Students and adults interested in pursuing higher education or technical training will find it within easy reach of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) and the Technical College of the Lowcountry offer two and four-year programs in some of today’s top career fields.
The fastest growing four-year institution in South Carolina with more than 2,000 full-time students, USCB has tripled its academic degree programs since 2002, now offering 30 areas of study, from visual art and design to nursing and health professions to information science and technology. The 200-acre Bluffton campus, which serves as USCB’s main campus, features all the amenities and facilities for a full college experience, including a library, athletics department, nine residence buildings and a campus center with a bookstore, dining hall, student lounge and meeting spaces.
USCB also has a campus on Hilton Head Island dedicated to its hospitality management degree program. Designed to be a working event and conference center, it features state-of-the-art classrooms, a beverage lab and a demonstration kitchen. Its location in one of the Southeast’s premier vacation destinations provides students with the opportunity to study, work and hold internships in the areas of hotel, restaurant, tourism and event management.
Just outside of Bluffton is the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) where students can receive career-oriented education for today’s high-skill jobs. The public, two-year community college offers 80-plus accredited academic programs in arts and sciences, aviation technology, business, health sciences, computer technology and industrial technology. It serves approximately 5,000 students annually with a variety of curricular programs, including university transfer options, career and continuing education, online learning and dual enrollment for high school students.
TCL’s Culinary Institute of the South opened in 2021 to help bolster the workforce in the local hospitality industry - the region’s No.1 economic driver. With room for 300 students, the 26,000 square-foot best-in-class culinary training facility features six academic classrooms, two teaching kitchens, two baking labs, a lecture theater, a teaching restaurant, as well as the FOODseum, an interactive museum that will tell the story of southern food and culture.