Introduction
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is at the center of the state’s largest medical complex, offering comprehensive clinical and classroom experiences to its students. Within a four-block radius of the Medical University are Charleston Memorial Hospital, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Charleston County Health Department, Roper Hospital, and numerous health professional offices. Talent drawn from throughout the world is concentrated in this area, responding to the health care needs of South Carolina.

The Medical University has the distinction of being the first medical institution in the southern United States. Since its beginning in 1824, the University has awarded more than 25,500 degrees. It has grown from a small medical school to a health profession institution comprised of a 600-bed referral and teaching center and six colleges: the College of Dental Medicine, the College of Graduate Studies, the College of Health Professions, the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, and the College of Pharmacy. The Medical University of South Carolina is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Inc. (SACS COC) to award bachelor degrees, master degrees, doctoral and professional degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4907 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of the Medical University of South Carolina.  Current and prospective students may personally review documents describing accreditation, approval, or licensing of programs. (These documents are available in each college dean’s office. Review is by appointment and will be accommodated within 30 days of the request.)

The institution was founded by the Medical Society of South Carolina, an extant Charleston medical organization, as the Medical College of South Carolina. Prior to the school’s founding, medical students in this country were limited to schools in the North or abroad. Over its 179-year existence, the Medical University has matured and expanded, matching the continually changing needs of health education. When revolutionary medical changes began to burden the school financially, the state legislature passed a bill on February 8, 1913, transferring the ownership of the school to the state and committing South Carolina to the support of health education as an important branch of its public education system.

Through affiliations and special programs, the Medical University of South Carolina coordinates the health education activities of numerous regional hospitals and provides opportunities for its students to acquire training in various community settings. It has informal agreements with all accredited institutions of higher learning in South Carolina concerning the undergraduate preparation of students for health careers.

Through the support of health professionals, teachers, and the state of South Carolina, the institution has steadily expanded its teaching and service roles. The College of Pharmacy was founded in 1881. The institution began training nurses in diploma programs in 1919, and the College of Nursing offered its first baccalaureate degree in 1965.

Although the College of Graduate Studies was formally established in 1965, the first graduate degree was conferred in 1951. The College of Health Professions was established in 1966, and the College of Dental Medicine accepted its first students in 1967. The institution was granted university status in 1969. Today, the Medical University of South Carolina continues to make giant strides in providing the finest in health education, clinical service, and research.