Accreditation
The University of South Carolina is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
- The University of South Carolina College of Nursing is fully approved by the South Carolina Board of Nursing.
- The baccalaureate degree program in nursing (BSN), the master’s degree program in nursing (MSN), and the doctor of nursing practice program (DNP) at the University of South Carolina College of Nursing is accredited by the American Association of College's of Nursing's Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)
The University of South Carolina Columbia is authorized to enroll students in both Experiential Learning and Distributed Learning coursework in NC-SARA member states because the university participates in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). SC-SARA is managed by the SC Commission on Higher Education (CHE).
Programs leading to licensure
Each state has its own licensing board with its own Registered Professional Nurse (RN) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) licensure requirements.
Since the baccalaureate and master’s degree programs in the College of Nursing at the University of South Carolina are fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, this makes BSN graduates eligible to sit for national licensure (NCLEX-RN) and MSN, Certificate, and DNP nurse practitioner graduates eligible to sit for national certification (ANCC, AACN, and/or AANP-CP).
However, even though the college meets requirements for RN and APRN professional licensure in the state of South Carolina, we cannot confirm that our programs meet all the requirements for professional licensure in other states (e.g., some states have specific topical requirements).
The Office of the Provost provides additional information about professional licensure. If you are considering relocating to another state after program admission and enrollment, you must contact your program director to discuss how a move may impact your ability to participate in academic courses (distributed learning) and clinical practica (experiential learning) opportunities in a different state.
Non-South Carolina Residents
Non-South Carolina prospective students must take additional steps to ensure both academic degree requirements can be met in their state of residence and they can be licensed in that state.
In some cases, state boards of nursing impose restrictions on the following:
- Clinical instruction of students located outside of the SARA agreement,
- Out-of-state graduate educational programs seeking clinical practica in the state.
Non-South Carolina prosepctive students should contact the state board of nursing in the state where they plan to conduct clinical practica before formally enrolling. Please confirm graduate student clinical practica is permitted by students from out-of-state graduate programs.
We also recommend non-South Carolina prospective students, or those who intend to practice outside of South Carolina, to research RN and APRN state licensure requirements specific to their state of residence/practice.
Historical accreditation
The baccalaureate program at the University of South Carolina College of Nursing was accredited with the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) from December 1962 to December 31, 2001.
The master’s program at the University of South Carolina College of Nursing was accredited with the ACEN from May 1997 to December 31, 2001.