Recent Stories

maxcy monument on the usc horseshoe

USC retains #1 international MBA ranking, climbs in nursing, education

April 08, 2024, Dan Cook

For the 11th straight year, the University of South Carolina has earned the No. 1 ranking in the country for its International MBA program, according to the Best Graduate School rankings released April 9 by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings show broad-based excellence at USC, with additional business programs also ranked and significant jumps in nursing and education.

Gail V. Barnes stands in the doorway with students playing string instruments behind her

USC String Project marks 50 years of hitting the right notes

April 05, 2024, Megan Sexton

The gold standard in string music education is marking its golden anniversary this year. For the past 50 years, the University of South Carolina String Project has been the national model in a program that combines music lessons with community service and teacher education.

Portrait of Gracie Vess

Aspiring teacher embraces history's role in guiding future generations

March 08, 2024, Alexis Watts

Gracie Vess’ eyes light up at the mere mention of history. But the South Carolina Honors College senior and McNair scholarship recipient doesn’t dream of chronicling the past. Instead, she hopes to shape the future by becoming a high school history teacher. “I want every student to realize their significance in shaping history," says Vess. “I want to teach my students that history is crafted by the collective actions of many people, which is why being an active citizen is so important.”

Photo of student walking on the Horseshoe

First-generation college students bring resilience, perspectives to USC campus

November 03, 2023, Megan Sexton

First-generation college students come from all sorts of backgrounds and bring a variety of perspectives to campus. At USC, about one-fifth of the student population identifies as first-generation college students, meaning their parents did not earn a four-year college degree.

Head and shoulders photo of Danny Morrison

HRSM professor Danny Morrison passes on wisdom gleaned from decades in sports industry

October 16, 2023, Megan Sexton

Danny Morrison, former president of the Carolina Panthers and a sport management professor at USC, draws on his long career in athletics to inspire and educate the next generation of sport professionals

EMT students transport patient to ambulance

Q&A with Dr. Elizabeth Mannion, EMT Training Program director at the School of Medicine Greenville

September 15, 2023, Laura Morris

USC School of Medicine Greenville was one of the first schools in the country to integrate Emergency Medical Technician training and certification into its first-year medical curriculum. Program director Dr. Elizabeth Mannion takes us behind the scenes to explain what students learn and how those skills are applied throughout medical school and in the real world.

Orb on the Maxcy monument on the USC Horseshoe

US News rankings: USC tops in International MBA

April 24, 2023, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina’s master’s in international business program retained its spot as the best in the country for the 10th consecutive year, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings released Tuesday (April 25).

Portrait of William C. Hubbard, dean of the School of Law.

Law dean William Hubbard elected to prestigious national academy

April 19, 2023, Laura Kammerer

William C. Hubbard, dean of the School of Law, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences which is a prestigious fellowship of scholars and leaders. Distinguished members include Benjamin Franklin and Colin Powell, and current members include more than 250 Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners.

Doctoral Candidate, Constance Caddell goes through SC NAACP records.

New age treasure hunters reveal lost stories of Black life in South Carolina

February 14, 2023, Alexis Watts

New age treasure hunters, part of the South Carolina Digital Newspaper Program, are saving crucial historical information buried in old publications that are being preserved and presented online. The newspapers reveal stories from the state’s Black residents and rural communities, often overlooked by larger news outlets. 

USC student nurses at bedside of a patient

U.S. News rankings: USC keeps top spot in online graduate nursing programs

January 20, 2023, Megan Sexton

For the third straight year, the University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing is ranked No. 1 nationally for its online graduate nursing program, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual online programs rankings released Jan. 24.

Photo of Jazmine Lara Guerrero, a first-gen student

First-generation college students add energy, resilience to USC campus

November 04, 2022, Megan Sexton

There is no typical first-generation college student. Some come from immigrant families, some from households where family members didn’t graduate from high school. But all add energy and variety to the University of South Carolina campus.

A nursing student practices on a mannekin while a professor observes.

Columbia, Upstate campuses to receive Prisma Health funding for nursing programs

October 03, 2022, Kyndel Lee

The University of South Carolina’s Columbia and Upstate campuses are recipients of an investment in scholarships by Prisma Health to help counter the state’s critical nursing shortage.

artist rendering of new UofSC nursing facility at Lexington Medical Center

UofSC, Lexington Medical Center enter new partnership

July 05, 2022, Kyndel Lee

The University of South Carolina College of Nursing and Lexington Medical Center have partnered to build a state-of-the-art nursing simulation lab and teaching space to provide clinical training for UofSC’s growing nursing student population.

UofSC Horseshoe

US News rankings: UofSC tops in International MBA, med school grads in underserved areas

March 28, 2022, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina’s international business program retained its spot as the best in the country, while the School of Medicine Columbia remained the best school for graduates practicing in underserved areas, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings.

Nursing students at UofSC

UofSC ranks No. 1 in online graduate nursing program

January 24, 2022, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing retained the No. 1 national ranking for its online graduate nursing program, according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual online program rankings released Tuesday (Jan. 25).

Family nurse practitioner Tamieka Alston-Gibson

USC graduates help fill the gaps in rural health care

November 16, 2021, Megan Sexton

As the country marks Rural Health Day this week, the University of South Carolina works — through its School of Medicine, College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health and other areas — to understand and improve the delivery of health care in rural and underserved communities.

UofSC campus in the autumn sunshine

New fellowship provides underrepresented South Carolinians a path to graduate education

November 12, 2021, Abe Danaher

The University of South Carolina has started a fellowship aimed at increasing diversity in its graduate school ranks. Through partnerships with historically black colleges and universities across the state, the Rising Star Fellowship will remove financial barriers for underrepresented students interested in continuing their education.

Nate Johnson at Rose Hill Plantation

Putting history to work in the world

September 16, 2021, Page Ivey

UofSC's public history graduates apply their knowledge and love of history to encourage civic engagement by making the past more understandable and accessible to the general public. They also are helping to refine our understanding of our past through new scholarship to tell a more inclusive history.

Allie Trice will attend graduate school at Oxford thanks to the Barry Scholarship

English, history graduate is first UofSC recipient of Barry Scholarship to study at Oxford

June 14, 2021, Page Ivey

Allie Trice was an outstanding undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina, excelling in class and conducting publishable research. But a dedication to the pursuit of truth is even more important for the university’s first recipient of the Barry Scholarship, which opened the door to graduate school at the University of Oxford.

UofSC home to 60 ranked programs

UofSC med school leads nation for grads practicing in underserved areas

March 29, 2021, Megan Sexton

The School of Medicine Columbia is the top medical program in the country for graduates who are practicing in areas where there is a shortage of health care professionals, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings. The rankings also show that UofSC is now home to more than 60 nationally ranked programs.

artist rendering of mohammed dajani standing beside a railroad switching station

Dajani's cave

February 09, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

In 2014, Mohammed Dajani, longtime professor at Jerusalem’s al-Quds University, took 27 Palestinian college students to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration near Krakow, Poland. He wanted them to confront the Holocaust, which he believes is downplayed in Palestinian schools, and to consider the complicated history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from multiple perspectives. The backlash would cost him his job and endanger his life. It would also embolden his commitment to reconciliation.

Candace Terry

Veterans bring strong work ethic, new perspectives to UofSC community

October 28, 2020, Megan Sexton

Military-affiliated students play an important role at the University of South Carolina. Veterans and active duty Gamecocks excel in the classroom and beyond, including alumni like Candace Terry who earned her Master of Social Work degree in May and now is the director of governmental affairs for the S.C. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Kjana o

'Go big or go home'

October 08, 2020, Page Ivey

Kjahna O knew from the time she was a young girl, growing up in Southern California, that she wanted to be involved in football. After earning her master’s degree in the sport and entertainment management program at the University of South Carolina, O earned a spot with the Atlanta Falcons, helping that team find the best college players to round out its roster each year.

graphic with multicolored lines to show spread of COVID-19

COVID-19 impact: Coronavirus genome allows epidemiologists to track where it's been

April 27, 2020, Bert Ely and Taylor Carter

Following the coronavirus’s spread through the population – and anticipating its next move – is an important part of the public health response to the new disease. Biological sciences professor Bert Ely and doctoral student Taylor Carter write for The Conversation on how the virus's genetic sequence provides insight into where the virus has been.

AI Institute

Intelligence, all over campus

March 05, 2020, Megan Sexton

While artificial intelligence research and programs are growing around the country, the University of South Carolina’s AI Institute is among the first in the Southeast to include diverse colleges and departments.

Illustration of the DNA helix.

Genetic counseling program produces impactful leaders

February 14, 2020, Margaret Gregory

Alumni of the genetic counseling program at University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia are making a major impact on their field. More than 25 percent of the nation's genetic counseling training programs have had School of Medicine alumni in leadership roles and five programs were founded by South Carolina graduates.

teacher with students in computer lab

Grant-funded initiative helps fill gaps amid SC's teacher shortage

January 14, 2020, Kathryn McPhail

More than 5,300 teachers left South Carolina public schools at the end of the 2018-19 school year. That seems like a staggering number, but it’s not an anomaly. It puts students at risk of missing out on the quality instruction they need and deserve, and the University of South Carolina’s College of Education is stepping in to help with a new initiative aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers.

Dr. Patterson and patient

UofSC center brings health care to those in need

November 20, 2019, Margaret Gregory

In South Carolina, a majority of the 46 counties are considered to be medically underserved. The South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare is working to improve access to quality care through training programs that are helping grow the health care workforce.

School counselor works with child using play therapy

Play therapy helps students express their experiences and feelings

November 07, 2019, Kathryn McPhail

In the 21 years that she’s been a school counselor, Elizabeth Balthazor has worked with children whose emotional – and sometimes physical – wounds run deep. Two-thirds of children report at least one traumatic event by 16 years old, and one in seven children are abused. Before she can help, Balthazor must figure out what’s wrong and that can be hard with children who don’t fully know how to verbalize their trauma.

Brandon Adams, education alumnus

Education alum trades classroom for courtroom

September 09, 2019, Kathryn McPhail

For most students, the path to law school doesn’t include a stop in a fourth grade classroom. Well, at least not as the teacher of the class. But law student Brandon Adams says his experience as a teacher will help him become a better attorney, and he plans to combine his love of teaching and the law.

2015 flood

Disaster research

July 29, 2019, Megan Sexton

From a thousand-year flood to deadly hurricanes, South Carolina is no stranger to disasters. That’s why University of South Carolina researchers are working to better understand why dams fail, how to quickly map disaster areas and ways to improve how people with disabilities navigate natural disasters.

Alexandra Vezzetti

First class of UofSC physician assistant graduates helping improve healthcare access

July 19, 2019, Alyssa Yancey

Alexandra Vezzetti was in the first class of physician assistant students at the School of Medicine and the first PA student to rotate through the neurology department at Prisma Health. Department Chair Souvik Sen, M.D., was so impressed with Vezzetti that he hired her, and next month, she’ll become the department’s first physician assistant.

Tarak Patel

Patient-centered approach deepens medical students' understanding of addiction

June 18, 2019, Alyssa Yancey

Tarak Patel, a second-year medical student at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia, had witnessed the devastation of addiction while volunteering at hospitals and free clinics, but he only had a surface-level understanding of the complexities of the issue. That changed earlier this summer when Patel participated in the Summer Institute for Medical Students (SIMS) at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Center City, Minnesota.

Jefferson in class with her students

Education alumna wins SC Teacher of the Year

June 06, 2019, Kathryn McPhail

Education alumna, Chanda Jefferson, was recently named the 2020 South Carolina Teacher of the Year. Her passion for serving others began when she drove the church van as a teenager. Now a decade into her career as an educator, she finds herself teaching much more than biology to her students.

Katy Pilarzyk in the lab

Brain Power

May 23, 2019, Alyssa Yancey

Second-year Ph.D. candidate Katy Pilarzyk was one of three University of South Carolina students awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship this year. She will use her funding to continue her work in Michy Kelly’s lab at the School of Medicine Columbia. The lab studies the inner workings of the brain to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying social and cognitive deficits.

Mr. Gibson's fifth grade class

Culturally relevant teaching changes the game for students

May 13, 2019, Kathryn McPhail

Jackson Creek Elementary School, in Columbia, is committed to improving the way its teachers are educating students — both academically and socially. The school is collaborating with College of Education professors to offer all teachers and support staff ongoing professional development in culturally relevant teaching.