1801: South Carolina College chartered
1805: South Carolina College opens
1848: Engineering classes taught in senior year
1861: Civil War begins; SC College closed
1865: Civil War ends; SC College becomes University of South Carolina with engineering, agriculture, law and medicine taught
1866: E.P. Alexander is first professor of engineering
1877-1880: School closed
1880: South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts opens. Engineering taught within this college. Degrees given in civil and mining engineering.
1894: South Carolina College offers unauthorized BS in Civil Engineering and Electrical Engineering; since then, engineering degrees offered continuously
1902: Physics/Engineering professor Benjamin Sloan becomes President of South Carolina College; Prof. Colcock (college dean, 1908-1912) becomes responsible for SC College's (now USC) mascot being called the "Game Cocks."
1908: Department of Engineering created; graduate degrees offered in Civil and Electrical Engineering added — awarded for total of five years study
1909: School of Engineering created; Civil Engineer F. Horton Colcock named first dean. Classrooms in Davis College and New Science Building (Barnwell)
1912: Civil Engineer M. Goode Homes becomes "Professor in Charge" of School of Engineering
1917: Five-year "Cooperative Engineering Degree" begins
1926: Civil Engineer Robert L. Sumwalt hired
1942: Sumwalt named dean
1950: Master's degree is offered
1952: New engineering building is built, later named for Sumwalt
1955: Research activity begins
1959: Sumwalt becomes president of the University; Electrical Engineering buys School's first computer for $55,000
1961: Doctoral program established
1962: School of Engineering renamed College of Engineering
1966: First Ph.D.s awarded in Engineering to Samuel Lee Torrence (chem) and Tsung-Ming Tai (chem)
1969: APOGEE (A Program of Graduate Engineering Education) started, credited for forging close relationships between University and industry
1987: Swearingen Engineering Center built, adding more than five acres of floor space to USC's engineering
1993: Renovations to SCE&G annex completed (300 Main building); adds 65 labs and 165,000 sq. feet
1994: SCE&G buildings renovated and occupied by the College of Engineering
1999: February 25 – College of Engineering becomes College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT)
2000: Department of Computer Science moves from the College of Science and Mathematics to COEIT and becomes the Department of Computer Science and Engineering
2007: April 20 – College of Engineering and Information Technology becomes the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC). September – John Swearingen, 1938 Chemical engineering grad and building namesake, passes away at the age of 89.
2008: CEC introduces ECELS (Engineering and Computing Expanded LIFE Scholarships) – the first program of its kind in the state
2009: May 16 – CEC celebrates 100th anniversary with guest speaker Andrew Card ('71, Civil); Dean Michael Amiridis becomes University Provost.
2011: Dr. Tony Ambler becomes Dean. College receives top state and national rankings from the National Research Council.
2012: The College's newest program, Biomedical Engineering, becomes ABET accredited. Executive Masters Programs in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Management approved.
2013: College receives three "Best Of..." top rankings from US News & World Report (Grad Schools: Engineering, Grad Schools: Chemical Engineering, and Online Programs: Grad Education – APOGEE ranked 28th in the nation).