University of South Carolina - Upstate

Founded in 1967, USC Upstate is a public university based in the South Carolina town of Spartanburg, for which it was formerly named. The city itself can be regarded as a college town, with a total of eight higher learning institutions in the area, and hosts such events as the Hub City Hog Fest, a two day annual festival of BBQ food and live music.

Academic study at USC Upstate is divided between Arts & Sciences, Business & Economics, Nursing, and Education. There are also five graduate programmes at the university, including a master's education course for teaching those with a visual impairment. For this wishing to incorporate a variety of academic fields into their time at USC Upstate, the university’s Centre For Interdisciplinary Studies offers both bachelor of arts and BS degrees.

USC Upstate is a part of the Generation Study Abroad Commitment, aiming to double the number of American studies who take a period of study overseas. Currently students can take exchange programmes at 12 different countries ranging from Chile to India, and short term study abroad options, which in previous years has included a Winter Break trip to Iceland.

Athletics teams are known as the Spartans, and compete in the NCAA Division I. In total there are seven men’s sports programmes and eight women’s, including softball and volleyball. Basketball games are played at the Hodge Centre, which can seat up to 900 spectators.

USC Upstate is a college with tight knit connections to its local community, with up to 80% of its students continuing to live and work in the surrounding area upon graduation. University students can work with children at local schools through the Watershed Ecology Centre on site, which teaches education and research in fields such as conservation and water quality.