University of South Carolina Informations

The University of South Carolina (USC, UofSC, SC, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Columbia, South Carolina. It has seven satellite campuses throughout the state and its main campus covers over 359 acres (145 ha) in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House. The university is categorized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as having "highest research activity." It has been ranked as an "up-and-coming" university by U.S. News and World Report, and its undergraduate and graduate International Business programs have ranked among the top three programs in the nation for over a decade. It also houses the largest collection of Robert Burns and Scottish literature materials outside Scotland, and the world's largest Ernest Hemingway collection.

Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, USC 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 fourteen degree-granting colleges and schools. The University of South Carolina has a total enrollment of approximately 50,000 students, with over 34,000 on the main Columbia campus as of fall 2017 – making it the largest university in the Carolinas. USC also has several thousand future students in feeder programs at surrounding technical colleges. Professional schools on the Columbia campus include business, engineering, law, medicine, pharmacy, and social work.

The university was founded as South Carolina College on December 19, 1801, by an act of the South Carolina General Assembly initiated by Governor John Drayton in an effort to promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Backcountry. On January 10, 1805, having an initial enrollment of nine students, the college commenced classes with a traditional classical curriculum. The first president was the Baptist minister and theologian Reverend Jonathan Maxcy. He was an alumnus of Brown University, with an honorary degree from Harvard University. Before coming to the college, Maxcy had served as the second president of Brown and the third president of Union College. Maxcy's tenure lasted from 1804 through 1820.

When South Carolina College opened its doors in 1801, the building now known as Rutledge College was the only building on campus. Located one block southeast of the State Capitol, it served as an administrative office, academic building, residence hall, and chapel. However, the master plan for the original campus called for a total of eleven buildings, all facing a large lush gathering area. In 1807, the original President's House was the next building to be erected. The building now known as DeSaussure College followed shortly thereafter, and the remaining eight buildings were constructed over the next several decades. When completed, all eleven buildings formed a U-shape open to Sumter Street. This modified quadrangle became known as the Horseshoe.

As with other southern universities in the antebellum period, the most important organizations for students were the two literary societies, the Clariosophic Society and the Euphradian Society. These two societies, which arose from a split in an earlier literary society known as the Philomathic, grew to encapsulate the majority of the student body from the 1820s onward.

The College became a symbol of the South in the antebellum period as its graduates were on the forefront of secession from the Union. With the generous support of the General Assembly, South Carolina College acquired a reputation as the leading institution of the South and attracted several noteworthy scholars, including Francis Lieber, Thomas Cooper, and Joseph LeConte.

Seventy-two students were present for classes in January 1862 and the college functioned as best it could until a call by the Confederate government for South Carolina to fill its quota of 18,000 soldiers. A system of conscription would begin on March 20 for all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, so on March 8 all of the students at the college volunteered for service in order to avoid the dishonor of having been conscripted. Despite the depletion of students, the professors issued a notice that the college would temporarily close and would reopen to those under eighteen. When the college reopened on March 17, only nine students showed up for classes and it became quite apparent to all that the college would not last past the end of the term in June.

On June 25 with the consent of the state government, the Confederate authorities took possession of the college buildings and converted them into a hospital. After many unsuccessful attempts to reopen the college, the trustees passed a resolution on December 2, 1863, that officially closed the college. By February 1865, Sherman's army had reached the outskirts of Columbia and the college was spared from destruction by the Union forces because of its use as a hospital. In addition, a company of the 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment was stationed at the campus on February 17 to protect it from harm and to thwart off pillaging Yankee soldiers.

The Union army took possession of the college on May 24, 1865, and although the future for the college appeared bleak with it under military control, General John Porter Hatch sent a letter on June 19 to the remaining professors at the college that it should reopen as soon as possible. The appointment of Benjamin Franklin Perry as provisional governor of South Carolina on June 30 by President Andrew Johnson restored civilian rule to the state. Perry reinstated the trustees to their positions and the board met on September 20 to authorize the college to reopen on the first Monday of January in 1866. In a message to the legislature in October, Perry sought to convert the college into a university because with the state in an impoverished situation, it would provide a more practical education. Little opposition developed to change the College into a university and bill to establish the University of South Carolina was passed by the General Assembly on December 19, 1865.

The University Act of 1869 reorganized the university and provided it with generous financial support. An amendment was added to the act by W. J. Whipper, a black representative from Beaufort, that would prevent racial discrimination from the admissions policy of the university. The legislature further proved its seriousness towards racial equality by electing two black trustees to the governing board of the university on March 9, 1869. A normal school was established by the legislature on the campus of the university as well as a preparatory school since most of the black students of the state were ill-prepared for the academic work required at a university. In addition, to encourage enrollment by blacks, tuition and other fees were abolished. On October 7, 1873, Henry E. Hayne, the Secretary of State of South Carolina, became the first black student when he registered for the fall session in the medical college of the university.

The Horseshoe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and most of its buildings reflect the federal style of architecture in vogue in the early days of the nation. Among them is the South Caroliniana Library, which was designed by Robert Mills and is the first freestanding academic library in the United States.

Over the years the eleven original buildings on the Horseshoe survived a fire, an earthquake, and the Civil War, but in 1939 McKissick Museum replaced the original President's House. The President's House would eventually return to the Horseshoe after extensive remodeling of one of its original buildings, which was dedicated as such in 1952.

During the 20th century: the campus began to spread out dramatically from the Horseshoe. Today it includes the student union, 24 residence halls, numerous academic buildings, Longstreet Theatre, the Koger Center for the Arts, the Carolina Coliseum, the Colonial Life Arena, Carolina Stadium, and various facilities for Olympic sports. (Williams-Brice Stadium is located approximately one mile off campus.) Recent additions to the campus are the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center, the Greek Village, the Green Quad, the Honors College Residence Hall, the Public Health Research Center, the Inn at USC, the Colonial Life Arena and Carolina Stadium. Future plans also include a new home for the School of Law (to be constructed in the block bounded by Gervais, Senate, Pendleton, and Bull streets with construction scheduled to begin in 2013) and a new home for the Moore School of Business, currently under construction at the corner of Assembly and Greene streets.

The campus continues to expand west toward the Congaree River in support of its research initiatives (see below). Three separate sites, each specializing in its own research area, will initially cover 500,000 square feet (46,500 m2) spread over six city blocks and will eventually grow to 5,000,000 square feet (465,000 m2). This new district of campus, named Innovista, will mix university and private research buildings, parking garages, and commercial and residential units. At the center will be a public plaza called Foundation Square.

The University of South Carolina also operates a transit system under Parking Services called Carolina Shuttle which operates 7 routes and 14 buses including converted buses that use more energy-efficient biodiesel. The system operates during the Fall and Spring semesters, with limited operation during the summer, reading days, and holidays. Service is free to all USC students, faculty and staff. A new system called "Cocky's Caravan" was added in 2008 as a weekend service, shuttling students from main areas on campus to the local entertainment district Five Points. In 2011, Cocky's Caravan was shut down and replaced by a partnership with Checker Yellow Cab known as "Carolina Cab" that offers students free rides from Five Points to their homes within 5 miles (8 km) of campus.

Classified as more selective, USC admitted 63% of those who applied to be Freshmen in 2011. When admitting Freshmen, the university puts emphasis on the rigor of high school study and scores on standardized test, SAT or ACT. It also considers class rank, extracurricular activities, and an optional personal statement. For the Freshman enrollment of 2017, the average ACT and SAT scores were 27.3 and 1254, respectively, with an average GPA of 4.04.

Founded in 1978, the South Carolina Honors College offers academically gifted undergraduates the advantages of a small liberal arts college with the resources and academic depth of a comprehensive research university. After gaining acceptance to the University of South Carolina, students must apply separately to the Honors College and demonstrate significant academic achievement. In 2014, entering freshmen had an average weighted GPA of 4.69 and an average SAT score (critical reading and math) of 1430.

Over 400 courses are offered exclusively to Honors College students. Students are required to complete a Senior Thesis under the direction of a faculty advisor in order to graduate from the college with Honors. Since 1994, Honors College students have won more than 278 national awards and fellowships.

The SC Honors College offers housing for freshmen and sophomores in the new Honors College residence hall, on the former site of the university's "Towers" dormitories. Upperclassmen have the opportunity to live in the Honors Residence Hall or in Honors College student housing on the historic horseshoe.

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