In addition
to Central Carolina Technical College, Clarendon
County is in close proximity to several four-year
degree colleges and universities.
The University of South Carolina
www.sc.edu
Chartered in 1801 as South Carolina College, the University still remains on its original site in Columbia, the state capital and is less than 1 hour from Clarendon County. The campus has grown from its origins of one building on the historic Horseshoe to 155 facilities on 358 acres.
USC Columbia offers more than 350 undergraduate and graduate courses of study. Programs range from liberal arts and sciences to business, law, medicine, and other professional studies, many of which have been widely recognized for their academic excellence.
University
of South Carolina - Sumter
One of eight campuses of the University of
South Carolina, USC-Sumter,
located less than 30 minutes west of Clarendon
County, The main campus of the University
of South Carolina in Columbia is less than
two hours from Clarendon County. The University
of South Carolina Sumter, a regional campus
of the University of South Carolina, has as
its mission to provide higher education and
intellectual leadership for the Sumter area.
At the heart of this mission is a teaching
faculty of high quality dedicated to excellence
in instruction, scholarship, public and professional
service and creative endeavor which enrich
the classroom experience. USC Sumter offers
a varied curriculum rooted in the liberal
arts and aimed at preparing students to continue
their education in the university and throughout
life. The University of South Carolina Sumter
recruits students prepared to begin or planning
to complete a baccalaureate level education.
While USC Sumter does not offer remedial instruction,
it is nonetheless able to admit most students
who apply because of the close working relationship
between students and faculty. Enrollment varies
with community need, but is expected to remain
near 1000 FTE students.
The University
of South Carolina Sumter was established to
encourage higher education in Sumter and adjacent
counties. It primarily serves students from
Sumter, Lee, Clarendon, Williamsburg, and
Kershaw counties. The design of the early
institution incorporated a flexibility that
has allowed changes in institutional capability
with increasing educational demand of constituents.
The institution itself grants the Associate
in Arts and Associate in Science degrees and
provides for the completion of selected bachelor
degrees on campus through cooperative agreements
with other institutions. Graduate education
is coordinated at USC Sumter through the University's
Graduate Regional Studies program. USC Sumter
also provides access to a wide variety of
baccalaureate degree programs on other campuses
by teaching some courses that must be taken
by students in these programs. The mission
includes other appropriate upper division
coursework as well as non-credit courses,
seminars, and workshops made available to
the community for cultural enrichment and
for professional development.
Charleston
Southern University
Located less than an hour south of Clarendon
County in North Charleston, Charleston
Southern University, founded in 1964,
is a fully accredited four year independent
liberal arts university. Charleston Southern
is South Carolina's second largest accredited
independent university enrolling approximately
2,600 students. Affiliated with the South
Carolina Baptist Convention, the university's
mission is promoting academic excellence in
a Christian environment to all faiths. Named
to the John Templeton Foundation's Honor Roll
of Character Building Colleges, the university
is gaining national attention as an institution
dedicated to helping students develop intellectually,
socially, culturally, and spiritually. With
an average class size of 16 students and a
student to faculty ratio of 17-to-1, Charleston
Southern offers an outstanding educational
experience as witnessed by an exceptional
graduate placement record of over 70 percent.
The university is accredited by the Commission
on Colleges of the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools to award associate's,
bachelor's, and master's degrees. Students
can choose from more than 30 undergraduate
majors and five graduate programs. Each degree
program is combined with a comprehensive liberal
arts foundation which is designed to develop
problem-solving and communication skills.
College
of Charleston
The
College of Charleston is a state supported
comprehensive institution providing a high
quality education in the arts and sciences,
education and business. Consistent with its
heritage since its founding in 1770, the College
retains a strong liberal arts undergraduate
curriculum. Located in the heart of historic
Charleston, it strives to meet the growing
educational demands primarily of the Lowcountry
and the state and, secondarily, of the Southeast.
A superior quality undergraduate program,
enrolling 8,000 to 9,000 students, is central
to the mission of the College. The College
of Charleston seeks applicants capable of
successfully completing degree requirements
and pays particular attention to identifying
and admitting students who excel academically.
The College of Charleston serves a diverse
student body from its geographical area and
also attracts students from national and international
communities. The College provides students
a community in which to engage in original
inquiry and creative expression in an atmosphere
of intellectual freedom. This community, founded
on the principles of the liberal arts tradition,
provides students the opportunity to realize
their intellectual and personal potential
and to become responsible, productive members
of society. In addition to offering a broad
range of baccalaureate degree programs, the
College currently provides an increasing number
of masters degree programs which are compatible
with the community and the state. As a prominent
component of the state's higher education
system, the College encourages and supports
research. Its faculty are important sources
of knowledge and expertise for the community,
state, and nation. Additionally, the College
provides an extensive credit and non-credit
continuing education program and cultural
activities for residents of the Lowcountry
of South Carolina.
The
Citadel - The Military College of South Carolina
The Citadel was established in 1842 by an
act of the South Carolina General Assembly
and was originally located on Marion Square
in downtown Charleston. Today the picturesque
campus, which was moved in 1922 to the bank
of the Ashley River, is home to 24 major buildings
and 1,900 young men and women enrolled in
19 degree programs. The College of Graduate
and Professional Studies offers evening and
summer, coeducational undergraduate and graduate
degree programs. U.S. News & World Report
has consistently ranked The Citadel among
the best colleges in the region in their annual
surveys of "America's Best Colleges."
Coastal
Carolina University
Located less than 1.5 hours from Clarendon
County between Myrtle Beach and Conway, SC,
Coastal
Carolina University, a public liberal
arts institution offering baccalaureate degrees
in the traditional liberal arts and sciences,
interdisciplinary studies, Master's degrees
in several specialized areas, and professional
schools. Located in one of the fastest-growing
metropolitan areas in the nation, the campus
primarily serves its immediate five-county
area, with enrollment of 4,000 – 6,000
students. Recognizing its responsibility to
ensure a student population that is diverse
both culturally and geographically, the institution
also aggressively recruits statewide, out-of-state,
and internationally.
Webster
University
Webster
University, also located in the Myrtle
Beach-Conway area, offers five graduate degree
programs to Horry County students, including
Master of Business Administration, Master
of Arts in Counseling, Master of Arts in Computer
Resources and Information Management, Master
of Arts in Management, and Master of Arts
in Human Resources Development. Webster University
also operates campuses in Charleston and Columbia,
S.C.
Francis
Marion University
Francis
Marion University (FMU), located in nearby
Florence County, is one of South Carolina's
12 state-supported universities. As one of
the state's nine comprehensive institutions,
FMU prides itself on providing a student-centered
learning environment. Enrolling nearly 4,000
students, the University offers a broad range
of undergraduate degrees and a growing number
of graduate programs to serve the needs of
communities, businesses, and industries of
the Pee Dee region. While 93 percent of its
students come from South Carolina, the University
enrolls students from 30 states and 27 foreign
countries. Francis Marion University is fully
accredited by the Commission on Colleges of
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
to award bachelor and master's level degrees.
The University is approved by the S.C. State
Board of Education and is a member of the
American Council on Education and the American
Association of State Colleges and Universities.
