University of South Carolina Board of Trustees

University of South Carolina

Former name	South Carolina College
Motto	Emollit mores nec sinit esse feros (Latin)
Motto in English	Learning humanizes character and does not permit it to be cruel
Type	Public university Flagship state university Sea-grant university
Established	1801
Parent institution	University of South Carolina System
Endowment	$655,469,462
President	Harris Pastides
Provost	Joan T. Gabel
Academic staff	1,604
Students	34,099 (Columbia) 50,099 (System-wide)
Location	Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Campus	Urban, 359 acres (145 ha)
Colors	Garnet and Black
Athletics	NCAA Division I – SEC
Nickname	Gamecocks
Mascot	Cocky
Website	www.sc.edu

The University of South Carolina (also referred to as USC, SC, South Carolina, or simply Carolina) is a public, co-educational research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with seven satellite campuses. Its 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 & 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, South Carolina 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.