Throughout the state of South Carolina, there are just more than 60 different colleges and universities. These higher education institutions range from large public research universities to tiny private colleges, and many of them have a rich and storied history within both South Carolina and the United States. One fact about South Carolina education that stands out is that there are eight historically black colleges and universities in the state, with six of those being four-year schools and two of them being two-year schools.
The University of South Carolina is a public research university that was founded in 1801, and is currently located in the heart of the capital city of Columbia. It has a main historical campus, which is just steps away from the South Carolina State House. In addition to the main campus in Columbia, there are seven additional satellite campuses associated with USC. The school is the flagship university of the University of South Carolina System, and is well known across the country for its business programs. In addition to business majors, the school has more than 350 different academic programs to choose from. It is also known for being the university with the largest collection of Ernest Hemingway works, and also the largest collection of Scottish literature outside of Scotland itself.
Established in 1770, the College of Charleston is the oldest school in the state, and boasts the title of being the oldest municipal college in the entire country. It is situated in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, and is considered to be both a sea-grant and space-grant university. The College of Charleston has much historical significance. Aside from the fact that it is the 13th oldest higher learning institution in the country, it also was founded by three men who eventually signed the Declaration of Independence - Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward and Arthur Middleton. In addition to the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, three more of the college's founders went on to sign the United States Constitution - Charles Pinckney, John Rutledge and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. For much of its life, the College of Charleston was a private liberal arts school, but it now operates today as a public university. Its curriculum focuses on language, science, the arts and history, but students have many different degree programs to choose from. Several actors and actresses graduated from the College of Charleston, including "The 70s Show" star Allison Munn.