Study abroad at Orangeburg

Orangeburg (known as 'The Garden City') is a historic, charming, and affordable university town situated along the North Edisto River in the Lowcountry / Midlands region of South Carolina, located just 40 miles (45 minutes) south of Columbia (the state capital) and 70 miles (75 minutes) northwest of historic Charleston and the Atlantic coastline. Celebrated for its world-famous Edisto Memorial Gardens (featuring over 4,800 rose plants across 175 acres with azaleas, water tupelo, and cypress boardwalks - host of the annual Orangeburg Festival of Roses), Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center, and its rich historical heritage in civil rights education. Orangeburg is home to two prominent and historically significant higher education institutions: South Carolina State University (SC State / SCSU - founded in 1896, premier public land-grant university enrolling over 3,000 students on a 160-acre campus, renowned for offering the only undergraduate Nuclear Engineering program in South Carolina, alongside the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics STEM - ABET-accredited Civil, Electrical, Industrial, and Mechanical Engineering, and College of Business and Information Systems), and Claflin University (founded in 1869, consistently ranked among the Top 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities HBCUs in the United States and #1 in South Carolina by US News & World Report with over 2,000 students, globally acclaimed for Biotechnology, Computer Science, Biochemistry, and Business Administration). Degrees are taught 100% in English with prestigious US accreditations. International students benefit from affordable tuition fees, generous Claflin and SC State International Merit Scholarships ($4,000 to $12,000/year), a tight-knit supportive campus community (14:1 student-to-faculty ratio), and direct US F-1 / I-20 Student Visa support with 3-year STEM OPT work extensions.

Tuition fees in Orangeburg for international undergraduate students at South Carolina State University (SCSU) and Claflin University range between $18,500 and $22,800 per academic year for Nuclear Engineering, Computer Science, Biotechnology, Business, and STEM degrees (with Claflin and SC State awarding generous automatic International Academic Merit Scholarships discounting $4,000 to $12,000/year from tuition for qualified applicants with a GPA of 3.0+, bringing net tuition down to approx. $10,500–$16,800/year). Postgraduate Master's degrees range from $12,000 to $18,000 per year. Modern on-campus university student residences (SC State: Hugine Suites, Battiste Plaza, Truth Hall; Claflin: High Rise, Kleist Hall, Commons Residence) cost between $550 and $950 per month (inclusive of meal plans, utilities, and high-speed Wi-Fi), while off-campus student apartments in Orangeburg range from $420 to $750 per month. General monthly living expenses range between $620 and $980 (exceptionally low for the US).

International students require a US F-1 Student Visa. Upon academic admission and verification of financial documentation (bank statement certifying first-year tuition and living expenses minus scholarship awards approx. $18,000), the International Student Services Office issues the official Form I-20. The student pays the SEVIS I-901 fee, completes the DS-160 online visa application, and attends the F-1 visa interview at the US Embassy or Consulate. STEM graduates qualify for a 24-month OPT extension (total 36 months of US employment authorization).