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Media and Social Change: Becoming a Change Agent for a Better World
Learn on your own time and earn a Certificate of Completion.
Program Overview
By the end of the course, you’ll gain a better understanding of how social change operates as well as the important role media can play in the process. You’ll also learn how you can use your voice and media presence to address the issues that you and your peers care about.
Key Information
Featured Topics
- Strategies for social change
- Visual culture
- Storytelling and narrative impact
- Amplifying your message
- Becoming an advocate
Learning Outcomes
- Understand how individuals use social change to challenge the status quo and envision a better future
- Explore how social change is enacted in different contexts, by different constituents and on different scales — from grassroots movements to advocacy campaigns, from local community work to global calls for change
- Discover how different types of media and storytelling drive social change and make an impact
- Determine how to amplify your voice and harness the power of media to drive change
Format and Course Length
- This course consists of recorded lectures, media case studies and industry connections. Students will explore a range of media that play a role in driving social change around pressing contemporary issues. Each topic provides context for understanding these media examples along with theories and movements of social change to equip and inspire students to become change agents for a better world.
- Combined coursework of recorded lectures, readings and assignments is approximately 20–25 hours, to be completed at the student’s own pace.
- Students are expected to complete the course in four weeks but have 90 days of access if more time is needed.
Featured Faculty
In this course, you’ll learn from Alison Trope, a clinical professor of communication at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Alison is also the former director of undergraduate studies at USC Annenberg. She is the founder and director of Critical Media Project, a media literacy initiative focused on representation and identity, which is used in Los Angeles Unified School District and other secondary and higher education institutions across the country. Alison is the author of Stardust Monuments: The Saving and Selling of Hollywood, which explores the enduring efforts to memorialize and canonize the history and meaning Hollywood has in our everyday lives. She has also written about the history and current state of Hollywood philanthropy and activism. Alison received her PhD in critical studies from USC and has since taught a range of courses at USC Annenberg about media and digital literacy, popular culture, visual culture, fashion, gender and social change.
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Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. Applicants who submit a completed application can expect an admission decision within three to five business days.
- Include basic contact information from you and your parent(s) or guardian.
- Tell us why you want to take the course and a little about yourself through a short-answer essay.
- Share a piece of writing, video or social media content that reveals something about yourself (optional).
- Submit the $35 application fee.
- Students must be at least 14 years old or older and enrolled in a high school or secondary program.
Recent high school graduates, students taking a gap year or time off from college, and students who are older than 18 can request an exemption to apply by emailing precollegeonline@usc.edu. Please include a short paragraph (no more than 200 words) stating your interest and how this program will add value to your academic or career plans.
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In addition to the requirements listed above, international applicants are expected to be proficient in English. International students who successfully complete an online course will receive a digital Certificate of Completion and, by request, a USC Pre-College Programs transcript at no additional cost.
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Program Start Date Application and Tuition Deadline Monday, November 10, 2025 Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Monday, November 24, 2025 Wednesday, November 19, 2025 Monday, December 8, 2025 Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Monday, December 22, 2025 Wednesday, December 17, 2025 Monday, January 5, 2026 Wednesday, December 31, 2025 Monday, January 19, 2026 Wednesday, January 14, 2026 Monday, February 2, 2026 Wednesday, January 28, 2026 Monday, February 16, 2026 Wednesday, February 11, 2026 Monday, March 2, 2026 Wednesday, February 25, 2026 Monday, March 16, 2026 Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Monday, March 30, 2026 Wednesday, March 25, 2026 Monday, April 13, 2026 Wednesday, April 8, 2026 Monday, April 27, 2026 Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Monday, May 11, 2026 Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Monday, May 25, 2026 Wednesday, May 20, 2026 Monday, June 8, 2026 Wednesday, June 3, 2026 Monday, June 22, 2026 Wednesday, June 17, 2026 Monday, July 6, 2026 Wednesday, July 1, 2026 Monday, July 20, 2026 Wednesday, July 15, 2026 -
Application fee: $35
Tuition: $1,990
Tuition and fees cover access to the chosen online course and materials for up to three months after your chosen start date.
Please note that application fees are nonrefundable. All course cancellations requests must be made in writing to precollegeonline@usc.edu. Any tuition paid to the university will be refunded, not including fees, if requested no more than three days past the course start date. Requests to drop the course more than three days after the start date will not be eligible for a refund.
The university will not refund tuition for USC Pre-College online exploration courses for students who are removed from the program due to a violation of our Letter of Understanding for Online Participation and our Student Code of Conduct.
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