ALLEN UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1870 in Cokesbury, Allen University is now celebrating its sesquicentennial. It is a comparatively small, faith-based institution that makes a huge impact not only on the lives of the students it serves, but their families, society, and the community where the university operates. The University has been doing so from its home in Columbia since 1880 where its estimated financial impact exceeds $30 million per year.  The key facet of the journey for students is an education that teaches the mind to think, the hands to work, and the heart to love.  What sets the University apart is that from the very outset, it has provided a quality education for students who may not have had the traditional preparation and means to afford one. From only one of three law schools among HBCUs at the turn of the 20th century, the University has graduated legions of educators, clergymen, and elected officials.

The University enrolls a population with varying levels of academic preparation that is primarily first generation, and Pell Grant eligible.  The largest areas of study are Business, Social Sciences, and Biology. Graduate programs are also offered in Religion.  Traditionally, 90% of the student body originates from the southeastern United States, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.  All South Carolina counties, and thirty-four states are represented in the student body, as well as international students from eight countries.  

The core of the campus is comprised of buildings listed on the register of historic places. They add to the high aesthetic quotient of the campus along with other facilities that are more than fifty years old. The Carver Theater and the Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital are also a part of the University’s historic facilities. A mainstay over the history of the institution has been educational programs for persons pursuing careers of service to the greater good. Today, it continues to produce graduates who regularly achieve “All That Can Be Imagined.”