In-State Tuition in South Carolina: Residency Rules and Out-of-State Rates (Graduate, 2026)
To get in-state tuition in South Carolina you need 12 months of South Carolina domicile before the term begins (S.C. Code Ann. § 59-112-20). In-state graduate tuition is $15,000 a year at University of South Carolina Graduate School, against $33,000 for non-residents. South Carolina participates in ACM.
- You would pay
- $15,000/yr
- Resident pays
- $15,000/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $33,000/yr
- Residency worth over 2 yrs
- $36,000
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
For graduate students, South Carolina prices residency at $18,000 a year — $15,000 against $33,000 at University of South Carolina Graduate School. South Carolina takes part in ACM, which is the only route to a lower rate that does not require moving.
South Carolina classifies a student as a resident after 12 months of domicile. Physical presence in South Carolina for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make South Carolina your permanent home rather than living there to attend college. Classification is decided by the institution you enroll at, and a financially dependent student is assigned the parents' domicile.
This page covers all 50 origin states. Direction matters: what a South Carolina resident pays elsewhere is a different question from what an arriving student pays here, and the two are rarely symmetric.
What South Carolina charges, and who pays less
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina residency | You pay the published resident rate once you meet the state's residency test. | $15,000 | $18,000 | Yes, if eligible |
South Carolina residency requirements
| Durational requirement | 12 months of domicile before the term begins |
|---|---|
| Domicile test | Physical presence in South Carolina for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make South Carolina your permanent home rather than living there to attend college. |
| Dependent students | A financially dependent student is assigned the parents' domicile. If your parents are not South Carolina residents, you are not one either, regardless of where you live. |
| Independent students | A financially independent adult can establish domicile on their own record. |
| Named exceptions |
|
| Authority | South Carolina Commission on Higher Education ↗(S.C. Code Ann. § 59-112-20) |
Step by step
- Confirm you meet the South Carolina domicile test: Physical presence in South Carolina for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make South Carolina your permanent home rather than living there to attend college.
- Gather the documents the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education asks for — a driver's license, voter registration, vehicle registration and a 12-month record of physical presence are the usual set.
- File the residency classification form with the campus registrar before the term's deadline; classification is decided by the institution, not by the state.
- If you are financially dependent, check whose domicile counts — South Carolina assigns a dependent student the parents' domicile, so the parents must qualify.
Official links
Coming to South Carolina from another state
Direction matters. These cover the exact move into South Carolina at graduate level:
All 50 origin states
Leaving South Carolina to study elsewhere
What a South Carolina resident pays in each of the other 50 states:
All 50 destination states
South Carolina at other levels
Asked and answered
›What are the residency requirements for in-state tuition in South Carolina?
Physical presence in South Carolina for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make South Carolina your permanent home rather than living there to attend college. The durational requirement is 12 months, administered by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education under S.C. Code Ann. § 59-112-20. Classification is made by the institution you enroll at, not centrally.
›How much is out-of-state tuition in South Carolina?
$33,000 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at University of South Carolina Graduate School for 2025–26, against $15,000 for a resident — a gap of $18,000. Rates differ by campus and by college within a campus.
›Which tuition exchange programs does South Carolina belong to?
South Carolina participates in ACM at graduate level. Membership is a state-level commitment; each campus then decides whether to offer the program and which majors it opens.
›Can I get in-state tuition in South Carolina after one year of living there?
12 months of domicile is the requirement, but time alone is not enough. You have to show you moved to live in South Carolina rather than to attend college there — driver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration, employment and state tax filing are the evidence campuses ask for. A financially dependent student is assigned the parents' domicile regardless.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-08-07.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- South Carolina Commission on Higher Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of South Carolina — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- South Carolina technical colleges — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of South Carolina Graduate School — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of South Carolina Graduate School’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (SREB). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, S.C. Code Ann. § 59-112-20. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.