Clemson University
Thomas Green Clemson believed that South Carolina needed an institution of higher education dedicated to science and agriculture. With his belief came the foundation that was laid for Clemson Agricultural College. On April 6, 1888, Thomas Clemson died, leaving most of his estate to the state of South Carolina with the purpose of establishing a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to the young people of South Carolina.

The college formally opened its doors in 1893 with an enrollment of 446 students. As an all-male military school, the college quickly became recognized across the nation as an important part of the national system of state universities and land-grant colleges. In 1955 Clemson became a civilian co-educational college. As the school expanded its academic offerings and research pursuits, the state Legislature renamed the college Clemson University in 1964.

Today, Clemson is much more than Thomas Clemson could have ever envisioned. The campus is located on 1400 acres of beautiful rolling hills on what once was the plantation of former U. S. Vice-President John C. Calhoun. Landmarks such as Fort Hill, the former home of the Clemsons and the Calhouns, Tillman with its clock tower, the statue of Thomas Green Clemson and the outdoor amphitheater all help retain the air of tradition.

The Clemson Student

• In 2000, TIME Magazine ranked Clemson its "Public College of the Year."
• Almost 57 percent of last year's entering freshmen participated in the Advanced Placement program with more than 61 percent receiving credit for one or more courses.
• There is plenty of room for individual attention in the classroom, Clemson features a student to instructor ratio of 16/1.
• Clemson features a competitive student body, and thus a degree that has meaning. Clemson's 2000 entering freshman class achieved an average SAT score of 1172. This score is the highest ever attained by Clemson's entering students and once again leads the state's public colleges and universities.
• Clemson has a mentoring program to help students prepare and compete for Rhodes, Truman, Marshall, or Fulbright Scholarships.
• Clemson's total enrollment of 17,465 represents 50 states and 88 foreign countries.
• More than 450 employers interview Clemson students on campus each year through the University's Career Center.
• The Clemson family includes a mentoring and support network of over 80,000 alumni worldwide.

The Clemson Education

• U.S. News and World Report ranked Clemson the leading national university in South Carolina and 38th among the nation's top public universities. The university's goal is to be one of the top 20 public universities in the nation.
• Clemson features a diverse curriculum, there are 75 undergraduate degree programs and 77 graduate degrees.
• Average class size is 31 students.
• Clemson's five different colleges include: Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts, and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Science; Engineering and Science; and Health, Education, and Human Development.
• The Calhoun Honors College strives to enrich the educational experience of highly motivated, academically talented students by providing opportunities for scholarship and research not ordinarily available to undergraduates. Established in 1962, Calhoun College is the oldest honors program in South Carolina.
• Clemson University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the bachelor's, master's, specialist and doctoral degrees.
• Clemson was one of the two South Carolina institutions to be selected for inclusion in America's 100 Best College Buys, 2000-2001.
• Clemson was the first state-supported institution in South Carolina to be recognized in Peterson's Competitive Colleges: Top Colleges for Top Students.
• Clemson experienced a 23 percent increase in research support last year, the largest one-year jump in the school's history.
• The Finance Department is among the best in the nation - listed ahead of such schools as Yale and Penn State - according to the Journal of Finance.

• The Management Department is ranked among the top 10 in the nation by Decisions Sciences Institute in research productivity in production and operations management.
• Our Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management ranks among the top three of its kind in the nation.
• Clemson's six-year graduation rate is 70 percent - 20 points higher than the national average for public universities.
• The Program for Educational Enrichment and Retention (PEER) helped bring Clemson's graduation rate of African American engineering students to the fifth highest in the nation among predominantly white schools.
• Clemson's College of Engineering and Science grants more than two-thirds of all engineering degrees in South Carolina and enrolls nearly 75 percent of the state's engineering students.

The Clemson Faculty

• Clemson's student-to-faculty ratio of 16-to-1 gives the faculty the opportunity to interact with many of their students on a one-to-one basis. Critical thinking, problem solving, creative learning, and self-development are just a few of the things emphasized in the Clemson classroom.
• The Clemson faculty includes 33 Fulbright Scholars and 59 endowed chairs, named professorships and alumni professorships.
• Faculty members at Clemson come from a wide range of backgrounds. Over 500 institutions of higher learning that promote excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship are represented among the Clemson faculty.
• Eighty-four percent hold earned doctoral degrees, the highest degree in their field, and many have achieved special academic recognition. Many have also been honored by colleagues and students as master teachers for their excellence in the classroom and by the Outstanding Educators of America.
• When a student enrolls at Clemson, the interaction between student and faculty solidifies as each student is assigned a faculty adviser in his or her chosen field of study. The faculty adviser will assist the student with class scheduling and academic counseling throughout his or her stay at Clemson as well.
• Clemson is among the top 25 universities in the nation in generated revenue from patents and intellectual properties according to the Wall Street Journal/Southeast Journal.

The Clemson Facilities

• Opened in January 2000, the Hendrix Student Center is a 108,000 square foot facility in the heart of Clemson's campus that contains a convenience store, food court, movie theatre, hair salon, coffee shop, copy shop and telecommunications center. The center has 15,000 square feet of meeting rooms and a 2,600 square foot student lounge. The student center also is the home of the Office of Career Services and Placement, the Multicultural Affairs Department, the Student Bookstore, the student media and the University Union.
• The main University library, Robert Muldrow Cooper Library, is situated in the center of campus. The library has become one of the national leaders in automated information retrieval. Its bibliographic records are accessible from anywhere in the world electronically, easing the task of finding information in its collections, which total more than 1.7 million items. Numerous periodical indexes are housed on-line and available for automated searching. The collections are particularly strong in agriculture, natural and physical sciences, economics and technology. Of special interest are the James F. Brynes and Edgar A. Brown Rooms, which have the collections of papers of these statesmen.
• A cornerstone of the University is its computer facilities. Clemson's computer center, which supports student course work and research in all disciplines, is also used by government and industry. The center provides general computing services on a network. Remote sites housing more than 1,600 terminals and 600 microcomputers are conveniently located in many different areas of campus. International and national telephone modem access is also available.
• All students are assigned a user identification code when they enroll, which allows them to use the various mainframe applications such as electronic mail, job placement service, library card catalog and information databases, and housing and course registration.
• The $12.5 million Robert Howell Brooks Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1996. The facility brings an exciting array of fine arts productions to the University, while working to make the arts accessible to a new and larger audience.
• Recently finished McCabe Hall replaces a portion of Johnstone Hall and serves students with new updated comfortable dormitory living in an attractive building inside and out.
• The Office of Career Services and Placement can help with planning and finding summer and full-time employment. The office assists in career counseling and planning, searching for a job, preparing resumes and developing job interview strategies. Resources include staff expertise, books, videotapes and literature provided by companies and agencies. Clemson has developed one of the best automated placement systems in the country, allowing students to research employers and sign up for interviews from any mainframe computer terminals on campus.

The Clemson Experience

Whether its walking to the Hendrix Center to have a milkshake or taking a stroll through the State's Botanical Gardens or even taking part in a pick-up basketball game at Fike Recreation Center, there are plenty of activities for Clemson students when they are not in the classroom.

• Clemson has more than 230 student organizations that are active on campus, including 23 social fraternities and 14 social sororities. There are organizations related to every course of study - groups such as the Accounting Club, and the American Institute of Architects. For students who enjoy writing or photography, the Tiger, the campus newspaper, TAPS, the university yearbook; or the Chronicle, the student variety magazine, are available.
• Located in the University Union are the offices of the student government. Student government gives students the opportunity to influence campus policy.
• Fike Recreation Center currently under renovation and expansion, has a host of opportunities for students to let off steam through physical activity. Inside Fike is an eight-lane swimming pool, a diving tank, two gyms used for basketball and other activities, various weight lifting facilities, and room for aerobics. Outside Fike are several spacious fields used for the extensive intramural program and for student enjoyment. There are indoor and lighted outdoor tennis courts across the street from Fike at the Hoke A. Sloan Tennis Center.