The University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken, USCA, or South Carolina Aiken) is a public university in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the Sout ...

. It is part of the

University of South Carolina System The University of South Carolina System is a state university system collection of campuses established in 1957 to expand the educational opportunities of the citizens of South Carolina as well as extend the reach of the University of South Caro ...

and offers undergraduate degree programs as well as master's degrees. Additional graduate courses and degree programs are offered through the University of South Carolina Extended Graduate Campus program. The University of South Carolina Aiken awards baccalaureate degrees in more than 30 major areas of study include the bachelor of science in business administration online through

Palmetto College Palmetto College is the online bachelor's completion program of the University of South Carolina System. The college is made up of the four two-year degree-granting institutions of the USC system: USC Lancaster, USC Salkehatchie, USC Sumter and USC ...

Campus

The campus is located on in Aiken, from

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, and 60 miles from

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

Academics

The University of South Carolina Aiken was ranked number 49 among "Regional Universities" in the southern US in the 2023 edition of '' U.S. News & World Reports guide '' America's Best Colleges''. In 2019, the university was ranked #1 among top public regional colleges in the southern US. The university has frequently been ranked in the top three public regional colleges and has been ranked first eleven times: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Accreditation

The university is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

. Many of its programs are accredited by program- or discipline-specific accreditors: * The School of Education's undergraduate programs in early childhood, elementary, secondary, and special education are accredited by the

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is a professional accreditor focused on accrediting teacher education programs in U.S. colleges and universities. It was founded in 2013 as a result of the merger of two predecesso ...

(CAEP. Its graduate program for the M.Ed. in educational technology also is accredited by CAEP. * The School of Business is accredited by the

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, is an American professional organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to ...

. *The School of Nursing's program is approved by the South Carolina State Board of Nursing and is accredited by the

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission The National League for Nursing (NLN) is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education. It offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives ...

. *USC Aiken's master of science in applied clinical psychology degree program is accredited by the

Master's in Psychology Accreditation Council A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by University, universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of Profession, professio ...

(MPAC). * USC Aiken's department of chemistry and physics is nationally certified by the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

. USC Aiken is the smallest university in the state of South Carolina to be nationally certified by the American Chemical Society and one of only nine in the state.

Students

USC Aiken is one of the fastest growing institutions in the USC system, with approximately 3,450 undergraduate students and 250 graduate students. The university reached record enrollment rates in the fall of 2018. Students enjoy a low faculty-to-student ratio of 15:1 and an average class size of 15.

Student life

Fraternities and sororities

The Greek system at USC Aiken consists of 7

fraternities A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

and 7

sororities Fraternities and sororities are Club (organization), social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an Undergraduate education, undergraduate student, but conti ...

. In 2019, nine percent of undergraduate men and nine percent of undergraduate women were active in USC Aiken's Greek system. IFC fraternities *

Delta Sigma Phi Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig or D Sig, is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity established in 1899 at City College of New York, The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis o ...

2014 *

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

2003 *

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...

2008

NPHC The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...

fraternities *

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

1993 *

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

1988 *

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

1977

sororities *

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

1978 *

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achie ...

1999 *

Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875–1 ...

2002 CPC sororities *

Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "AOI ...

2006 *

Phi Mu Phi Mu () is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. The fraternity was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia as the Philomathean Society on , and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same ye ...

1988 recolonized 2003 *

Zeta Tau Alpha Zeta Tau Alpha (known as or Zeta) is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its Internatio ...

2001

Student publications

The school newspaper is the weekly ''Pacer Times'', founded in 1963 as the ''Rebellaire''. The school also has a student-run literary journal, ''Broken Ink''."'Broken Ink' garners All-American status"
''

Aiken Standard Aiken Standard is a daily newspaper published from Aiken, South Carolina, United States. It was established in 1867. It was called the ''Aiken Press''. The newspaper passed through the hands of several owners during the 1800s. One of the paper's ...

'', August 17, 2013.

Athletics

USC Aiken (South Carolina–Aiken) athletic teams are the Pacers. The university is a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Peach Belt Conference The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The 11 member institutions are located in the South Atlantic states of South Carolina ...

since the 1990–91 academic year. USC Aiken competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball and volleyball. Men's and women's tennis were discontinued at the end of the 2018–19 school year.

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

and the award-winning dance team have also been important parts of the athletics department, with a spirit squad currently featured.

Notable alumni

Adam Riggs Adam David Riggs (born October 4, 1972) is a former professional baseball first baseman. He played parts of four years in Major League Baseball, but is better known for the four seasons he spent with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Centr ...

— former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player * Roberto Hernandez — former 16-year

veteran and two-time all-star *

William Garrett Wright William Garrett Wright is an American poet, editor, and writer. Raised in Edgefield, South Carolina, Wright has worked as an educator at institutions such as Emory University, Oxford College at Emory University, and The University of Tennessee. H ...

— poet and editor

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Carolina, University of, Aiken Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Aiken County, South Carolina Buildings and structures in Aiken, South Carolina Educational institutions established in 1961 1961 establishments in South Carolina

University of South Carolina Aiken The University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken, USCA, or South Carolina Aiken) is a public university in Aiken, South Carolina. It is part of the University of South Carolina System and offers undergraduate degree programs as well as master's ...

Public liberal arts colleges in the United States