University of South Carolina - Columbia Overview
Located in Columbia, South Carolina, University of South Carolina - Columbia is a public institution. The city atmosphere of Columbia makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.
What Is University of South Carolina - Columbia Known For?
- The student loan default rate at UofSC is 3%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- The highest award offered at UofSC is the doctor's degree.
- In 2017-2018, 71% of the faculty were full-time.
- A student who earns a bachelor's degree from UofSC makes roughly $44,900 a year. This is 10% more than their peers from other colleges and universities.
- It takes the average UofSC student 4.2 years to graduate. This is pretty good when compared to the national rate of 4.4 years.
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University of South Carolina - Columbia Rankings
UofSC landed the #436 spot in our 2022 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,587 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking. UofSC also holds the #5 spot on the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at UofSC.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards UofSC has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#16 | Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools | College Factual |
#16 | Best Health & Physical Education Schools | College Factual |
#21 | Best International Business Schools | College Factual |
#68 | Best Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Schools | College Factual |
#135 | Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools | College Factual |
#146 | Best Nursing Schools | Nursing Degree Search |
Where Is University of South Carolina - Columbia?

Contact details for UofSC are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | Columbia-Campus, Columbia, SC 29208 |
Phone: | 803-777-7000 |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/uofsc |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/UofSC |
How Do I Get Into UofSC?
You can apply to UofSC online at: www.sc.edu/apply/index.php
Admission Requirements for UofSC
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | neither required nor recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into UofSC?
Approximately 42% of accepted students are men and 58% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 70%, and the acceptance rate for women is 67%.
Average Test Scores
About 61% of students accepted to UofSC submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 580 and 670. Math scores were between 560 and 670.
Can I Afford University of South Carolina - Columbia?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At UofSC, approximately 48% of students took out student loans averaging $9,214 a year. That adds up to $36,856 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at UofSC is 3.3%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
University of South Carolina - Columbia Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 8,199 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 26,174 full-time undergraduates at UofSC, 46% are male and 54% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of University of South Carolina - Columbia students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 989 |
Black or African American | 2,223 |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,380 |
White | 19,559 |
International Students | 656 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,367 |
Geographic Diversity
South Carolina students aren't the only ones who study at University of South Carolina - Columbia. At this time, 44 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 108 countries are represented at UofSC. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and Saudi Arabia.
Online Learning at University of South Carolina - Columbia
The following chart shows how the online learning population at UofSC has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 2nd most popular in South Carolina for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of UofSC
The following table shows how UofSC is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.
Major | Tuition for In-State Students | Tuition for Out-of-State Students |
---|---|---|
Applied Mathematics | #1 | #1 |
Nuclear Engineering | #7 | #10 |
Chemical Engineering | #13 | #16 |
Journalism | #15 | #18 |
Communication Sciences | #37 | #37 |
Civil Engineering | #40 | #40 |
Mathematics & Statistics | #40 | #40 |
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | #40 | #43 |
Medical Illustration & Informatics | #46 | #53 |
Computer Science | #46 | #70 |
Computer Engineering | #49 | #55 |
Electrical Engineering | #52 | #61 |
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions | #52 | #73 |
Mechanical Engineering | #55 | #58 |
Communication & Journalism | #69 | #87 |
Online Growth Rankings of UofSC
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at University of South Carolina - Columbia was 209.7%. This is the #270 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at UofSC regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of UofSC majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Health Professions | 10% |
Nursing | 5% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at UofSC ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at UofSC.
Major | Growth Rate Rank | |
---|---|---|
Instructional Media Design | #19 | |
Nursing | #44 | |
Health & Medical Administrative Services | #61 | |
Education | #97 | |
Health Professions | #157 |
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
University of South Carolina - Columbia Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Idibri under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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