public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Conway, South Carolina, U.S. It comprises the E. Craig Wall, Sr., School of Business Administration and schools of Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, and Natural and Applied Sciences. In addition to undergraduate studies, the university offers master's degree programs in education. Research facilities include the Center for Marine and Wetland Studies and the Waccamaw Center for Cultural and Historical Studies. Total enrollment is approximately 4,500.

The university was founded in 1954 as a junior college branch of the College of Charleston (Charleston, College of). It cut its ties with the Charleston institution in 1958, and two years later it became Coastal Carolina Regional Campus of the University of South Carolina (South Carolina, University of). In 1975 Coastal Carolina awarded its first bachelor's degree. In 1993 it separated from the University of South Carolina and was granted independent university standing.