Location
Thomas Green Clemson, the University's founder, came to the Foothills of South Carolina in 1838, when he married Anna Maria Calhoun, daughter of South Carolina statesman, John C. Calhoun. When Thomas Clemson died on April 6, 1888, he left most of his estate in his will to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians. Clemson's decision was largely influenced by Benjamin Tillman. Clemson University founder Thomas Green Clemson directed in his will in 1888 that the University be modeled after Mississippi A&M (now known as Mississippi State University). Tillman strongly lobbied the state legislature to create Clemson as an agricultural institution for the state and in the end, the resolution to accept Clemson's gift and create the institution passed by only one vote.
In November 1889, Governor Richardson signed the bill accepting Thomas Clemson's gift to the state, thus establishing the Clemson A&M. The University's trustees availed the University of the available Morrill Act and Hatch Act funds made available for agricultural education and research purposes.
Clemson Military College formally opened in July 1893 with an initial enrollment of 446. From its beginning, the college was an all-male military school. Clemson remained this way until 1955 when it changed to "civilian" status for students and became a coeducational institution. In 1964, the college was renamed Clemson University as the state legislature formally recognized the school's expanded academic offerings and research pursuits.

History

^ As found at [3].
^ Not a degree granting college. Academics
Classified as more selective by the Carnegie Foundation,

Admissions
Clemson is home to a nationally recognized honors program The Calhoun Honors College, which is designed to offer academic diversity to gifted undergraduates and to provide for an atmosphere of a "higher seminary of learning" that Thomas Green Clemson outlined in his will within the large University.
Admission to the college is by application to freshman as well as to any student beyond his/her freshman year. Admission to the college is not based on just one or two requirements but on a combination of standardized test scores, high school GPA, and leadership and extracurricular activities. A GPA of at least 3.4 is required for applicants to the college after their freshman year. Members of the honors college are permitted to live in the honors-only dorm, Holmes Hall, and are granted a variety of other benefits including complementary copies of the New York Times and free tickets to on-campus cultural events.
The Clemson National Scholars Program is the institution's top academic recruiting scholarship, offering a full tuition and fees scholarship plus a laptop, 5-week study abroad in the UK, along with other learning and travel opportunities. The NSP selection process is highly competitive, with approximately 15 scholarships offered out of over 12,000 applicants to Clemson each year.

Calhoun Honors College and National Scholars Program
The University has recently undertaken an endeavor to become a "Top 20" public institution, undergoing a process of enhancing its graduate programs while continuing to place the majority of its emphasis on the quality of the undergraduate experience. The initiative has led to increased faculty compensation, higher graduation rates, and higher incoming student SAT averages. The University recently moved up from 34th in 2005 to 27th in 2007 as seen in the U.S. News and World Report's most recent College Rankings. ICAR is a 250 acre (1 km²) 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, Timken and Michelin are all major corporate partners of the ICAR center. 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.
Clemson also recently established the Restoration Institute whose mission is to "advance knowledge in integrative approaches to the restoration of historic, ecological, and urban infrastructure resources." The institute will be located in North Charleston and subsume the Hunley Commission that is currently undertaking the stabilization of the Hunley, the world's first submarine to sink a ship.

Top-20 Initiative and Research

Student Life

Main article: Clemson Tigers Athletics
Clemson's Greek system is somewhat different from other large universities in the southern United States in that there are no Greek houses on campus. There are residence halls designated for fraternities and sororities, but there are no traditional Greek houses on Clemson's campus. The Fraternity Quad on campus (consisting of 6 fraternity halls) has recently undergone a major renovation and is certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Clemson is about to undertake a major central campus reconstruction program that will include all-new sorority housing. Currently, just over 20% of students participate in Greek organizations.

Greek life
Even though Clemson became a coeducational civilian institution in 1955, the university still maintains an active military presence. The university is home to detachments for Army and Air Force ROTC. In addition to students from Clemson, these detachments also serve students from Anderson University, Southern Wesleyan University, and Tri-County Technical College. The following organizations are present among the two ROTC programs: Company C-4 also does color guard at home football games.
Clemson University was selected as the #1 medium-sized AFROTC detachment in the southeast and in the nation for 2006 (the "High Flight" and "Right of Line" awards).

Company C-4 Pershing Rifles
K-7 Scabbard and Blade
Maj. Rudolph Anderson Jr. Squadron Arnold Air Society
Maj. Dennis H. Satler Chapter Silver Wings
Clemson Rangers
Tiger Platoon Military heritage
Students tend to socialize off campus in downtown Clemson. Downtown Clemson is located adjacent to the University's campus, and students on campus are within walking distance restaurants, bars, cafes, and shopping. Greenville is about 30 minutes away and is a popular destination for many students on the weekends.
Lake Hartwell and the near-by Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina offer students many outdoor recreational activities like boating, rafting, kayaking, skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and hiking and backpacking.

Recreation

Main article: Alumni of Clemson University Official Websites

The Tiger - Official Student Body Newspaper
WSBF - Clemson University Student Radio Station