The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, the 13th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and the country's oldest

municipal college A municipal college is a city-supported institution of higher learning. The oldest municipal college in the United States is the College of Charleston located in historic Charleston, South Carolina. The College of Charleston is also the thirtee ...

. The founders of the College of Charleston included six

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...

, including three who signed the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

Thomas Heyward Jr. Thomas Heyward Jr. (July 28, 1746 – March 6, 1809) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, and politician. Heyward was active politically during the Revolutionary Era. As a member of the Continental Congress representing South Caroli ...

Arthur Middleton Arthur Middleton (June 26, 1742 – January 1, 1787) was a Founding Father of the United States, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and a representative from South Carolina in the Second Continental Congress. Life Middlet ...

, and

Edward Rutledge Edward Rutledge (November 23, 1749 – January 23, 1800) was an American Founding Father and politician who signed the Continental Association and was the youngest signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the 39th govern ...

; and three who signed the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

: Charles Pinckney,

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (February 25, 1746 – August 16, 1825) was an American statesman, military officer and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to France, United S ...

, and

John Rutledge John Rutledge Jr. (September 17, 1739 – June 21, 1800) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, politician, and jurist who served as one of the original Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ...

History

The College of Charleston was founded in 1770, making it the 13th-oldest institution of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

and oldest

in the nation. The college's original structure, located at the site of what is now Randolph Hall, was designed similar to a

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

. In March 1785, the

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and ...

issued a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

to the college, which officially opened in 1790 and hosted its first commencement in 1794. The first president of the college was Robert Smith, who served in the position from 1790 to 1797. A second charter was issued by the general assembly in 1791 stipulating that the college would not discriminate on the basis of religion. During the

Antebellum era The ''Antebellum'' South era (from ) was a period in the history of the Southern United States that extended from the conclusion of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. This era was marked by the prevalent practi ...

, further development efforts in the college resulted in the construction of Randolph Hall and the President's House, both of which were built using

slave labor Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. In 1837, the Charleston municipal government assumed control over the college. During the mid-20th century, several

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

attempted to apply to the

racially segregated Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people ...

college as part of the

Double V campaign The Double V campaign, initiated by the Pittsburgh Courier in February 1942, was a national effort to advocate for African American rights during World War II. The campaign promoted the idea of a "double victory": one abroad against fascism and th ...

against

racism in the United States Racism has been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices, and actions (including violence) against Race (human categorization), racial or ethnic groups throughout the history of the United States. Since the early Colonial history of the Uni ...

, but they were all rejected. Though the college became a private institution to avoid being

racially integrated Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

during the civil rights movement, black students were admitted starting in 1967 as a result of external pressure.

Campus

The College of Charleston's main campus in downtown

, includes 156 buildings, a mix of modern and historic buildings built between 1770 and 2009. The average building is over 100 years old, and 20 buildings are under historic, protective easements. The College of Charleston downtown campus is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, as is William Blacklock House. Outside of downtown Charleston, the campus includes the Grice Marine Lab on James Island, the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center and the Patriots Point Athletic Complex in Mount Pleasant and the Stono Preserve. In 2017, ''

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc., and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation owners ...

'' magazine named it "America's Most Beautiful College Campus." The

Mace Brown Museum of Natural History The Mace Brown Museum of Natural History is a public natural history museum situated on the campus of The College of Charleston, a public liberal arts college in Charleston, South Carolina. With a collection of over 30,000 vertebrate and inverte ...

is a public natural history museum located on the campus. The collection's focus is on the paleontology of North American mammals, and specifically the

South Carolina Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impor ...

. The museum has more than 30,000 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils.

Academics

The College of Charleston consists of eight academic schools, as well as the Honors College and the Graduate School. *School of the Arts *

School of Business A business school is a higher education institution or professional school that teaches courses leading to degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, s ...

*School of Education *School of Health Sciences *School of Humanities and Social Sciences *School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs *School of Natural and Environmental Sciences *School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering *Honors College *Graduate School

Bully Pulpit Series

The Bully Pulpit Series is hosted jointly by the College of Charleston's Departments of Political Science and Communication. The series welcomes U.S. presidential candidates from the two major political parties to the campus. In the 2020 presidential campaign, the series hosted

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former naval officer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation, United States secretary of transportation from 2021 to 2025. A me ...

Julian Castro Julián Castro ( , ; born September 16, 1974) is an American lawyer and politician from San Antonio, Texas. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the youngest member of President Obama's cabinet, serving as the 16th United States secretar ...

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and military officer serving as the director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence (DNI) since 2025. She has held the rank of Lieutenant colonel (United Stat ...

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...

, and

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

Athletics

The institution's 19 varsity sports teams participate in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Coastal Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

and are known as the Cougars. The Cougars compete at a variety of athletics facilities in the Charleston area, including the

TD Arena TD Arena is a 5,100 seat multi-purpose arena in Charleston, South Carolina, United States that opened in 2008 and replaced John Kresse Arena as the home of the College of Charleston Cougars basketball and volleyball teams. The South Financial ...

, the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Complex, Johnson Center Squash Courts, Patriots Point Athletic Complex, and the Links at Stono Ferry. College of Charleston athletics are supported by the College of Charleston Athletic Club, which was established in 1974. During the 1970–71 school year, College of Charleston students voted to change the nickname from the Maroons to the Cougars, in honor of a cougar that had recently arrived at the Charles Towne Landing zoo. Clyde the Cougar is the current mascot. The men's basketball team is ranked No. 6 for the highest winning percentage in NCAA Division I men's college basketball.

Oliver Marmol Oliver Jose Marmol (born July 2, 1986) is an American professional baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). As of the 2025 season, he is the youngest manager of an MLB te ...

, the manager of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, is a former College of Charleston baseball player.

Greek life

Greek life has been active on campus for 120 years. Currently, the College has 8 Panhellenic, 11 IFC and 8 NPHC fraternities and sororities.

Notable alumni

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston 1770 establishments in South Carolina 1785 establishments in South Carolina Colonial South Carolina Educational institutions established in 1770 Educational institutions established in 1788 Education in Charleston County, South Carolina Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina Education in Charleston, South Carolina English-American culture in South Carolina National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina Public universities and colleges in South Carolina Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina