The University of South Carolina, sometimes referred to as USC, is a public, co-educational, 4-year research university whose flagship campus is located in Columbia, South Carolina. (The University of South Carolina has other campuses including Aiken, Beaufort, Lancaster, Sumter, Union and Upstate.) The university’s campus in Columbia covers nearly 360 acres and is located in the downtown area near the South Carolina State House. USC is a top research university and was recently ranked one of the top-ten research universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. It has also been recognized for its world-class International Business programs, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Academics
USC offers an extensive selection of over 350 programs and provides students the opportunity to earn bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. The university is composed of fourteen distinct degree-granting schools and colleges and has a total enrollment of nearly 45,000 students, 30,000 of which attend the university’s main campus in Columbia. USC also sponsors several feeder programs in nearby community and technical colleges which supply the university with thousands of new students each year. Graduate, professional schools located on the Columbia campus of USC include law, business, medicine and pharmacy.
Admissions
The University of South Carolina Columbia has fourteen degree-granting colleges with a total enrollment of 44,557 as of 2011. USC’s colleges and respective enrollments as of fall 2011 include the College of Arts and Sciences, with 8,257 undergrads and 1,184 graduate students; Darla Moore School of Business, with 4,307 undergraduates and 483 graduate students; College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sports Management, with 1,999 undergraduates and 104 graduate students; College of Engineering and Computing, with 1,849 undergraduates and 449 graduate students; College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, with 1,444 undergraduates and 463 graduate students; College of Education, with 1,034 undergraduates and 1,031 graduate students; College of Nursing, with 1,045 undergraduates and 223 graduate students; Arnold School of Public Health, with 1,170 undergraduates and 698 graduate students; School of Music, with 316 undergraduates and 142 graduate students; College of Social Work, with 120 undergraduates and 656 graduate students; College of Pharmacy, with 439 grad students; USC School of Law, with 686 grad students; School of Medicine, with 555 grad students; and The Graduate School, with 6,693 students. (The above information was provided by the Institutional Assessment & Compliance Department at USC. For more information visit http://www.ipr.sc.edu.)
USC has a relatively high admission rate when compared with comparable universities. Nearly 63% of all freshman applicants were admitted to USC in 2011. But don’t be lead to believe that anyone can get into USC. The admissions process is still highly competitive. Criteria the admissions board at USC review when considering new freshman applicants include high school GPA, difficulty level of high school courses, SAT or ACT scores, class rank, and extracurricular activities. The average GPA of incoming freshmen at USC is 3.9, and the average combined SAT score (reading and math) is 1199.
Online Degree Programs
While the University of South Carolina offers a comprehensive selection of traditional, campus-based degree programs, they also offer a limited number of online programs that offer college credit and/or can lead to a degree. Bachelor’s degree programs include Business Administration, Human Services, Liberal Studies, RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and three more options are offered through the Palmetto College. The Graduate School offers master’s degree programs in Education, Health Information Technology, and Public Health, and a Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction. The USC Fort Jackson Program is designed for and awards Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees to active-duty military personnel (all branches), their family members, Department of Defense civilian employees, National Guard members, reservists, and veterans.
(Note: If you’re interested in earning an accredited degree online from a reputable university we highly recommend exploring online degree programs via the “College Degree Finder” search feature located in upper right hand corner of this page.)
USC offers a variety of online learning opportunities in professional and continuing education. Online professional continuing education programs at USC are non-degree granting programs designed for adults and working professionals that desire to earn a certification or enhance their knowledge and skillset. Online professional education programs are offered in Grant Writing, Graphic Design, Paralegal Studies, and Project Management.
General Information
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Admission Office Office of Undergraduate Admissions Columbia, SC 29208 (803) 777-7700 (800) 868-5872 Fax: (803) 777-0101 admissions-ugrad@sc.edu Contact: Scott Verzyl Director of Undergraduate Admissions |
Main Address Columbia, SC 29208 (803) 777-7000 www.sc.edu |
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Size Total undergrads: 19,765 First-time degree-seeking freshmen: 3,859 Degree-seeking undergrads: 19,458 Graduate enrollment: 6,260 Setting | Degrees offered: |
Admissions Information
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Application Fee College has an application fee: Yes Regular application fee: $50 Online application fee: $50 |
Enrollment Rates Percent applicants admitted: 58% Percent students who return for sophomore year: 87% |
Tuition & Fees
| Estimated Expenses for Academic Year | 2008-’09 | 2009-’10 | 2010-’11 | 2011-’12 | % change 2010-’12 |
| Tuition and fees | $8,346 | $8,838 | $9,156 | $9,786 | +6.88% |
| Books and Supplies | $900 | $936 | $936 | $936 | 0.00% |
| Living Arrangement – On Campus | |||||
| Room and Board | $6,946 | $7,318 | $7,328 | $7,764 | +5.95% |
| Other | $3,875 | $3,935 | $4,070 | $3,720 | -8.60% |
| Living Arrangement – Off Campus | |||||
| Room and Board | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total Expenses | 2008-’09 | 2009-’10 | 2010-’11 | 2011-’12 | % change 2010-’12 |
| In-state On Campus | $20,067 | $21,027 | $21,490 | $22,206 | +3.33% |
| In-state Off Campus | $9,246 | $9,774 | $10,092 | $10,722 | +6.24% |
| In-state with Family | $9,246 | $9,774 | $10,092 | $10,722 | +6.24% |
| Average Graduate Student Tuition & Fees | |
| Tuition for In-state Students | $10,590 |
| In-state Student Fees | $400 |
| Tuition for Out-of-state Students | $22,450 |
| Out-of-state Fees | $400 |
Financial Aid
| Full-time Beginning Undergraduate Students | ||||
| Type of Aid | Students | Percent | Amount | Average Per Student |
| All students financial aid | 3,488 | 91% | ||
| Grant or scholarship aid | 3,358 | 88% | $24,602,637 | $7,327 |
| • Federal grants | 517 | 14% | $2,379,936 | $4,603 |
| • Pell grants | 516 | 13% | $1,811,867 | $3,511 |
| • Other federal grants | 489 | 13% | $568,069 | $1,162 |
| State/local government grant or scholarships | 2,141 | 56% | $11,098,551 | $5,184 |
| Institutional grants or scholarships | 2,494 | 65% | $11,124,150 | $4,460 |
| Student loan aid | 1,436 | 38% | $9,500,559 | $6,616 |
| • Federal student loans | 1,402 | 37% | $7,513,056 | $5,359 |
| Other student loans | 213 | 6% | $1,987,503 | $9,331 |
All Degrees and Programs
| Program Completions for Most Recent Year | BA/BS | MA/MS | Doctor | AA/AS | CERT |
| Total of All Education Programs | 4708 | 1616 | 640 | 8 | 137 |
| Area, Gender, Cultural, Ethnic, and Group Studies | 25 | – | – | – | 10 |
| African-American/Black Studies | 12 | – | – | – | – |
| European Studies/Civilization | – | – | – | – | – |
| Latin American Studies | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| Women’s Studies | 9 | – | – | – | 10 |
| Biology and Biomedical Sciences | 248 | 20 | 21 | – | 6 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | – | – | – | – | – |
| Biology and Biological Sciences, General | 227 | 2 | 9 | – | – |
| Biomedical Sciences | – | 3 | 4 | – | 6 |
| Biostatistics | – | 1 | 2 | – | – |
| Epidemiology | – | 4 | 3 | – | – |
| Exercise Physiology | – | – | – | – | – |
| Human/Medical Genetics | – | 7 | – | – | – |
| Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography | 21 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| Business, Administration, Management, Marketing, etc. | 1586 | 361 | 9 | – | – |
| Accounting | 149 | 59 | – | – | – |
| Business Administration and Management | 332 | 141 | 9 | – | – |
| Business/Managerial Economics | 40 | – | – | – | – |
| Finance | 267 | – | – | – | – |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 141 | 20 | – | – | – |
| Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration | – | 29 | – | – | – |
| Insurance | 17 | – | – | – | – |
| International Business/Trade/Commerce | 60 | 106 | – | – | – |
| Management Science | 60 | – | – | – | – |
| Marketing/Marketing Management | 313 | – | – | – | – |
| Non-profit/Public/Organizational Management | – | – | – | – | – |
| Office Management and Supervision | 30 | – | – | – | – |
| Real Estate | 68 | – | – | – | – |
| Retailing and Retail Operations | 103 | 6 | – | – | – |
| Tourism and Travel Services Management | 6 | – | – | – | – |
| Communication and Journalism Programs | 303 | 23 | 1 | – | 1 |
| Advertising | 71 | – | – | – | – |
| Broadcast Journalism | 47 | – | – | – | – |
| Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | 45 | – | – | – | – |
| Health Communication | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Journalism | 13 | 23 | – | – | – |
| Mass Communication/Media Studies | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| Public Relations/Image Management | 127 | – | – | – | – |
| Computing and Information Sciences | 26 | – | – | – | – |
| Computer and Information Sciences | 26 | – | – | – | – |
| Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance | – | – | – | – | – |
| Information Science/Studies | – | – | – | – | – |
| Education | 243 | 336 | 42 | – | 71 |
| Art Teacher Education | 13 | 5 | – | – | – |
| Business Teacher Education | 1 | 5 | – | – | – |
| College Student Counseling and Personnel Services | – | 49 | – | – | – |
| Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services | – | – | 2 | – | 23 |
| Curriculum and Instruction | – | – | 8 | – | – |
| Early Childhood Education and Teaching | 103 | 26 | 1 | – | – |
| Education | – | 3 | – | – | 3 |
| Educational Evaluation and Research | – | 1 | 4 | – | – |
| Educational Leadership and Administration | – | 105 | 19 | – | 33 |
| Educational/Instructional Technology | – | 10 | – | – | – |
| Elementary Education and Teaching | 76 | 37 | 1 | – | – |
| Health Teacher Education | – | – | – | – | – |
| Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | – | – | – | – | 12 |
| Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching | 20 | – | – | – | – |
| Music Teacher Education | – | 6 | 2 | – | – |
| Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | 30 | 16 | 4 | – | – |
| Reading Teacher Education | – | 21 | 1 | – | – |
| Secondary Education and Teaching | – | 33 | – | – | – |
| Social and Philosophical Foundations Of Education | – | – | – | – | – |
| Special Education and Teaching | – | 19 | – | – | – |
| Engineering | 202 | 56 | 33 | – | – |
| Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering | 10 | 2 | – | – | – |
| Chemical Engineering | 27 | 1 | 10 | – | – |
| Civil Engineering | 46 | 9 | 2 | – | – |
| Computer Engineering | 14 | 14 | 9 | – | – |
| Computer Software Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 32 | 11 | 8 | – | – |
| Engineering Science | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mechanical Engineering | 73 | 9 | 4 | – | – |
| Nuclear Engineering | – | 10 | – | – | – |
| English Language, Composition and Literature/Letters | 129 | 21 | 8 | – | – |
| Creative Writing | – | 6 | – | – | – |
| English Language and Literature | 129 | 15 | 8 | – | – |
| Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 53 | 30 | 6 | – | 3 |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Comparative Literature | – | 4 | 4 | – | – |
| Foreign Languages and Literatures | – | 5 | – | – | – |
| French Language and Literature | 11 | 5 | – | – | – |
| German Language and Literature | 6 | 3 | – | – | – |
| Linguistics | – | 9 | 2 | – | 3 |
| Russian Language and Literature | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Spanish Language and Literature | 30 | 4 | – | – | – |
| Health Services and Allied Health Sciences | 219 | 178 | 222 | – | 15 |
| Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-language Pathology/Pathologist | – | – | 2 | – | – |
| Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Environmental Health | – | 3 | 1 | – | – |
| Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management | – | 19 | – | – | – |
| Medicine | – | – | 78 | – | – |
| Nurse Anesthetist | – | 26 | – | – | – |
| Nursing Administration | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nursing Science | – | 6 | 11 | – | – |
| Pharmaceutics and Drug Design | – | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| Pharmacy | – | – | 106 | – | – |
| Physical Therapy/Therapist | – | – | 13 | – | – |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Public Health Education and Promotion | – | 23 | 5 | – | – |
| Public Health | – | 18 | 4 | – | 1 |
| Public Health, Other | 6 | – | – | – | – |
| Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing | – | 18 | – | – | – |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other | – | – | – | – | 2 |
| Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | 210 | – | – | – | – |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, Other | – | 16 | – | – | 8 |
| Speech-language Pathology/Pathologist | – | 47 | – | – | – |
| Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| History | 124 | 14 | 5 | – | – |
| History | 124 | 8 | 5 | – | – |
| Public/Applied History | – | 6 | – | – | – |
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services | 165 | 7 | – | – | – |
| Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration | 165 | 7 | – | – | – |
| Human Services | – | 235 | 3 | – | – |
| Public Administration | – | 20 | – | – | – |
| Social Work | – | 215 | 3 | – | – |
| Legal and Law Studies | – | – | 210 | – | – |
| Law | – | – | 210 | – | – |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 60 | – | – | 8 | – |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, Other | 5 | – | – | – | – |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies | 55 | – | – | 8 | – |
| Library Science | – | 148 | – | – | 5 |
| Library and Information Science | – | 148 | – | – | 5 |
| Mathematics and Statistics | 56 | 21 | 9 | – | – |
| Applied Mathematics | – | 2 | – | – | – |
| Mathematics | 41 | 4 | 6 | – | – |
| Statistics | 15 | 15 | 3 | – | – |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies | – | 15 | – | – | 10 |
| Gerontology | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | – | 15 | – | – | – |
| Museology/Museum Studies | – | – | – | – | 6 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | – | – | – | – | – |
| Environmental Science | – | – | – | – | – |
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies | 299 | 19 | 3 | – | – |
| Kinesiology and Exercise Science | 153 | 6 | 3 | – | – |
| Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | 146 | 13 | – | – | – |
| Physical Sciences | 85 | 32 | 32 | – | – |
| Chemistry | 68 | 7 | 23 | – | – |
| Geology and Earth Science | 5 | 12 | 6 | – | – |
| Geophysics and Seismology | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Physical Sciences, Other | – | 4 | – | – | – |
| Physics | 11 | 9 | 3 | – | – |
| Psychology | 239 | 14 | 9 | – | – |
| Clinical Psychology | – | 5 | 6 | – | – |
| Experimental Psychology | 239 | 9 | – | – | – |
| School Psychology | – | – | 3 | – | – |
| Social Sciences | 414 | 40 | 18 | – | 1 |
| Anthropology | 53 | 10 | 1 | – | 1 |
| Archaeology | – | – | – | – | – |
| Criminology | – | – | – | – | – |
| Economics | 48 | 7 | 3 | – | – |
| Geography | 19 | 7 | 4 | – | – |
| International Relations and Affairs | 47 | 4 | 2 | – | – |
| Political Science and Government | 187 | 1 | 4 | – | – |
| Social Sciences, Other | – | 7 | – | – | – |
| Sociology | 60 | 4 | 4 | – | – |
| Visual and Performing Arts | 232 | 46 | 9 | – | 15 |
| Art History, Criticism and Conservation | 19 | 8 | – | – | – |
| Conducting | – | 1 | 4 | – | – |
| Dance | 8 | – | – | – | – |
| Drama and Dramatics/Theater Arts | 15 | 8 | – | – | – |
| Film/Cinema/Video Studies | 13 | – | – | – | – |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Other | 83 | 5 | – | – | – |
| Fine/Studio Arts | 49 | 4 | – | – | – |
| Music History, Literature, and Theory | – | – | – | – | – |
| Music Performance | – | 18 | 4 | – | 15 |
| Music Theory and Composition | – | – | – | – | – |
| Music | 45 | – | – | – | – |
| Music, Other | – | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| Voice and Opera | – | – | – | – | – |
Undergraduate Majors
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, & Gender Studies African-American Studies B Arts, Visual & Performing Art History/Criticism/Conservation B Biological & Biomedical Sciences Biology B Business, Management, & Marketing Accounting B Communications & Journalism Advertising B Computer & Information Sciences Computer/Information Sciences – General B Education Art Teacher Education B Engineering Biomedical Engineering B English Language & Literature English Language & Literature – General B Foreign Language & Literature Classics B Health Professions & Clinical Sciences Cardiovascular Technology B History History – General B Liberal Arts & Sciences Liberal Arts & Sciences A,B Mathematics Mathematics – General B Parks, Recreation & Fitness Exercise Sciences B Philosophy & Religion Philosophy B Physical Sciences Chemistry B Psychology Experimental Psychology B Security & Protective Services Law Enforcement Administration B Social Sciences Anthropology B |
Degree levels for each major are designated by the following letters:
B = Bachelor’s degree C = Certificate or diploma |
*We do not guarantee the accuracy of information on this page. All information is subject to change. You should confirm all information with a college admissions officer.