About the University of South Carolina

Embracing the cultural community

The University also helps foster a strong cultural community with its academic emphasis on the humanities and its performing arts. The Koger Center for the Arts and the School of Music are state-of-the-art facilities that showcase both world-class performers and talented students and faculty. The music school, in fact, holds about 200 performances each year, the majority of which are free and open to the public. An interdisciplinary Arts Institute develops projects bringing together students and faculty in art, music, theater, dance, and literature.

 

Access and affordability

A number of programs at South Carolina are improving access for students. The new Gamecock Guarantee scholarship will provide financial and academic support for qualified state residents who would otherwise not be able to afford to attend the University.

 

The recently announced Engineering and Computing Expanded Life Scholarship program will supplement existing state-funded LIFE scholarships, meaning at least 100 in-state freshmen will attend the University tuition-free starting in fall 2008. The initial $500,000 in support comes from gifts from individual donors, businesses, industries, and the College of Engineering and Computing.

 

A series of partnerships with the state's technical colleges—the Bridge Program—will provide access to University academic-support programs to students who aspire to transfer to the Columbia campus. Kiplinger's “Best Values in Public Colleges” in 2008 listed the University No. 35 in the nation for in-state students and No. 59 for out-of-state students. Schools were recognized for providing “outstanding academic quality plus an affordable price tag.”

 

'Up and comer'

Through its research, scholarship, outreach, and service initiatives, the University of South Carolina contributes to the greater good of its community, state, and beyond. No wonder, then, that The Wall Street Journal highlighted South Carolina among a handful of universities as an “up and comer” in a November 2006 story.