South Carolina Education

(Discussed According to Foundation Date)

South Carolina has a long and proud tradition of higher education which is intertwined with its rich and complex history. For a relatively small state, South Carolina hosts a disproportionately large and diverse cohort of institutions of higher education, from large state-funded research universities to small colleges that cultivate a liberal arts, religious or military tradition.

In addition to its status as the oldest college or university in South Carolina, founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, the College of Charleston (C of C) is the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first municipal college in the country. The College is in company with the Colonial Colleges as one the original and foundational institutions of higher education in the United States. Its founders include three signers of the United States Declaration of Independence and three signers of the United States Constitution. The College's historic campus, which is listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places, forms an integral part of Charleston's colonial-era urban center. As one of the leading institutions of higher education in the Southeastern United States, the College of Charleston is celebrated nationally for its focus on undergraduate education with strengths in Marine Biology, Classics, Art History and Historic Preservation. The Graduate School of the College of Charleston, offers a number of degree programs and coordinates support for its nationally recognized faculty research efforts. According to the Princeton Review, C of C is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education and U.S. News and World Report regularly ranks C of C among the best masters level universities in the South. C of C presently enrolls approximately 10,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students.

Founded in 1801, the University of South Carolina, Columbia is a public, comprehensive, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. The institution's campus is located on over 359 acres in the urban core of Downtown Columbia less than one city block from the South Carolina State Capitol. USC was known prior to the Civil War as South Carolina College. A famous professor emeritus of Ancient Languages, William James Rivers, prevented the destruction of its library during the burning of Columbia, as well as saving many important state papers from the capitol building, but he refused to teach there after the college was raised to a university and black students were permitted to attend, and took the post of president of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Rivers had been instrumental in South Carolina's secession from the Union, having delivered a persuasive address in favor of Secession to the Democratic Convention in Charleston where he had founded the academy on Cooper Street where South Carolina's wealthiest planters had been educated. Part of the USC library actually consists of the library from this academy as well as a collection of manuscripts by Professor Rivers. A famous student of Rivers also associated with the history of USC, Henry Timrod, had been the state's wealthiest citizen and author of her state song. Timrod served as poet laureate of the Confederate States and his statue and grave are to be seen in the vicinity of the campus.

Furman University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian, liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826, Furman enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Furman is the oldest, largest and one of the most selective private institution in South Carolina. The university is primarily focused on undergraduate education (only two departments, education and chemistry, offer graduate degrees).

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1842, the college is best known for its undergraduate Corps of Cadets military program for men and women, which combines academics, physical challenges and military discipline. In addition to the cadet program, civilian programs are offered through the Citadel's College of Graduate and Professional Studies with its evening undergraduate and graduate programs. The Citadel enrolls almost 2,000 undergraduate cadets in its residential military program and 1,200 civilian students in the evening programs.

Presbyterian College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, and enrolls around 1300 undergraduate students. Founded in 1880, PC has 84 full-time professors, offers 30 majors, and provides Cooperative and Dual-Degree Programs in Engineering (with Auburn, Clemson, and Vanderbilt Universities), Forestry/Environmental Science (with Duke University) and Religion (with Union Theological Seminary). They also have eight pre-professional programs.

Founded as the Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina in 1889, Clemson University is now a public, coeducational, land-grant research university located in Clemson, South Carolina. Clemson The University currently enrolls more than 17,000 students from all 50 states and from more than 70 countries.

For full listings See List of colleges and universities in South Carolina

According to a survey of recent studies conducted by the University of South Carolina's Institute for Public Service and Policy Research South Carolina ranks at or near the bottom of the United States in terms of secondary school graduation rates. [10]