Facilities
The campus, located in the heart of Charleston, occupies over 67 acres and 89 buildings. Over 2,200 students are enrolled at the University; more than 700 degrees are awarded each year. The teaching staff consists of approximately 1,100 full-time and 165 part-time faculty. Baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees are awarded in 30 fields of study.

In addition, the University coordinates the training of over 800 interns and residents in a variety of medical specialities throughout the state. Patient care is provided within the Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center. The University encourages faculty to pursue research by providing facilities, funds, and administrative support.

The MUSC Medical Center is the 600-bed referral and teaching facility which includes the Medical University Hospital, the Albert Florens Storm Memorial Eye Institute, the Children’s Hospital, the Rutledge Tower, the Hollings Cancer Center, and the Institute of Psychiatry. As an institution of advanced services, it is fully equipped with the most recent in diagnostic and therapeutic aids.

The Medical University Hospital is a ten-story building constructed in 1955. The first three floors contain general administrative areas, X-ray units, and various diagnostic service areas. The surgery, trauma, cardiothoracic and neurosurgical intensive care units are located on the fourth floor. The fifth, sixth, and seventh floors are for medical and surgical patients. The Dialysis Unit is on the fifth floor, and the General Clinical Research Center is on the sixth floor. The obstetric and gynecological services occupy the seventh floor; the ninth floor accommodates the Heart Center; and the Palmetto Pavilion, featuring forty-two spacious private rooms, is located on the tenth floor. A six-story west wing addition, completed in 1973, houses the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Charleston Memorial Hospital is 172-bed facility that is well-equipped as a diagnostic and treatment facility and maintains extensive new emergency facilities.

The Albert Florens Storm Memorial Eye Institute, a major center for the treatment of eye diseases, adjoins the eastern wing of the Medical University Hospital. It houses outpatient clinics, ophthalmology research facilities, patient rooms, and operating rooms.

The Children’s Hospital, an eight-story building, was completed in 1987 and contains Laboratory Medicine, twelve surgical suites, outpatient pediatric clinic space and two floors for pediatric hospital service.

The Hollings Cancer Center is a comprehensive multidisciplinary center providing residents of South Carolina and surrounding areas with the latest in cancer treatment and supportive services. Equally important are the cancer research activities, contributing to the worldwide effort to find a cure for cancer. Additionally, the cancer center provides opportunities for Medical University students and residents to receive training in a state-of-the-art facility. Construction to double the size of the facility is in progress.

The Institute of Psychiatry, located on President Street between Bee and Doughty Streets, includes four treatment units for youth and adults and two research wings where neurobiological studies pertinent to understanding psychiatric illness are conducted. The top two floors, completed in 1995, house a substance abuse facility, a variety of day treatment programs, offices for providing ambulatory services, and research space dedicated to psychiatry.

MEDUCARE is a 24-hour emergency helicopter transport service operated by the university’s Medical Center. It is designed for hospital-to-hospital transport of critically ill patients who cannot endure a lengthy ground trip and of the accident victim where immediate attention is important.

The Clinical Sciences Building, a nine-story structure adjoining the hospital’s west side, provides offices for the departments of Pediatrics, Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, and Urology. Outpatient clinics, occupying the first two floors of the building, and the hospital’s other clinics receive nearly 150,000 patient visits annually. It also houses the offices of the Dean of Medicine.

The Gazes Cardiac Research Institute-Thurmond Biomedical Research Building opened in late 1996. This eight-floor facility houses state-of-the-art research laboratories for a number of disciplines, including cardiology, nephrology, infectious disease, rheumatology, psychology, hematology, endocrinology, medicinal chemistry, and toxicology. The offices and facilities of the Department of Comparative Medicine and the research laboratories, as well as the administrative research offices for the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center are also housed in this facility.

The Family Medicine Center, located on Calhoun Street, houses the nation’s largest family medicine program under one roof. Its clinic provides comprehensive health care to hundreds of families from all socioeconomic groups.

The Rutledge Towers is a twelve-story structure which was built in phases between 1926 and 1986. The building was completely renovated in 1997-98 and designed for both outpatient care and academic use. The lower ten floors contain ambulatory care units, and the top two floors house academic departments and classrooms.  A 733-car parking garage is located adjacent to the building, and an above-ground walkway links the garage and tower to nearby Medical University hospital facilities. 

The Quadrangle houses the College of Pharmacy, numerous clinical laboratories, and the Baruch Auditorium.

The Basic Sciences-College of Dental Medicine Building, a seven-story building completed in 1970, contains the offices of the Dean of Graduate Studies, Dean of Dental Medicine, and teaching facilities for all six colleges, laboratories and office space for the basic sciences departments, and the Division of Laboratory Animal Resources. Teaching facilities for the College of Dental Medicine occupy half of the building. Dental clinics, located on the first three floors, resemble modern dental operating rooms both in design and equipment. One 300-seat auditorium and four 150-seat lecture rooms are equipped with closed circuit television and other instructional aids, allowing for comprehensive teaching. A major addition and renovation to this building are currently underway.

The Medical University of South Carolina Library, located in the Administration-Library Building, provides services to students, faculty, and staff of all divisions of the University and Medical Center. Collections and information systems are developed to support the curriculum, research, and patient care goals of the institution. The library serves as a resource library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and as a major health sciences resource library within South Carolina, and in local and regional consortia and networks.

The Joseph I. Waring Historical Library, located adjacent to the Basic Science Building, houses books, journals, manuscript items, and museum artifacts dealing with the history of the health sciences, primarily the history of medicine in South Carolina. The Waring Library Society, founded in 1979, promotes interest in the history of medicine and science.

St. Luke’s Chapel is located at the Northeast corner of campus in an area that was originally a part of the Porter Military Academy purchased by the Medical University in 1965. The Chapel was built in 1882-1883 under the guidance of Dr. Anthony Toomey Porter using a portion of an existing Federal arsenal donated to the Academy. This historic structure has nurtured countless students since that date, and stands today fully restored from the devastation of Hurricane Hugo to serve the Medical University of South Carolina family and friends.

The Warren A. Sawyer Reading Room, located adjacent to the Waring Library in Colcock Hall, is an extension of the Waring collections and contains biomedical journals published from the late 1700s to 1920. Also adjacent to the Waring Library is The Macaulay Museum of Dental History, containing a large and interesting collection of antique dental instruments, books, and memorabilia.