Benedict College

Benedict College was established in 1870 on a 110-acre plantation in Columbia, South Carolina, Unitited States. It was established for the newly liberated people of African descent. The first schoolhouse was a dilapidated mansion constructed in 1839. Students were initially taught the Bible, theology, and grammar. Over the next few years, more subjects were included in the curriculum. These subjects were in sync with the original objective which was to train preachers and teachers. The institution was officially declared a liberal arts college in November 1894, and its name was changed from Benedict Institute to Benedict College.

Continuing with its liberal arts tradition, Benedict College now awards bachelor degrees in more than 25 major areas of study from 12 departments.

Highlights

Where the school stands out most compared to other schools (details below):

• Baptist religious affiliation.
• Historically black college.
• Many students concentrating in family and social work, computer science and engineering, nutrition and exercise therapy, mathematics, media, art studies, science, and business and management.
• Racially diverse student body.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• Large number of students.
• Unusually high availability of athletic financial aid.
• Superior share of faculty on tenure track.
• High male/female ratio.

Other important characteristics:

• Open admission; accepts all qualified candidates
• Faculty tenure system
• Library on-campus
• Campus housing available
• Student meal (board) plan
• Study abroad option
• Weekend study option
• Part-time classes available
• ROTC
• Athlete financial aid

Degrees Awarded (in 2008-2009)

Students

Benedict is a historically black college.

Student enrollment was 2,641 in 2007-2008 (2,724 full-time equivalent).

Undergrads are 100% of enrolled students.

About 1% of freshmen are from countries other than the US. Students living in the US make up 99% of incoming freshmen.

Tuition and Other Costs (2008-2009)

Financial Aid: Benedict participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.

Housing and Meals

Benedict provides on-campus housing for 2,210 of its 2,724 (full-time) students (as of 2008-2009).

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 21 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 132 male students received the aid (men were 55% of those receiving aid) and 107 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 45% of students receiving such aid) .