USC has historically not always been the most diverse student body. Despite a short period of integration after the Civil War, the university was one of the last schools in the country to accept black students, in 1963, after being ordered to do so by a U.S. district court judge. However, the rapid growth of USC in the 1960s and '70s has brought increased diversity and inclusion to the flagship campus. Today, USC welcomes international students from across the globe.
The Columbia campus now maintains a total enrollment of 32,772 students, making it the largest university in South Carolina. Out-of-state enrollment has increased by 94 percent in recent years, with 40 percent of freshmen coming from outside South Carolina. The university is also home to 1,632 international students from 100 different countries. Many of these students are housed in Maxcy College, an international residential community designed to unify different perspectives from across the globe.
David Snyder, faculty principal of the Carolina International House at Maxcy College, spoke of the unique outlook that the international students bring to USC.
“[International students] are already curious about the world in ways that we want all of our students to be,” he said. Snyder also praised the “sense of adventure” international students carry with them. “The international students model [global citizenship].”
“I’m trying to meet more people to broaden my horizons,” said Kelsey Liu, a fourth-year economics student from Taiwan, describing her reasons for coming to USC.
“It is a good way to experience America's college student life,” she said.
Liu plans to attend graduate school in the U.S. after graduating from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. “I really like the life here… What I love about U.S. is I feel like people don't really judge others ... I feel that you can do what you want to do.”
Other students come to USC for the strong academics that it offers. Girik Gupta, a first-year management student from India, said, “I came to USC because of Darla Moore.”
Gupta characterized his experience at Maxcy as “amazing” and illustrated the sense of community that he found there.
“I get to meet almost all [the people in] my building in the first week ... You get to learn so many new cultures.” Gupta plans to complete a business degree at USC before returning to India. Gupta had never been in the U.S. before coming to USC. While he enjoys it here, Gupta expressed his desire to return home after completing undergrad at USC, saying, “My family, everyone, is in India. I just cannot leave everyone.”
USC has worked hard over the past few years to promote globalization. The increase in out-of-state and international students has been spurred by the university’s top-ranked Honors College and undergraduate international business program, among other things. The Darla Moore School has recently developed cohorts for the international business program that send its students to universities across the globe to help students apply international business principles as they study them.
The university also has many options for students looking to develop a more international outlook. The Study Abroad Office has numerous exchange programs that allow the students to study at different universities across the globe. The university also took a broader approach to internationalization on campus at USC with the creation of the Global Carolina administrative office. It works to promote international understanding and involvement across USC’s student body.