The University of South Carolina (also referred to as USC, UofSC, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Columbia, South Carolina. It has seven satellite campuses throughout the state and its main 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.

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Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, USC 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.