Courses are available for rising 6 - 12 grade students each summer. View our full list of courses.

Program fees range from $665 to $1150*

Residential - $1150
Residential scholars check in Sunday afternoon and check out Friday at 2 p.m. The program fee includes all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and all afternoon and evening activities. Scholars reside in a university residence hall and experience student life at USC alongside counselors. 

Commuter $665
Commuting scholars check in Sunday afternoon for a mandatory orientation. Daily check-in is Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. Daily check-out is Monday through Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Friday check-out is 2 p.m. The program fee includes lunch and all afternoon activities. Commuters are also invited to participate in the all scholars evening dinner and activities on the designated day during the week. 

Commuter Plus Evening $750
Commuter Plus scholars check in Sunday afternoon for a mandatory orientation. Daily check-in is Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. Daily check-out is Monday through Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Friday check-out is 2 p.m. The program fee includes lunch and dinner and all afternoon and evening activities.

*Lab and transportation fees may also apply to some courses. 

Applications are available staring in January each year and will be accepted by U.S. postal service, fax or online. Submission instructions will be provided on the application. 

Early bird discounts are available until April 17. No other promotional codes can be used in addition to the early bird discount unless you are a CMS alumnus. At the conclusion of the early bird discount, promotional codes may be applied for members of the military and USC faculty, staff, students and alumni. Use the appropriate promotional code when registering for a course. Note that only one discount can be applied per applicant, and no combined discounts are allowed. You must use the promotional code at the time of registration or you will not be able to use the promotional code.

We encourage applications as soon as possible starting in January each year. In order to maximize the experience of working with university faculty and staff, enrollment in each course is limited to 20 students, although some courses have even lower maximums. As a result, all courses are subject to fill early in the spring. The early bird pricing postmark deadline is April 17. We will continue to take applications on a rolling basis until courses fill.

Individuals with disabilities and other special needs including special dietary requests who anticipate needing reasonable accommodations or who have questions about physical access must contact USC’s Continuing Education and Conferences at 803-777-9444 at least six weeks in advance of participation in the program.

Yes, a $200 non-refundable deposit will be required for each course and must be submitted along with the application. Checks or credit cards are accepted, and details will be included with the application materials. The balance is due upon acceptance into each course. This deposit is deducted from the total course program fee.

All applications for new or returning students must include personal and academic information, an official transcript or most recent report card, test scores (if applicable), a non-refundable $200 deposit per course and choice of course(s).

Yes, scholarship opportunities are available for summer 2024 and more scholarships will continue to be posted to our website once they become available. Scholarships are limited and not guaranteed.

As a talented and gifted student, we know you are creative and resourceful. If you don't qualify for one of these scholarships, don't be discouraged! Over the years, other students like you have found lots of ways to pay for camp. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Do your parents belong to a civic group, sorority or fraternity or other community group? Ask them to sponsor you.
• Belong to a church or other religious organization? Ask them for support.
• Ask your school or school district if they have additional funds to support your career aspirations or know of other scholarships you could apply for.
• Get a part-time job like babysitting to fund the camp.
• Share your passion about the camp you want to attend and why with your mentors, family members and others close to you. Brainstorm together ways to raise the money. 

Refunds of deposits and/or balance of fees will be made only in the event that a student is not accepted or if the course is canceled by the University of South Carolina. For additional information, you can review our policies.

Application, deposit, and course fees are nonrefundable. Course fees are refunded only if the course is not offered by the University of South Carolina or if the applicant is not accepted.

If full course payment is not received by May 24, 2023, the student’s space in the class will be released, and any prior payments will be forfeited.

Balance of course fees are non-refundable, but payment may be transferred to an alternate CMS Adventures Series course. No transfers will be made less than 30 days prior to the start of each course. Please send such transfer requests in writing to: CMS Adventures Series, University of South Carolina Continuing Education and Conferences, 1705 College Street, Suite 591, Columbia, SC 29208. The liability of University of South Carolina is limited to the registration fee, and the university will not be responsible for any losses incurred by registrants or their families, including but not limited to airline cancellation charges or hotel deposits. The University of South Carolina reserves the right to cancel and refund all registration fees for any course due to circumstances beyond our control, including insufficient enrollment.

All three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) are provided for residential scholars. Lunch is provided for commuter scholars. Lunch and dinner is provided for commuter plus scholars. Most meals are served in a dining facility on campus but some may be served at off campus restaurants.

Students are welcome to apply for multiple courses each summer. However, a scholar may only enroll in one camp per week. 

All scholars and parents/guardians are expected to attend a mandatory orientation on Sunday, and residential students should plan to move in that afternoon. The actual instruction and participation in each CMS Adventure begins each week on Mondays and concludes on Fridays.

The Adventure Series is part of the Carolina Master Scholars program. By participating and successfully completing three or more individual Adventure Series courses prior to the summer before the senior year of high school, a student can earn the designation of Carolina Master Scholar. This honor provides special alumni recognition and may be counted as extracurricular credit toward the completion of the secondary school portfolio by select school districts. As a graduate, you participate in a special ceremony in December and are awarded a certificate. Then, you are also eligible for discounts toward future summer courses. Learn more.

We ask that parents and guardians visit with their students on Friday afternoon during the parent presentation or for commuter students, during daily afternoon pick up. Residential students are given time to call families during evenings or during non-instructional time. Remember students can only be picked up by people listed on the release section of student’s consent/waiver with identification. State approved identification is required for all pick ups.

Please free to contact USC’s Continuation Education and Conferences Office at 803-777-9444 if you have any questions or if you need to leave a message for your student during camp hours.

Use this checklist [pdf] to help with your packing. 

We know that parents and students value the ability to be able to call and text each other at a moment’s notice. Although we do not prohibit mobile phones, all phone features, including talk, text messaging, and cameras, are not to be used during any instructional or laboratory time. Parents/guardians are responsible for setting clear guidelines for mobile phone use with their student. USC’s Continuing Education and Conferences is not responsible for phone or text content, usage, or phone bills incurred while attending any activity, including loaning phones to friends, loss of phone or placing calls after lights out.  

Scholars are on the go throughout the week. Each week-long course has orientation on Sunday followed by instruction Monday through Friday. Friends and family are invited to final presentations on Friday afternoon. Evenings at Carolina are filled with great activities – like movie, trivia, bowling nights and much more! Check out a typical camp schedule.

Carolina Gives Back will be a part of the Carolina Master Scholars Adventures Series. You will be helping to give back to our community.

A charity or nonprofit has been designated for each week that an Adventure Series is held this summer. On Sunday at check-in, each scholar is asked to bring item(s) or cash to donate to the charity. Throughout the week, university faculty and staff will also contribute by dropping off donations. At the end of the week, we will collect all the donations and present them to the organization.