Admissions & Aid

MUSC seeks to protect your personal information and complies with applicable state and federal regulations. Only authorized MUSC employees and officials acting on behalf of the university have access to materials submitted in support of your application to enroll at the university.

To be reviewed and considered for admission, all applicants must file their application with a non-refundable processing fee. All materials submitted in support of the admission process become the exclusive property of MUSC and cannot be returned to the student or duplicated for any purpose. These materials usually include, but are not limited to, official transcripts of all prior graduate and undergraduate work, letters of recommendation, and national test scores.

Applicants are only considered for the semester and the program they specify on the application form. Changes require an applicant to refile an application and to pay an additional filing fee. Deferrals in the anticipated enrollment date requested after acceptance of the admission offer are made only with the approval of the program involved. The accepted applicant must complete the applicant response form and pay the matriculation fee to hold their place in the program as well as meet any conditions of their acceptance.

Academic preparation (in the form of transfer credits, diplomas, or degrees) required for entrance into any of the programs at MUSC must ordinarily have been earned at an institution accreditation by an organization recognized by the Department of Education. The admissions committee of a particular college at MUSC may consider an applicant from a non-accredited institution in competition with other applicants if it determines that the applicant’s academic preparation meets the entrance requirements of the college.

In addition, the committee on admissions of the respective MUSC college may require a recognized examination such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the Dental Admission Test (DAT), the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and recognized national professional board examinations. Credit by examination is allowed on a limited basis. To be eligible, students must be matriculated and must meet specific conditions of the college. Students entering the College of Nursing or the College of Health Professions may also receive credit through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). Maximums allowed are described in the college section of this bulletin. Semester credits awarded according to the CLEP scores received follow the guidelines of the American Council on Education.

Non-residents of the state of South Carolina and international students are granted admission to most programs in very limited numbers. MUSC is a state-assisted institution and preference is awarded to applicants who are residents of South Carolina. Therefore, while non-residents are considered for admission, superior credentials are usually necessary for acceptance. Details of the residency process and the South Carolina Code of Laws governing residency can be found in the Registrar and Records section.

MUSC is authorized to offer its online degree programs to residents of certain states. If you are accepted into an online degree program, at the time of your application we have confirmed that we are authorized to offer that degree program to residents of your state. Should you wish to change your state of legal residence during your enrollment at MUSC, it is your responsibility to make sure that MUSC is authorized to offer your online degree program in that state.

Conditional admission is a status assigned to those applicants who have not yet fulfilled all admission requirements because of extenuating circumstances. However, there must be a preponderance of evidence of eligibility. Conditions for clearing this conditional status are established by the college of enrollment at the time of admission.

Advanced standing may be granted for undergraduate transfer applicants with 60 or more semester transferable units who otherwise meet academic eligibility requirements. Credit determination is made by Enrollment Management staff in consultation with appropriate faculty. It is the student’s responsibility to report to Enrollment Management at the time of application for admission all college-level course work completed outside MUSC. Omitting such information may result in withdrawal of the admission decision. Graduate and professional applicants entering with completed graduate/professional degree work may receive advanced standing. However, this is highly unusual and decisions are made within the appropriate college dean’s office according to various and complex criteria.

Auditors and applicants not seeking a degree must complete the "Non-degree Seeking Student Application" form each semester, available from the Office of Enrollment Management. Permissions must be received from the instructor and the dean of the college in which the course is to be taken. The filing fee includes an application fee, a student services access matriculation fee and both fees are non-refundable. Non-degree seeking student applications are accepted up to three days before the drop/add deadline for the semester. Such students will be allowed to enroll in any term only as part-time students, and do not qualify for financial aid.

Applicants seeking admission to the combined degree programs (M.D./Ph.D. and D.M.D./Ph.D.) must meet admission requirements for both degree programs. Degrees are awarded concurrently.

Admission to candidacy for graduation is not implied when admission to study is granted. Students seeking to graduate must apply to their college dean in the semester prior to their intended graduation.

An admitted applicant declares their intention to matriculate with a written acceptance of admission together with the required non-refundable matriculation fee. Without payment, admission is not confirmed. Applicants are expected to accept admission within four weeks of the offer unless otherwise stipulated by the college. Matriculating students will receive orientation information from their designated college prior to beginning their program. Students may not be enrolled in more than one program at any given time except for combined degree programs.

The Medical University of South Carolina is committed to providing the safest environment possible for work and study. Part of that commitment involves providing information about campus safety and security, crime statistics, and resources to current as well as prospective students and employees.

As such, the Medical University of South Carolina is pleased to announce that its Annual Security Report is now available. This report is required by federal law and contains policy statements and crime statistics for the university. The policy statements in the report address MUSC's policies, procedures and programs concerning safety and security; for example, policies and procedures for responding to emergency situations, emergency notifications, timely warnings, sexual assaults, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

The report also provides information on topics such as crime prevention and awareness programs, authority of campus law enforcement officials, crime and emergency reporting procedures, disciplinary procedures, and other matters of importance related to security and safety on campus. The past three (3) years' worth of statistics are included for certain types of crimes that were reported to have occurred on campus, in off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the university, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to the campus.

You may request a paper copy of the annual security report free of charge by contacting or visiting the Medical University of South Carolina Department of Public Safety at 101 Doughty Street, Charleston, S.C. 29425, or by calling (843) 792-2261. This report is also available online on the Medical University of South Carolina Department of Public Safety's Reports & Crime Statistics webpage.

The Medical University of South Carolina is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees. Degree-granting institutions also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of the Medical University of South Carolina may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC's website (http://www.sacscoc.org).