J.D. Program

Three Reasons to Choose South Carolina Law:

Find your unique skills and strengths and preview different areas of law through your coursework, externships, clinics, and pro bono work.

Dive deep on subjects you're really passionate about, with professors who are at the top of their fields in areas like environmental law, children's law, litigation and many others.

Transition seamlessly into a successful career. You'll have lots of opportunities to meet other attorneys and find your niche, thanks to our vast alumni network and connections with government entities here in the state capital.

Founded in 1801, then-South Carolina College flourished pre-Civil War, overcame post-war struggles, was rechartered in 1906 as a university and transformed itself as a national institution in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Palmetto State established South Carolina College — the precursor to the University of South Carolina — on Dec. 19, 1801, as part of an effort to unite South Carolinians in the wake of the American Revolution. South Carolina's leaders saw the new college as a way to promote "the good order and harmony" of the state.

The founding of South Carolina College was also a part of the Southern public college movement spurred by Thomas Jefferson. Within 20 years of one another, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia established state-supported colleges.