College at a Glance
Excellence at a Glance
With our stellar location, vibrant student life and quality academic programs, the College of Charleston is truly one of the nation’s great public universities. Learn more about what the College has to offer, from our rich 250+- year academic history to our state-of-the-art facilities and distinguished faculty. Get to know the school everyone’s talking about.
The Basics
- Founded in 1770, the College of Charleston is the oldest educational institution south of Virginia, and the 13th oldest in the United States.
- 10,667 students
- 14.5:1 student-faculty ratio
- Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D., current president
- Clyde the Cougar, beloved mascot
Academics
- 67 majors
- 81 minors
- 4 undergraduate certificate programs
- 20 master's degree programs
- 9 graduate-level certificate programs
- 1 doctoral degree program
Academic Divisions
- School of the Arts
- School of Business
- School of Education
- School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics
- School of Health Sciences
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
- Honors College
- The Graduate School of the College of Charleston
Student Life
- More than 75 research, teaching and support labs
- No. 1 city in the U.S.
- No. 10 city in gaining innovation jobs
- Students living on campus: 34%
- 284 student organizations
- 300 student-athletes make up the College of Charleston’s 19 NCAA Division I teams
- Top-notch fitness facilities and practice fields
Admissions
- Undergraduate: 10,660
- Graduate: 1,069
- Total: 11,729
- Minority students: 19%
- U.S. states and territories represented: 53
- Foreign countries represented: 72
- Acceptance rate: 72%
Alumni
- The College of Charleston Alumni Association, an international organization of more than 93,000 graduates and former students of the College of Charleston has been in continuous operation since June 13, 1888.
- Notable alumni include:
- Roger Amrol, president of Bosch Tools North America
- Quentin Baxter, Clay Ross, Kevin Hamilton, Grammy Award winners (Ranky Tanky)
- Matt Czuchry, actor (Gilmore Girls, The Resident)
- John Charles Fremont, the first Republican nominee for president
- Brett Gardner, former New York Yankees outfielder
- Mike Gaumer, president of Vineyard Vines
- Cary Ann Hearst, Americana Music Awards winner (Shovels and Ropes)
- Ebony Hilton, anesthesiologist and author
- Hugh Howey, author (WOOL)
- Arlinda Locklear, first Native American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court
- Robert Mills, the first American-born architect
- Ludwig Lewisohn, founding professor of Brandeis University
- Padgett Powell, award-winning writer and novelist
- Hunter Via, film editor (Walking Dead)
- Nafees bin Zafar, winner of two Academy Awards