How-to: Request a Redirect from www.usc.edu

USC departments and organizations can request a redirect in the form www.usc.edu/sitename to any web address in the usc.edu domain. An example redirect would point https://www.usc.edu/tommytrojan to http://tommytrojan.usc.edu. Personal websites are not eligible for redirects.

Features

  • Creates a short URL, convenient for promotional materials
  • This short URL can point to any official USC website

Eligibility

  • USC.edu redirects can be applied to any official USC department, program, or organization site or web page. The destination site or page should meet USC branding guidelines and be monitored and controlled by USC faculty or staff.
  • Note: You will need a valid USC NetID login to access the redirect request form. External development teams should ask their USC client to submit requests for them.

Naming Conventions

You can request any redirect you’d like as long as it:

  • is not already in use
  • logically relates to your site address and is not overly broad or vague
  • meets all USC policy and identity guidelines

Acceptable Redirects

  • http://usc.edu/its to http://itservices.usc.edu
  • http://usc.edu/music to http://music.usc.edu

Why They Work: These redirects logically reference the resulting site URL.

Unacceptable Redirects

  • http://usc.edu/trojans to http://sitename.usc.edu
  • http://usc.edu/innovation to http://sitename.usc.edu

Why They Don’t Work: In both these cases, the chosen redirects are too broad. You should request redirects that are logical and descriptive. Unless your site is about general innovation at USC and hosted at innovation.usc.edu, you should not request a redirect from /innovation. Redirects should directly reference your site’s content or purpose.

Exceptions

  • ITS offers redirects only from USC’s main server, or www.usc.edu. Redirects on other sites (e.g. redirecting sitename.usc.edu/xyz to xyz.usc.edu) must be set up by that site’s administrator.

Getting Started

  • If you haven’t already, you’ll first need to register sitename.usc.edu by requesting a USC URL.
  • Once you’ve set up your site at sitename.usc.edu, please fill out our Online Redirect Request Form.
  • Redirects are reviewed during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. You will receive an email notifying you that your redirect has been reviewed and approved. Approved requests are processed nightly at 10:30 PM during the business week. Requests made after 5 PM on Friday will not be reviewed until the following Monday.

Pricing

  • There is no charge for redirects.