Location
Experience a vibrant and diverse cultural life in a place small enough for anyone to feel right at home. Here, the lines between campus and the city blur — so you can learn something new every time you walk down the street. And then there's what makes Charleston iconic. The College of Charleston is in the middle of one of the most lovingly preserved historic districts in America — yet home to cutting edge companies like Google, Boeing and Blackbaud.
Campus Facilities & Equipment
From newly refurbished residence halls and dining areas to renovated classrooms, newly built educational centers and an impressive, 15,000-square-foot fitness facility, the College has invested millions of dollars to provide students with the best and most effective learning and recreational opportunities.
The fully renovated Albert Simons Center for the Arts opened in 2024 and boasts state-of-the-art classrooms, studios, galleries and performance spaces.
Stono Preserve is a 981-acre property along the Stono River and the Intercoastal Waterway. It includes myriad ecosystems and provides unmatched research and educational opportunities for students and faculty at the College of Charleston.
The Grice Marine Lab provides marine biology students with a waterfront learning and research center. The lab supports teaching and research in evolutionary biology, marine biogeography, cellular and molecular biology, benthic ecology, immunology, microbial ecology, phytoplankton ecology, environmental physiology, fish systematics, and invertebrate zoology and other marine sciences.
Rita Hollings Science Center is the academic home to students studying biology, physics, astronomy and psychology, this newly renovated building includes 8 classrooms, 51 research labs and 27 teaching labs. The fourth-floor roof houses the astronomy lab, control room, telescope dome, astronomy deck and vivarium.
Off-Campus Opportunities
The city of Charleston presents endless opportunities for research, internships and service learning. 70% of students participate in internships and 90% of students have at least one experiential learning opportunity.
Charleston is America's original artists' colony. Throughout its 300-plus-year history, our city has been a playground for painters, jazz musicians, playwrights and more. This is where the New World's first public theater was established, as well as the country's first resident ballet company and its first museum.
An art, outdoor and culinary destination, Charleston hosts several events throughout the year that you might expect at a city twice its size. Whatever your niche, Charleston has the renowned festival or event to help bring it to life.
The outdoors is always calling at the College of Charleston. Year-round sunshine, beaches in our backyard, a 10-acre city park right next door and free access to campus athletic facilities make staying active easy.
Students at the College of Charleston "are extremely involved...and likely participate in multiple clubs," not to mention "volunteering events, jobs, internships, and study abroad trips." The school hosts "tons of talks and activities" and "constantly keeps us updated on events and opportunities." With more than 240 options, students say that "there are so many clubs to choose from," including the "Belly Dance club," the Esports club, and the Cheese Club (exactly what it sounds like). They also "love going to school sporting events (especially basketball)," and Greek life is singled out as being "really fun...because it is so low-key compared to other colleges." On the weekends, students might step off campus into the "vibrant city" of Charleston, where "there is always something happening, whether it be the Fall Arts Festival, an a cappella concert, or a concert." The college enjoys an excellent relationship with its community, and "many local coffee shops are also "frequented by students and provide a nice place to hang out with friends or study." Geographically speaking, proximity to the water "is icing on the cake," so students "do a lot of beach-going (Charleston is close to several beaches)," and one student's weekend rotation involves "Hitting the bars on Friday night, going to the farmer's market then beach on Saturdays, while still having energy to study hard [on] Sunday nights." Another student claims, "The great thing about our college is that there is so much going on around here on any given day."
