University Of South Carolina

About University Of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina (also referred to as USC, SC, or Carolina) is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Its historic campus covers over 359 acres (1.5 km2) in downtown Columbia not far from the State House.

The University of South Carolina, Columbia, with approximately 27,000 students, is the flagship institution of the University of South Carolina System and offers more than 350 programs of study leading to bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from fifteen degree-granting colleges and schools. Professional schools on the Columbia campus include engineering, law, medicine, and pharmacy.

The University was founded as South Carolina College in 1801 in an effort to promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Backcountry. The College became a symbol of the South in the antebellum period as its graduates were on the forefront of secession from the Union. After the Civil War to World War II, the institution lacked a clear direction and was constantly reorganized to meet the needs of the political power in office. In 1957, the University expanded its reach through the University of South Carolina System and rapidly became the state's preeminent and most popular institution of higher education, a status it retains to this day.