University of South Carolina Beaufort Revenue and Competitors

The University of South Carolina Beaufort is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the nation. Its lineage dates back to the original 1795 charter of Beaufort College. By official act two centuries ago, the South Carolina Legislature authorized the college to confer degrees in the liberal arts or sciences, degrees that were equivalent to those conferred by other colleges in Europe and elsewhere in America. The onset of hostilities in the Civil War forced the college to close in 1861. In 1959, by another official act, the South Carolina Legislature created the Beaufort campus of the University of South Carolina on the original site of historic Beaufort College and authorized it to offer the same courses taught at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. In 1994, USCB embarked on a major expansion program. International Paper, a global leader in the paper and packaging industry, donated 80 acres of land to build an additional full-service campus for the university in Bluffton, the region’s fastest growing area. The county government agreed to finance construction of the campus if the university would designate it as a four-year institution of higher learning. When the state approved its new, four-year status, construction began.