Anyone may take courses at the University of South Carolina.
The Department of Religious Studies offers courses each semester that may be of interest to those living in Columbia and the surrounding area.
Each semester we post a list of courses being offered in the upcoming semester along with a link to the syllabus for each of the courses. The courses for upcoming semesters can be found at the link for "Current Semester Courses"
How to take courses for interest or for credit
If you wish to take undergraduate courses, you must either (1) have at least a Bachelors degree or (2) be a senior citizen (60 or older).
You can apply to be enrolled as a non-degree seeking student by going to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (777-7700) at 902 Sumter Street Access/Lieber College (Map)
After you have been admitted, you will then need to register for the courses you wish to take. When you are admitted you will be able to login to VIP online and register for any courses you select.
You may take courses for a grade, or you may audit them. In either case, though, you must be registered for the courses.
Senior citizens—free tuition:
Senior citizens of the State of South Carolina who are sixty years of age, or older, may make application for free tuition through application to the Legal Residency Office (777-4060) at 516/518 Main Street (map), suite 131
The details of how to apply for senior citizen free tuition are listed below. Note that this benefit does NOT include the technology fee of $17 per credit hour ($51 for a three credit course).
How to qualify for Senior Citizen Free Tuition
Seniors citizen of the State of South Carolina who are sixty years of age, or older, may make application for free tuition. Proof of your age is required in order to qualify for this reduction in your academic fees. A copy of your birth certificate or South Carolina's driver's license must be presented to the Legal Residency Officer located in the Bursar's office (in Petigrue - see map) . This application should be made prior to the payment of fees.
All requests for refunds for fee reduction must be made during the academic year for which the fees were paid. Refunds may be requested at any time during the academic year. The academic year begins with the fall term and ends with the last summer session (Summer II).
The University of South Carolina welcomes our senior citizen as students. Please be reminded that your registration under this policy is on a space available basis and you meet the eligibility requirements. (Certain courses such as correspondence, ETV, web-based courses, conferences and other courses that may be defined by the University are exempt from this policy.)
If you have any questions about this process, or need help registering for Religious Studies courses, please feel free to call the Department office: 777-4100.
