One of the five regional campuses of the University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Lancaster has grown since its inception in 1959 from a community dream into a vital public coeducational institution of higher learning. USC Lancaster is today a comprehensive learning center, offering high-quality University programs and services to approximately 1,200 full- and part-time students from a service area of six counties (Lancaster, Chester, Chesterfield, Kershaw, Fairfield, and York). 

The Lancaster campus grants associate degrees in the arts, sciences, business, criminal justice, and technical nursing. Limited upper-division course work creditable toward baccalaureate degrees through the University is also offered by USC Lancaster’s faculty.  Graduate courses are available through the Extended Graduate Campus Office under the auspices of the USC Columbia Graduate School. Opportunity for area residents to pursue personal enrichment is also provided through regular programs and services and additional public service activities. USC Lancaster admits all students who show promise of academic success. 

Most of USC Lancaster’s students are first-generation college students from rural areas, small towns, and cities across the central Piedmont area of the Carolinas. Through a broad commitment to equity, an extensive scholarship and financial aid program, and a variety of weekday and evening course offerings, USC Lancaster seeks to make education accessible, affordable, and convenient to the residents of this region. With the considerable resources of the University, the many advantages of a small college setting, and the efforts of a talented faculty, staff, and administration dedicated to scholarship and teaching excellence, USC Lancaster strives to create a supportive educational climate that respects cultural and intellectual diversification, encourages innovation and adaptation, and responds affirmatively to the needs of its students. Students at USC Lancaster are helped to achieve the fundamental skills, knowledge, and capacity for critical thought necessary to pursue further learning, to succeed in their chosen career fields, and to assume the responsibilities of informed and enlightened citizenship in their communities and in the wider society.

Public service in the broadest sense is another important purpose of USC Lancaster. Through regular course offerings, continuing education programs, summer enrichment programs, and cultural events, USC Lancaster helps area residents obtain personal development, professional growth, and cultural enrichment. Through health fitness and recreation programs, USC Lancaster helps residents develop an appreciation of the interrelationship of physical health and overall personal wellness. Through its Child Development Center, USC Lancaster helps economically disadvantaged preschool children attain the physical, social, and intellectual development necessary for later success in school.

For USC Lancaster to meet the growing academic, professional, and personal aspirations of the residents of its area, it will continue to develop and expand its programs and services and provide access to the resources of the wider University of South Carolina.