Welcome to the University of South Carolina and the Gamecock Nursing Nation. Whether visiting our webpage, following social media or visiting our beautiful campus, you will observe a College of Nursing with momentum, high standards of excellence, and a connected community.

Located at the flagship university for the state of South Carolina, our faculty, staff and strategic initiatives within the college are rapidly expanding as we execute our ambitious vision. Our commitment to quality, excellence and impact guides our actions. In response, our U.S. News & World Report rankings, NIH rankings, national and international recognition have soared rapidly over the past several years. Perhaps, even more importantly, the heightened impact in our local region and communities generates a higher sense of accomplishment for our team.

By the numbers

In the past several years, our college has grown to 2,100+ undergraduate and graduate students, 175 nationally and internationally known faculty, dedicated and resourceful staff and 12,000+ alumni. With our new and existing talent, the quality of our programs are exceptional. The NCLEX pass rates for our BSN graduates rank in the top 1% in the country. Cohorts  from  nurse practitioner programs  commonly achieve a 100% on their respective certification examinations.

Our state-of-the-art Simulation Center, innovative teaching strategies, Smart Start Program, education abroad opportunities and committed faculty provide our learners with optimal opportunities and environments to enhance growth and professional development. Nursing student learners have the opportunity to engage with collaborative peers and experts in medicine, pharmacy, social work and public health in the classroom and across regional and global health care systems. Recent trends highlight our nursing learners engaging with other partners in engineering, computer science, health administration and others seeking Degrees of Health to revolutionize the way we conceptualize health care delivery. 

Our research mission has enlarged with the addition of new faculty scholars who, with existing faculty, have generated over $22 million in new research and grant awards in the past five years. Our National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, now ranked in the top 20’s in the U.S., continues to expand from pre-doctoral funding to post-doctoral, early investigator and senior investigator awards. Our Ph.D. in Nursing Science program is thriving, with students receiving full or partial fellowships.

What to expect

If you are a student looking for an innovative, caring, and world-class environment, we invite you to explore our bachelor’s of science in nursing program, master’s of science in nursing programs, or one of our two doctoral programs – the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Philosophy of Science (Ph.D.) programs. 

If you are a potential faculty member looking to work with an energetic, compassionate, and collaborative team, we invite you to consider joining us. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has designated the University of South Carolina as one of only 73 public and 32 private academic institutions with “very high research activity." Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, is the center of an increasingly sophisticated greater metropolitan area with a population over 750,000. The inspirational environments in the college, university, and community are all aspiring to even greater heights of excellence.  

If you are a supporter, you can witness the impact your ideas and resources are having. And if you have thoughts about new opportunities to facilitate health care education, practice, or research activities or solutions, we hope you will find further insights here and perhaps work with us to do even more.

Stay connected

We invite you to join us on this incredible journey to shape and impact the health care delivery and patient-family outcomes in South Carolina and beyond. Explore our website and discover all that the College of Nursing offers. Like our Facebook page and follow us on X/Twitter and Instagram to read weekly updates. Please contact us with any questions you may have or to schedule a visit.