The University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy (USC Price) is the undergraduate and graduate public policy school of the University of Southern California (USC). USC Price oversees the Center for Inclusive Democracy and the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, projects that analyze voting trends and propose methods for increasing voter efficiency. ^{1 2 3}

Background

The University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy consists of four departments: Public Policy and Management, Health Policy and Management, the Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development, and Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis. ¹

In the 2025-2026 school year, USC Price had an undergraduate enrollment of 763, a Master’s enrollment of 765, and a doctoral enrollment of 81. The school has 68 faculty members, including three Nobel laureates. That year, the school spent $15.8 million on research, down from a high of $19 million in 2021. ⁴

In 2025, USC Price was ranked the third-best public affairs graduate school in the United States by U.S. News and World Report. ⁵

Projects

Center for Inclusive Democracy

The Center for Inclusive Democracy (CID) is a project of the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy. It engages in political research on American elections and voting demographics. CID was established in 2010 by political sociologist Mindy Romero as the “California Civic Engagement Project” and was part of the University of California, Davis. Romero conceived of the project to as a research group that would harvest data on the “voting disparities” and engagement levels among “low-income and migrant communities, as well as communities of color” and use the discoveries to increase their voter turnout rates. In 2018, the project moved to USC and changed its name to the “Center for Inclusive Democracy;” it reconceived its mission to be not merely increasing civic engagement in California but also providing research on “communities of color” and their “disenfranchisement” nationally. ³

In 2012, CID released its first research report, “Disparities in California’s Vote-By-Mail Use – Changing Demographic Composition 2002-2012,” which analyzed the rate of use of mail-in ballots by different segments of the population. It discovered that Latino Americans used vote-by-mail less than Asian Americans, young people used it less than older citizens, and Democrats less than Republicans. It called for action in response to these findings, such as ensuring that ballots sent to Asian immigrants are in their native languages to reduce “disparate impacts.” ^{3 6}

CID teamed up with UnidosUS in 2018 to conduct a research report series called “Strength of the Latino Vote.” Afterward, CID and its director, Mindy Romero, came to be referred to as as go-to sources on the Latino vote in America, as well as the youth vote. ³

In 2023, the CID published a report titled, “California New Motor Voter Law: Changing The State’s Voter Registration Landscape,” which examined the results of a 2018 voting program started in California called the California New Motor Voter (CNMV) Act. The program was established to oversee automatic voter registration for California residents with a valid state driver’s license or identification card unless they chose not to register. According to the report, CNMV was most used by first-time Asian-American, Black, and Latino voter registrants, and through the CNMV system, registration rates for racial and ethnic minority groups increased between 2016 and 2020. In addition, the number of registrants between 18-24 years of age saw a 13.5 percent increase since 2018, though the turnout rates of DMV registrants in 2020 was less than those registered online. ⁷

In July 2025, CID published a report entitled “California’s 2024 General Election: Voting Methods and Early Voting.” The study found that over 80 percent of ballots cast in 2024 were cast by mail, reflecting a long-term trend in increased voting by mail. The report also found that Democrats voted by mail more often than Republicans, and that Latino mail ballots were most likely to be rejected. The report was funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. ⁸

USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy

The USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, named after actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), is a component of the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy. The Schwarzenegger Institute conducts public policy research, including a project titled, “Strengthening Democracy by Increasing Voter Access and Empowering Election Administrators,” conducted with the Center for Inclusive Democracy, which extensively monitors polling locations in 14 states to improve voter outreach and reduce voter errors. ^{2 9}

“Diploma Mill” Lawsuit

In May 2023, graduates of the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy’s online Master’s of Social Work (MSW) program sued the school “for misrepresentation, false advertising, and other deceptive, unfair and unlawful business practices.” The plaintiffs alleged that USC Price misled them into believing that its online program had essentially the same curriculum, instructors, resources, and research opportunities as its on-campus program; however, USC Price had outsourced its online program to 2U, a for-profit education company. The lawsuit characterized USC Price’s online program as a “diploma mill.” ^{10 11}

In November 2023, USC Price announced that it was ending its partnership with 2U. ^{10 11}

1. “About the Price School.” USC Price. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://priceschool.usc.edu/about/.
2. “About the Institute.” USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://schwarzenegger.usc.edu/about-the-institute/.
3. “History & Milestones.” Center for Inclusive Democracy. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://cid.usc.edu/history.
4. “2025 2026 Annual Report.” USC Price. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://priceschool.usc.edu/about/annual-report/.
5. Hetrick, Christian. “USC Price School Rises to No. 3 Ranked Public Affairs School.” USC Price. April 8, 2025. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://priceschool.usc.edu/news/us-news-world-report-best-public-affairs-school/.
6. “Disparities in California’s Vote-by-Mail Use.” UC Davis, Issue Brief #1 March 2014. Accessed October 31, 2022. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57b8c7ce15d5dbf599fb46ab/t/58e58499e4fcb5fc935614c6/1491436758841/VBM+Issue+Brief+Revised.pdf.
7. Meier, Anna, Mindy Romeo, Ph.D., Eric McGhee. “CALIFORNIA NEW MOTOR VOTER LAW: CHANGING THE STATE’S VOTER REGISTRATION LANDSCAPE.” Center for Inclusive Democracy, Accessed April 13, 2023. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57b8c7ce15d5dbf599fb46ab/t/6425c870c807a4382027ccb7/1680197745272/CID+CNMV+Research+Report+FINAL.pdf.
8. “CID Election Turnout Research.” Center for Inclusive Democracy. July 2025. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://cid.usc.edu/turnout-briefs.
9. “Strengthening Democracy by Increasing Voter Access and Empowering Election Administrators.” USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://schwarzenegger.usc.edu/strengthening-democracy-by-increasing-voter-access-and-empowering-election-administrators/.
10. “STATEMENT: USC Ends Partnership with 2U After Graduate Social Work Students Sue Over Online MSW “Diploma Mill”.” PPSL. November 10, 2023. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://www.ppsl.org/news/statement-usc-ends-partnership-with-2u-after-graduate-social-work-students-sue-over-online-msw-diploma-millnbsp#:~:text=Graduates%20of%20USC’s%20online%20Master’s%20in%20Social%20Work%20(MSW)%20program,unfair%20and%20unlawful%20business%20practices..
11. “Social Work Graduate Students Sue USC  Over Online MSW “Diploma Mill”.” PPSL. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://www.ppsl.org/news/social-work-graduate-students-sue-online-msw-diploma-mill.