History
Founded in 1801, then-South Carolina College flourished pre-Civil War, overcame postwar struggles, was rechartered in 1906 as a university and transformed itself as a national institution in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Education
At the University of South Carolina you can choose from hundreds of areas of study, pursue degrees from bachelor to doctorate and even customize your experience with accelerated or dual degree programs. To see what we offer, just type in your general interest keyword. You can also filter by college, school or degree type to find your perfect program.
Research
They are the only university in South Carolina and one of just 62 nationwide designated a center of very high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation.
Student services
The Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support is composed of more than 40 offices dedicated to facilitating access to qualified students and enhancing their success at UofSC and beyond.
Housing services
University Housing is committed to creating state-of-the-art facilities that are sustainable, safe, clean and well-maintained homes in order to enhance student learning beyond the classroom. Qualified and caring University Housing staff, in collaboration with students, will create quality student interactions that will inspire students to discover more about themselves and others, while reflecting on how to become inclusive and exemplary leaders, life-long learners and productive members of their community.
Library services
Home to the oldest freestanding college library in the U.S., our university libraries build on that tradition with special collections ranging from early medieval manuscripts to modern literature and politics.
Sports facilities
The university maintains more than 400,000 square feet of space where students can learn, play, workout or get fit in group classes.
Student clubs
- Healthcare Executive Student Association
- Graduate Student Association
- National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association
- Pan-African Student Association
Accreditation
The University of South Carolina Columbia is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees.
University of South Carolina Overview
University of South Carolina Rankings
Study Portals Meta Ranking
Top 5.8% United States
Top 5.5% Worldwide
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
World University Rankings
401
By Times Higher Education
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend World University Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | 401 | 401 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Academic Ranking of World Universities
401
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend Academic Ranking of World Universities
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | 401 | 401 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
QS World University Rankings
628
By TopUniversities
Dropped 27 places compared to 2025
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend QS World University Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 575 | 601 | 628 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Best Global Universities Rankings
390
By U.S. News & World Report
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
3 year trend Best Global Universities Rankings
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 346 | - | 390 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
University of South Carolina Campus Locations
#1 Main Campus
United States Country
Columbia City
University of South Carolina Student Reviews & Awards
3.7
Based on 6 reviews
- 5 Star 1 Review
- 4 Star 4 Reviews
- 3 Star 0 Reviews
- 2 Star 0 Reviews
- 1 Star 1 Review
My background
University of South Carolina is one of the best schools in South Carolina. People can achieve many goals here get a degree they enjoy. Even if you don’t like your major you can still graduate the same year if you change.
Hart
Oka job. U Boucher. Go. B. No. Bbbhgc. Hv. Bbbv t.
Beautiful Campus, Great Program
My time at UofSC was very rewarding and challenged me to think beyond my boundaries and expand my problem-solving skills.
Studied here? Share your experience