reviewed by the Daily Trojan. Layoffs have affected a variety of schools at departments across both the University Park and Health Sciences Campuses, including the Office of Cybersecurity, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Rossier School of Education, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and the Athletics department.
Sep. 16, 2025
Adam Young, Daily Trojan
USC lays off nearly 300 employees across USC campuses
The University laid off or reduced hours for an additional 295 employees across the University Park and Health Sciences campuses according to two notices filed with the state and city on Sept. 11 and 14. This is the largest batch of layoffs so far, encompassing professors, an associate vice provost and dozens of researchers across the two campuses. The number was first reported by Morning, Trojan.
Documents show USC laid off 135 employees at UPC citing budget reductions. The largest number of layoffs came from staff in research positions, including 27 associate research administrators and 15 research administrators.
Aug. 27, 2025
Adam Young, Daily Trojan
USC lays off 142 additional employees across campus
The University laid off 142 employees across the University Park Campus, according to a notice filed Friday with the state and city. The number of layoffs was first reported by Morning, Trojan.
The latest layoffs will go into effect between Oct. 4 and Nov. 5. The notice included many administrative positions, service positions and professor positions, though it did not indicate specific departments.
Aug. 20, 2025
Daily Trojan Staff
USC cuts programs to ease $200 million deficit
With layoffs and property sales, USC continues to see the effects of budget cuts as University administration moves to address a more than $200 million operating deficit.
Newly installed interim President Beong-Soo Kim publicly revealed the operating deficit from fiscal year 2025 in an email to faculty and staff on July 14. He announced that the University would implement layoffs, sell unused properties and adjust compensation for the most highly paid employees.
Aug. 19, 2025
Nicholas Corral, Daily Trojan
Layoffs expand to include Rossier
The University laid off at least 54 individuals across the Rossier School of Education, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and other departments on Aug. 14 according to state data obtained by the Daily Trojan.
The layoffs included two teaching professors of education. There have been no previous reports of layoffs affecting Rossier. The school did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Aug. 7, 2025
Adam Young, Daily Trojan
USC health system laid off 89 employees
Eighty-nine employees were laid off Monday across USC’s health system, according to a notice filed with the state and city. The number of layoffs was first reported by Morning, Trojan.
The layoffs will go into effect Oct. 4 and include employees from Keck Medicine of USC, USC Care Medical Group, Inc., Keck Medical Center of USC, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital. The layoffs will be permanent, according to the notice. Positions cut include 24 manager positions, seven supervisor technicians, seven sleep study technicians and many more across the USC health system.
Jul. 14, 2025
Zachary Whalen, Daily Trojan
University’s operating deficit exceeds $200 million, layoffs to come
USC will implement layoffs to “deal decisively with our financial challenges,” wrote interim President Beong-Soo Kim in a message to faculty and staff Monday afternoon. Kim wrote that the University ended the 2025 fiscal year with an operating budget deficit of over $200 million, an increase from the 2024 fiscal year’s operating budget deficit of $158 million. The statement named the “structural nature” of the deficit, along with poor financial performance from the health system, as contributors to the larger deficit.
A decrease in international student enrollment, as well as USC facing a potential $300 million loss in federally sponsored research funding, contributed to the decision to implement layoffs.
Jun. 4, 2025
Zachary Whalen, Daily Trojan
The Department of Animal Resources is in a ‘staffing crisis.’ Here’s what it means
The Department of Animal Resources is facing a “staffing crisis” which has forced the implementation of multiple “emergency measures,” according to an April 28 memo signed by DAR Executive Director Ari Aycock-Williams.
The memo, which was first reported on by Morning, Trojan, stated DAR will be forced to delay the purchasing of new animals and clean facilities “sporadically” in order to maintain essential operations.
Apr. 25, 2025
Adam Young, Daily Trojan
Folt opts not to sign letter condemning Trump funding cuts
President Carol Folt chose not to sign an open statement released Tuesday by the American Association of Colleges and Universities rejecting the “coercive use of public research funding” from the Trump administration. As of publication, well over 200 university presidents and chancellors have signed the letter.
In a statement to the Daily Trojan, Folt wrote that she “rarely” signs open letters, but “deeply respect[s]” the University leaders who did and did not sign the AACU statement.
Apr. 16, 2025
Christina Chkarboul, Daily Trojan
‘A real blow’: Scholars lose federal humanities funding
Receiving a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities was a monumental, career-altering opportunity for Ginger Nolan, an assistant professor of architecture.
A $45,000 NEH grant gave Nolan the funding she needed to take time off from teaching and devote herself entirely to researching and writing a book for a year — something tenure-track faculty at the School of Architecture aren’t typically able to do, she said.
Apr. 4, 2025
April Mao & Talia Wexler, Daily Trojan
USC revokes some Ph.D. acceptances citing fund issues
Multiple USC doctoral programs, including philosophy, chemistry, sociology, molecular biology and religion, rescinded pending admission offers last week, first reported by Morning, Trojan. The Daily Trojan found that the classics department also revoked Ph.D. admissions.
The University wrote that programs and schools were giving “careful consideration” to how admitted students will be funded “in light of uncertainty regarding federal research funding,” in a statement to the Daily Trojan on Monday.
Apr. 2, 2025
Sean Campbell, Daily Trojan
USC professors sign ‘SOS,’ claim federal assault on science
Eight USC professors and professors emeritus — including the namesake of the Viterbi School of Engineering, Presidential Professor Andrew Viterbi, as well as professors from the Davis School of Gerontology, Keck School of Medicine and Price School of Public Policy — signed a public statement Monday, calling on the Trump administration to “cease its wholesale assault” on United States science.
The letter — written by elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — specified that the signers were expressing their personal views, not representing their institutions.
Mar. 28, 2025
Justin Ha, Daily Trojan
USC reduces merit scholarship funds, citing budget woes
USC is reducing funding toward merit scholarships for incoming students due to budgetary constraints, a University statement to the Daily Trojan read. The University did not reveal the amount of the reduction. This was first reported by Morning, Trojan.
“In our ongoing budgetary efforts, we are taking a wide range of steps to address our structural deficit. Among the changes we have made has been some reduction in the funds dedicated to merit aid scholarships,” the University wrote. “This has allowed us to protect the need-based aid pool and meet our commitment to meeting the full financial need of all students.”
Mar. 27, 2025
Sean Campbell, Daily Trojan
USC ‘overwhelmingly likely’ to lose up to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, Provost says
University leaders, including President Carol Folt and Provost Andrew Guzman, discussed the impacts of President Donald Trump’s executive actions as well as recent University budget cuts with faculty leaders at the Academic Senate meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Guzman said it is “overwhelmingly likely” that the University will lose up to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from current or upcoming executive actions. He said that is a reason why USC has complied with previous actions, including an information request on Chinese international students from the House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and an upcoming visit from the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.
Mar. 26, 2025
Justin Ha & Kiyomi Miura, Daily Trojan
Report says USC is ‘overly pessimistic’ about finances
Amid budget cuts to schools and University programs — including additional cuts announced Monday — a financial analysis presented to the USC chapter of the American Association of University Professors on March 7 said USC is in “very strong financial condition.”
While presenting the report, Eastern Michigan University accounting professor Howard Bunsis, who conducted the analysis, said the administration is “overly pessimistic” about its financial health. The University did not respond to the Daily Trojan’s request for comment in time for publication.
Mar. 26, 2025
Adam Young, Daily Trojan
Faculty reacts to budget cuts, limited hiring
University leadership announced nine measures to “limit and reduce expenditures” effective immediately, citing financial stress from federal funding cuts and an ongoing structural deficit in a letter published to its “We Are SC” website Monday morning. Steps included a staff hiring freeze, restricted hiring for faculty and a pause to merit-based raises for most faculty and non-hospital staff positions from the 2024 performance cycle.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the University received roughly $650 million in student financial aid and $569 million for federally funded research, the statement read. These funds are in jeopardy with President Donald Trump’s moves affecting higher education — including attempts to dismantle the Department of Education and caps on the National Institutes of Health’s funding for research.
Mar. 24, 2025
Nathan Elias & Adam Young, Daily Trojan
USC implements staff hiring freeze, more budget cuts
University leadership announced nine measures to “limit and reduce expenditures” effective immediately, citing financial stress from federal funding cuts and an ongoing structural deficit in a letter published to its “We Are SC” website Monday morning. Steps include a hiring freeze for most staff positions, restricted hiring for faculty, and a pause to merit increases for most faculty and non-hospital staff positions beginning July 1.
“Budget reductions for administrative units and schools that were implemented at the start of the fiscal year will be the new baseline moving forward,” the letter read, while the University will direct all departments to “streamline workflows, services, and operations to meet new budgetary targets.”
Dec. 23, 2024
David Rendon, Daily Trojan
University reduces scholarships for National Merit Finalists
The University has reduced scholarships for National Merit Finalists from half tuition to $20,000, Morning, Trojan reported earlier today.
National Merit Finalists, or students who received extremely high scores on the PSAT in high school, will no longer receive half-tuition scholarships. Currently enrolled students will not be affected by this change.
Nov. 13, 2024
Colin Stillman, Daily Trojan
University plans to cut employee benefits
Amid layoffs and budget cuts, USC announced it intends to reduce employee benefits beginning Summer 2025. As of the 2023-24 academic year, the University reported over 22,000 staff and faculty.
During closed-door presentations to limited faculty and staff Oct. 16 and Oct. 18, Human Resources representatives announced planned reductions to benefits ranging from healthcare to tuition assistance. The University reverted some of the changes following pushback from employees. It is unclear whether these benefit reductions result from underlying budgetary issues, or if the University is being more conservative with its resources this year.
Oct. 29, 2024
Reo & Colin Stillman, Daily Trojan
USC makes first permanent mass layoffs in over 10 years
Last May, USC began a series of permanent layoffs unseen in at least a decade. Across the University’s health care and auxiliary services, USC permanently laid off or closed the departments of 179 workers in a process that has yet to be finished.
On May 1, the Keck School of Medicine submitted a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, a legally mandated report that notifies employees and government officials of job losses in advance. The WARN notice was the only report in public record — which goes back to July 1, 2014 — to signal permanent layoffs for USC. Previously, the University had filed two reports of temporary layoffs in June 2020 and March 2015.
