Clemson University Clemson University is an American public , coeducational , land - grant and sea - grant research university located in Clemson , South Carolina , United States . Founded in 1889 , Clemson University consists of five colleges : Agriculture , Forestry and Life Sciences ; Architecture , Arts and Humanities ; Business and Behavioral Sciences ; Engineering and Science ; and Health , Education and Human Development . As of the year 2012 , Clemson University enrolled a total of 16 , 562 undergraduate students for the fall semester and 4 , 206 graduate students and the student / faculty ratio is 16 : 1 . The cost of in - state tuition is about $ 11 , 078 and out - of - state tuition is $ 25 , 388 . _ _ toc _ _ History . Thomas Green Clemson , the university ' s founder , came to the foothills of South Carolina in 1838 , when he married Anna Maria Calhoun , daughter of John C . Calhoun , a South Carolina statesman and seventh U . S . Vice President . When Clemson died on April 6 , 1888 , he left most of his estate , which he inherited from his wife , in his will to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians . His decision was largely influenced by South Carolina Governor Benjamin Tillman . Tillman lobbied the South Carolina General Assembly to create the school as an agricultural institution for the state and the resolution passed by only one vote . In his will , Clemson explicitly stated that he wanted the school to be modeled after what is now Mississippi State University : " This institution , I desire , to be under the control and management of a board of trustees , a part of whom are hereinafter appointed , and to be modeled after the Agricultural College of Mississippi as far as practicable . " In November 1889 , South Carolina Governor John Peter Richardson III signed the bill , thus establishing the Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina . As a result , federal funds for agricultural education from the Morrill Land - Grant Colleges Act and the Hatch Act of 1887 were transferred from South Carolina College to Clemson . Clemson Agricultural College formally opened in July 1893 with an initial enrollment of 446 . From its beginning , the college was an all - white male military school . The school remained this way until 1955 when it changed to " civilian " status for students and became a coeducational institution . In 1963 , the school admitted its first African - American student , future Charlotte , North Carolina , mayor Harvey Gantt . In 1964 , the college was renamed Clemson University as the state legislature formally recognized the school ' s expanded academic offerings and research pursuits . Academics . Admissions . The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies the university as " more selective " , since the university admitted less than fifty - five percent of those who applied to be freshmen in 2006 . Clemson University emphasizes on the rigor of high - school study and standardized test scores , either SAT or ACT . The university also considers class rank , extracurricular activities , and an optional personal statement . The average incoming freshman had a combined SAT score of 1220 and a high - school weighted grade - point average ( GPA ) of 3 . 99 in 2010 . In 2008 , admission was the most competitive in university history . It had over 15 , 000 applications for its freshman class of approximately 2 , 800 students . It was especially competitive for out - of - state students in that it is a state - supported institution . Of those 15 , 000 + applications , over 10 , 000 were from outside of South Carolina ; however , a little over 1 , 000 freshmen from other states gained admission . Research and rankings . The university endeavors to become a " Top 20 " public institution , undergoing a process of enhancing its graduate programs while continuing to emphasize the quality of the undergraduate experience . It has steadily moved up the rankings for public universities from 34 , to 30 , to 27 , to 22 in 2005 , 2006 , 2007 , and 2008 respectively : according to the " U . S . News & World Report " . For 2011 , U . S . News & World Report ranked Clemson as the 23rd best public national university in the country . For the year 2012 , Clemson ranks number 25th for top public schools in the country according to U . S . News & World Report . However , some have questioned Clemson ' s efforts to improve its rankings . In 2009 , an administrator revealed that " Clemson manipulated class sizes , artificially boosted faculty salary data and gave rival schools low grades in the rankings ' peer reputation survey " with the goal of manipulating its U . S . News & World Report ranking . As part of its push to enhance graduate - level education , several new Ph . D . programs have been created including interdisciplinary doctoral programs in Rhetorics , Communication , and Information Design ( RCID ) , and Planning , Design , and the Built Environment ( formerly Environmental Design and Planning ) . Also noteworthy is a new master ' s degree in historic preservation , jointly offered in collaboration with the College of Charleston . The university ' s currently most ambitious academic and research endeavor is the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research ( CU - ICAR ) . The CU - ICAR is a automotive and motorsports research campus located in nearby Greenville , South Carolina . ICAR will include a graduate school offering master ' s and doctoral degrees in automotive engineering , and offering programs focused on systems integration . The campus also includes an Information Technology Research Center being developed by BMW . BMW , Microsoft , IBM , Bosch , The Timken Company and Michelin are all major corporate partners of the CU - ICAR . Private - sector companies that have committed so far to establishing offices and / or facilities on the campus include the Society of Automotive Engineers and Timken . Plans for the campus also include a full - scale , four - vehicle capacity rolling - road model wind tunnel . In 2004 the Restoration Institute was founded . Its mission is to " advance knowledge in integrative approaches to the restoration of historic , ecological , and urban infrastructure resources . " The institute is located in North Charleston and subsume the Hunley Commission that is currently undertaking the stabilization of the " H . L . Hunley " , the world ' s first submarine to sink a ship . In 2011 , The Princeton Review ranked Clemson # 1 for town - gown relations are great , # 2 for happiest students , # 2 for jock schools , # 3 for everyone plays intramural sports , # 8 for students pack the stadiums , and # 9 for best career services . In 2012 , SmartMoney named Clemson University as 7th best salary returns on tuition . In 2012 , U . S . News ranked Clemson University 3rd for having the most financial resources per student . $ 26 , 293 was spent on the average student at Clemson University . Clemson Colleges . In July 1955 , the four schools that made up Clemson : Agriculture , Arts & Sciences , Engineering and Textiles transformed into nine colleges . College of Architecture . Clemson ' s desire to have its own Architecture college began in the post World War II period . South Carolina was going through rapid industrialization and was in need of better - trained architects . The South Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects was the main backing of this new development and showed their willingness by creating a foundation that would provide money to supplement the available resources of the college . The School of Architecture was established on July 1 , 1958 with Professor McClure as its first Dean . Professor Dean , originally from University of Minnesota , began to change the basic curriculum almost immediately . He changed the undergraduate program from four to five years and strengthened the Masters Program by adding a two - year internship . Within the college of Agriculture there was the department of Building Science and Management , Planning and Fine Arts were added to enrich the education of the architects . The architectural foundations major accomplishment was the overseas center in Genoa , Italy where many graduate students are very active in the local community . College of Arts and Sciences . In 1969 , the Board of Trustees approved the administration ’ s recommendation that the College of Arts and Sciences be separated into The College of Liberal Arts and the College of Sciences . This decision was based on the number of students and departments increasing as well funding for research being denied due to lack of adequate strength in the one college . College of Liberal Arts . The Liberal Arts program was growing rapidly from 1950 - 1969 in terms of population as well as quality . When liberal arts became a separate college in 1969 , Dr . Morris Cox was appointed Dean . English and Modern Languages , History , Sociology , and Political Science were the departments in the Liberal Arts College . Music was shortly removed from Education and placed into the Liberal Arts College . College of Sciences . Dr . Clayton Aucoin served as the first Dean of the College of Sciences until replaced in 1971 by Dr . Vogel . His first mission was to transfer departments from the College of Agriculture to the College of Sciences . The departments were Biochemistry , Botany , Microbiology , and Zoology . Another major organizational change was in 1978 when Computer Science was established as a separate department . College of Commerce and Industry . The College of Commerce and Industry was created in 1962 and is on of the largest Colleges existing in Clemson University . Many years before Clemson was founded , textiles were the major industry in South Carolina . Greenville , South Carolina came to be known as “ Textile Capital of the World ” . The College of Commerce and Industry includes two schools and four departments in addition to an Office of Research , Office of Professional Development and an Office of Small Business Development . College of Education . Clemson University ’ s College of Education is also one of the largest . In 1965 , the School of Education was established led by Dean Dr . Landrith . Due to a lack of classroom teachers , The College of Education was an important addition in order to restore the image of teaching and attract and interest the students . A recent major import to the College of Education has been the renovation of Tillman Hall during 1980 - 1981 . After the library was completed , it was decided that the best use of Tillman hall was to house the College of Education . College of Engineering . The college of Engineering was developed in 1962 . When Clemson decided to take on the training engineers , it essentially took the responsibility of serving as the state ’ s source of quality education . The engineering College of Clemson has close ties to the state of South Carolina . In the mid - 1950s the construction of the Olin hall was complete to explore the vast mineral sources that could support a ceramic industry . Other work from this department found glass sands near Columbia , SC that formed the basis of the fiberglass industry here in South Carolina . Today the different departments of the College of Engineering are : Biosystems Engineering , Bioengineering , Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Civil Engineering , Electrical and Computer Engineering , Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences , Industrial Engineering , Material Science and Engineering , and Mechanical Engineering . College of Forestry and Recreation Resources . The college of Forestry and Recreation Resources were formed in 1970 , which included two departments : Forestry and Parks , Recreation and Tourism Management . This college is an example of Clemson ’ s responsiveness to the state of South Carolina and was formed because of independent actions taken by the United States Congress and the State legislature . The Park , Recreation and Tourism Management department is based on the program at North Carolina State University . College of Nursing . The College of Nursing was designated as a college in 1972 . In the early 1960s a serious health problem was going on in South Carolina which included shortage of nurses and lack of proper nurse training to meet the needs of post World War II era . The obvious solution to this problem was adding nurse education programs at colleges and universities . The college of Nursing now has five departments and is one of the highest respected programs in the nursing position . Student life . Athletics . Clemson University teams are known as the Tigers . They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) sub - level for football ) , primarily competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) for all sports since the 1953 - 54 season . Men ' s sports include baseball , basketball , cross country , football , golf , soccer , tennis and track & field ; while women ' s sports include basketball , cross country , golf , rowing , soccer , swimming and diving , tennis , track & field and volleyball . The most - prominent athletics facilities on campus are Memorial Stadium , Littlejohn Coliseum , Doug Kingsmore Stadium , Historic Riggs Field , and Fike Recreation Center . Clemson has won four national championships including football ( 1981 ) , two in men ' s soccer ( 1984 and 1987 ) , and men ' s golf ( 2003 ) . Two - dollar bills . It has been a university tradition dating from September 24 , 1977 , for the school ' s fans to spend two - dollar bills on away - game trips . This began when the school played Georgia Tech " for the last time " as Tech refused to travel to Clemson . Of the seventeen games played between Tech and Clemson between 1953 and 1977 , only once , in 1974 , did the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets come to Memorial Stadium . When in Atlanta , Clemson fans spent two - dollar bills stamped with " Tiger Paws " to show how they contributed to the local economy . This was the start of Clemson ' s two - dollar bill tradition , which was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s , but has waned since then . Tiger Pushups . During football games , the Clemson tiger mascot does pushups that equal the total number of points on the scoreboard at the time . The tiger is in full mascot attire and has been known to lose 12 pounds in a single game . The Tiger pushup tradition began in 1978 by the Tiger mascot at the time - Zack Mills . The Tiger mascot outfit weighs in at 45 pounds , with the head weighing 20 pounds . First Friday Parade . Clemson launches the football season with the annual First Friday parade . The parade includes Fraternities , sororities , the Clemson band as well as the university president . It goes right through Main Street and concludes at the amphitheatre , where the first pep rally of the year is held . In 1985 , the parade was most attended when CBS commentators were the Grand Marshalls . Tiger Paws . The Tiger paw became the official logo for Clemson University in 1970 in replace of the tiger . This change was inspired by President Robert Edwards in aims to “ upgrade the image of the university ” . The company hired for creating the new logo actually contacted the museum of Natural History in Chicago asking for a plaster imprint of the tiger paw . The paw is now used on football helmets , bumper stickers and painted on the football field . The tiger paw is also painted on campus and in a footprint pattern on highways leading to Clemson . Homecoming and Tigerama . Every year Clemson students have the opportunity to attend the festivities of Homecoming and Tigerama . This Clemson Homecoming tradition began in 1914 and has been a big part of Clemson University since . Every year , preceding the first game different organizations build and create Homecoming floats that will be displayed on Bowman field and will be judged on game day . Since 1957 , every Friday homecoming night Clemson holds " Tigerama " . Which is one of the nation ' s largest student - run - pep rallies averaging about 40 , 000 people . This Clemson event includes crowning of Miss Homecoming , different skits by academic organizations as well as a firework show . Alma Mater . The Clemson University alma mater originated in the 1910s after a group of Clemson ROTC cadets in May of 1918 was asked to sing the school song at a gathering of ROTC cadets at Plattsburg , New York and were unable to do so as Clemson had no song at the time . One of the cadets in attendance , A . C . Corcoran of Charleston , South Carolina decided to remedy the situation and wrote the words to the alma mater and set them to Annie Lisle , which was the melody of Cornell ' s alma mater and many others . The words were later officially accepted by the then - named Clemson Agricultural College as the alma mater and was first performed by the Clemson glee club on February 17 , 1919 . In 1947 the club Tiger Brotherhood decided that , rather than continue borrowing another school ' s melody , that the university should compose its own and sponsored a contest for Clemson students to compose one . On May 5 , 1947 , The Tiger ( the school newspaper ) announced that the winner was Robert E . Farmer of Anderson , South Carolina , a member of the glee club at the time . That melody was slightly altered in 1970 , but was restored to its original tune in 2009 . The lyrics to the alma mater : < poem > Where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness Where the Tigers play , Here the sons of dear old Clemson Reign supreme alway . CHORUS Dear old Clemson we will triumph And with all our might , That the Tiger ' s roar may echo O ' er the mountain height ! < / poem > Performance of the Alma Mater by the Clemson University Choir Fight song . The university ' s fight song is the jazz standard , the " Tiger Rag " . Fraternity and sorority life . The university ' s fraternities and sororities system ( or Greek system ) is somewhat different from other large universities in the southern U . S . in that there are no Greek houses on campus as interfraternity activity did not begin until 1970 following the abolishing of the military cadre requirements at the university . There are residence halls designated for fraternities and sororities , but there are no traditional Greek houses on campus . However , there are a few fraternity houses off campus near the college . The Fraternity Quad on campus ( consisting of seven fraternity and sorority halls ) is certified by the U . S . Green Building Council ' s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) program . The remaining sorority ' s on - campus housing is located on the other end of campus in what is commonly referred to as " the horseshoe " in Smith and Barnett Halls . The College Panhellenic Council Chapters at Clemson University include Alpha Phi , Alpha Chi Omega , Alpha Delta Pi , Chi Omega , Delta Delta Delta , Delta Zeta , Gamma Phi Beta , Kappa Alpha Theta , Kappa Delta , Kappa Kappa Gamma , Sigma Kappa , and Zeta Tau Alpha . The Interfraternity Council Chapters include Alpha Gamma Rho , Alpha Kappa Lambda , Alpha Sigma Phi , Alpha Tau Omega , Beta Theta Pi , Chi Psi , Delta Chi , Delta Tau Delta , Kappa Alpha Order , Kappa Sigma , Lambda Chi Alpha , Pi Kappa Alpha , Phi Delta Theta , Phi Kappa Tau , Phi Sigma Kappa , Sigma Alpha Epsilon , Sigma Chi , Sigma Nu , Sigma Pi , Sigma Phi Epsilon , and Tau Kappa Epsilon . As of the 2010 - 2011 school year there are twenty IFC Fraternities , eleven NPC Sororities , and nine NPHC Chapters , which make up approximately 20 percent of the undergraduate student body . In the Spring of 2011 , there were 3 , 370 students involved in Greek life , which is about 23 % of the 14 , 531 undergraduate students . Also , the mean GPA of each sorority was above the all university mean . Military heritage . Although the university became a coeducational civilian institution in 1955 , it still maintains an active military presence . The university is home to detachments for U . S . Army and U . S . Air Force Reserve Officers ' Training Corps ( ROTC ) as well as a host school for the U . S . Marine Corps PLC program adjacent to the Semper Fi Society . In addition to students from the university , these organizations also serve students from Anderson University , Southern Wesleyan University , and Tri - County Technical College . The following organizations are present among the military personnel at Clemson : The university ' s AAS squadron was selected to be home of Arnold Air Society ' s National Headquarters for the 2005 – 2006 year , and again for the 2006 – 2007 year . This is the first time is AAS ' s history that any university has served as national headquarters two years in a row . The C - 4 Pershing Rifles have won the national society ' s drill meet eight times : 1999 , 2003 , 2004 , 2005 , 2006 , 2008 , 2009 and 2011 . Company C - 4 also performs colorguards , twenty - one - gun salutes , exhibition - drill performances , and POW / MIA ceremonies . Company C - 4 performs colorguard performance at the university ' s home football games . In addition to the C - 4 drill company , the university is the former home of the 4th Regimental Headquarters ( 4RHQ ) , the National Headquarters for the Junior ROTC level of Pershing Rifles ( BlackJacks ) and the Co - ed Auxiliary for Pershing Rifles ( CAPeRs ) . Its Air Force ROTC Detachment 770 " Flyin ' Tigers " was selected as the # 1 " medium - sized " Air Force ROTC detachment in the nation for 2006 ( the " High Flight " and " Right of Line " awards ) , # 1 Detachment in the " Southeast " in 2006 ( " medium - sized " ) and 2007 ( " large - sized " ) , and # 1 in the state of South Carolina ( out of three — University of South Carolina and The Citadel ) three consecutive years ( 2005 , 2006 and 2007 ) . The university has also developed a group of Marines and Marine Officer Candidates within an organization called the Semper Fi Society . The society is not associated with the ROTC , but can lead to a commission into the U . S . Marine Corps via the Platoon Leaders Course program . Student Media . Clemson University has two student - run newspapers . Founded in 1907 , The Tiger News is the oldest student - run newspaper in South Carolina . The Tiger News publishes local and university related news pieces . Additionally , the paper publishes opinion articles on general and national issues , lifestyle articles on topics such as beer , sex , and music , and a large section on sports topics . The Tiger News is published weekly , on Fridays and maintains a staff of 20 senior members and 75 junior staff members . Clemson University ' s second newspaper is the Tiger Town Observer . This newspaper focuses on political news and topics . The newspaper identifies itself as a " traditionally conservative " news source and lists its political values as liberty , transparency , lifelong learning , free market and charity . Clemson University also has a student - run television station , CTV , which was established in 1994 Clemson University ' s student - run radio station , WSBF - FM , broadcasts in the upstate on 88 . 1FM and online at wsbf . net and hosts live concerts for the student body and community .