public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Orangeburg, South Carolina, U.S. A historically black university, South Carolina State offers numerous bachelor's degree programs through schools of Applied Professional Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Business, Education, and Engineering Technology and Sciences. Master's degree programs are offered in agribusiness, education, and human services. There is also a doctorate program in education. Total enrollment is about 4,500.

The university traces its origins to 1872 with the creation of the South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute within Claflin College, a black institution of higher education in Orangeburg. The institute was separated from Claflin in 1896 and established as the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina, the state's land-grant college for African-American students. The college was renamed South Carolina State College in 1954 and was granted university status in 1992.