UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is ranked No. 52 in the nation among public universities, according to the U.S. News & World Report's 2009 “America's Best Colleges” guide (fall 2008). Criteria used in the ranking of universities include student-faculty ratio, graduation and retention rates, alumni giving, peer assessment and SAT-ACT scores.

South Carolina was also listed as No. 9 among the nation's “Most Promising and Innovative Schools.” The first-time category is based on “promising, innovative changes” in academics, faculty, students, facilities or the campus. Details.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has designated the University of South Carolina as an institution of “very high research activity.” USC is one of 62 public and 32 private research institutions—and the only university in South Carolina—to earn the distinction. Details.

The University of South Carolina is the state flagship university with the highest percentage of African-American student enrollment in the nation. Research by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education shows African-American students made up 14.7 percent of USC's enrollment in 2004, the latest year available. The JBHE also ranks USC eighth in the nation in percentage of African-American faculty at a state flagship university with 4.3 percent.

Moore School of Business

U.S. News & World Report's college and graduate school guides rank the Moore School of Business No. 1 in the nation for its undergraduate international business program (fall 2008) and No. 1 among public universities—No. 2 overall—for its graduate IB program. (spring 2008). The Moore School has 12 consecutive No. 1 rankings for the undergraduate program and 19 consecutive years with the No. 1 or No. 2 overall ranking for the graduate program. The school's overall ranking from the magazine is 24th among public universities.

The Moore School is ranked 55th in the world for its master's programs by The Financial Times of London in its 2008 publication. The rankings represent a jump of 17 spots from 2007 and also list the Moore School's MBA programs at No. 25 among U.S. universities. In international business, the Moore School is No. 2 overall in the world and No. 1 among public universities.More.

The Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive's joint business school rankings list the Moore School at No. 49 nationally and No. 7 worldwide in international business in fall 2006.

TechKnowledge Point Corporation has ranked the Moore School's entrepreneurship program one of the top 100 in the nation for 2006.

The Moore School is ranked among the top 50 collegiate entrepreneurship programs in the United States in the April 2005 issue of Entrepreneur magazine. USC is ahead of Harvard, Duke, Notre Dame, Stanford, and Michigan.

In a Forbes ranking of business schools' “return on investment,” the Moore School's graduate program ranked 49th among U.S. schools.

Latin Trade magazine ranks the Moore School among the top five business schools in the world for MBA programs for Latin Americans.

The Moore School's Executive International MBA (EIMBA) program is ranked eighth-best in Mexico by Mexican business magazine Expansión. The program is offered jointly by the Moore School and the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

University 101

In its latest guide (fall 2008), U.S. News & World Report ranked South Carolina's University 101 program for freshmen in the category “Programs to Look For,” among those at Stanford, Duke, and Ohio State.

Chemical Engineering

Figures from the National Science Foundation show USC's Department of Chemical Engineering ranks 19th nationally in research and development expenditures and 23rd in federally financed research. The department’s research activity outpaces that of California Berkeley (22), Cal Tech (25), Northwestern (32), Carnegie Mellon (36), and Virginia Tech (42). Among approximately 150 chemical engineering programs in the nation, USC’s program has consistently ranked in the top 20 in research expenditures and doctoral graduates for the past six years.

Chemistry and Biochemistry

The National Science Foundation reports that USC's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is rated 38th in the nation in federally funded research, ahead of institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology (39), Emory University (40), the University of Southern California (45), and the University of Pittsburgh (47). The department is also ranked among the top 50 chemistry departments in the nation. The department is ranked in the top 20 nationally for the number of doctoral graduates it produces annually.

Exercise Science

USC's Department of Exercise Science's doctoral program is ranked No. 1 in the nation in kinesiology and exercise science, according to the 2005 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index by Academic Analytics. The index of doctoral programs at research universities considers journals and publications, citations of journal articles, research funding, and other awards and honors.

Health Education

The Arnold School of Public Health's Ph.D. program in health education is ranked in the top 10 nationally according to U.S. News & World Report's rankings.

The Ph.D. program is also ranked fifth in the nation by the Journal of Health Education.

Hotel, Restaurant, & Tourism Management

The School of Hotel, Restaurant, & Tourism Management is ranked ninth in the nation by the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education.

Law

USC's School of Law is ranked in the top 100 in U.S. News and World Report's rankings of American law schools (spring 2006).

Library and Information Science

USC's School of Library and Information Science is ranked 19th in the nation in overall excellence, with two of the school's programs—school library media (No. 2) and health information (No. 8)—ranking in the top 10 in U.S. News & World Report's annual graduate school guide (spring 2006).

U.S. News ranked the school the fifth-largest nationally for distance education among library science programs in October 2005.

Marine Science

USC's Marine Science program (marine biology, biological oceanography, and physical oceanography) has been ranked in the top 10 nationally in the most recent Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index.

Medicine

USC's Pediatrics Residency Program is one of the top two in the nation, according to the American Board of Pediatrics. The ranking is based on the certifying test taken by the residents after their three years of training. Of the nation's 206 programs, only two had a 100 percent pass rate on the exam for the past three years.

Nuclear Engineering

USC's nuclear engineering program has been ranked in the top 10 nationally in the most recent Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index.

Nursing

The master's program in the College of Nursing is ranked No. 58 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report (spring 2006).

Political Science

USC's Department of Political Science is No. 10 in the nation for publication rates of faculty research in journals associated with the American Society for Public Administration, according to a study in the Journal of Public Affairs Education.

Psychology

USC's doctoral program in school psychology is No. 3 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's rankings.

The clinical psychology program has been ranked in the top 10 nationally in the most recent Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index.

Sociology

The Sociology Department has moved up to No. 4 nationally for its graduate training in social psychology in the latest U.S. News and World Report edition of “America's Best Graduate Schools.” With the ranking, USC's program is the fastest-rising in the nation.

General

USC has been recognized in Kaplan Publishing's “The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges, 2004 Edition“ as a top school in the following areas: schools that offer the best value for tuition dollar, and schools with the most beautiful campus in urban setting.

USC has been recognized for leadership in the field of student character and development in “The Templeton Guide: Colleges that Encourage Character Development,“ a guidebook for students, parents, and educators.