USC’s capstone program for seniors and the undergraduate international business program at the Moore School of Business are among the nation's best in the 2005 "America's Best Colleges Guide," published by U.S.News & World Report.

The rankings will be in the Aug. 30 edition of U.S.News, which will be on newsstands Aug. 23 and at USNews.com Aug. 20.

USC's Moore School of Business is ranked No. 1 for undergraduate international business education—a ranking USC has held since 1995—and No. 8 for its undergraduate insurance program. The Moore School
also ranked No. 41 nationally. USC's programs for first-year and senior students are cited among the nation's best by the magazine in its "Programs to Look For" section, which lists colleges and universities
with outstanding programs that lead to student success.

USC's University 401 program was listed among 15 colleges and universities whose "Senior Capstone" programs enables students at the end of their college careers to make a smooth transition to the workplace or graduate school.

The magazine also placed USC's University 101 program among the best 40 colleges and universities with successful "First-Year Experiences." This is the third year that USC has been honored in this category, including its recognition in 2002 as the nation's best provider of first-year experiences.

"We're all thrilled with this recognition," said Dan Berman, who, as director of University 101 in USC's National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, also oversees University 401. "USC's senior capstone seminar enables students to coalesce and synthesize what they've learned and gives them a boost into the next phase of their lives."

USC's capstone program is University 401, a one-semester course that is offered in specific majors. Class size is limited to 20 students, and all participants are required to complete a major project and give a presentation. USC's senior capstone program joins the ranks of those at Harvard and Princeton universities and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.

USC's successful University 101 program began in 1972 to introduce first-year students to life at Carolina and increase retention to the sophomore year. This year's listing of top first-year programs places USC among successful programs at Dartmouth and Amherst colleges and Duke, Emory, Ohio State, and Princeton universities.

"We feel that University 101 and University 401 programs are the bookends for a student's experience here at USC," Berman said.

USC also is ranked among the Top 117 national universities and among them, is in the top 59 public national universities. For its national universities ranking, U.S.News took 248 American universities (162 public and 86 private) that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors and master's and doctoral degrees. Most also strongly emphasize research.

Among the criteria in the ranking of universities are acceptance and graduation rates, retention, class size, faculty resources, SAT scores, and alumni giving.

The Moore School's undergraduate international business program leads New York University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and the University of California at Berkeley. Earlier this year, the Moore School's graduate international business program was ranked No. 2 in the magazine.