Francis Marion University, founded in 1970, is one of South Carolina's 13 state-supported universities. As one of the state's six comprehensive institutions, FMU prides itself on providing a strong liberal arts education.

Named for Revolutionary War hero, General Francis Marion, who was nicknamed the "Swamp Fox" for using the South Carolina terrain to out-fox the British, the University enrolls nearly 4,000 students. The University offers a broad range of undergraduate degrees and a select number of graduate programs in serving the needs of communities, businesses and industries of the Pee Dee region. Francis Marion is the only state university serving the Pee Dee region, and many of its students are the first in their families to go to college.

FMU has the look and feel of a small, liberal arts college with all the benefits of a state-supported comprehensive university. FMU offers an excellent learning environment, small enough to afford students personalized attention from faculty and staff, and large enough to let students expand their horizons.

While 93 percent of its students come from South Carolina, the University enrolls students from 32 states and 34 foreign countries, allowing the FMU community to experience the diversity of people from other cultures. The student-faculty ratio is 16 to 1, and the overall class size is 20. The average age of undergraduates is 22, while the average age of graduate students is 36.

All faculty members have advanced degrees, and 84 percent of the full-time faculty hold doctoral or terminal degrees.

Francis Marion University is fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award bachelor's and master's level degrees. The university is approved by the S.C. State Board of Education and is a member of the American Council on Education and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. A number of FMU's individual academic programs have also been accredited by specialized agencies.

Located about seven miles east of Florence, the 300-acre campus is known for its beautiful foliage and landscaping. The campus includes 100 acres of mixed pine-hardwood and bottomland forests accessed by a series of trails. Several acres have been set aside as an Arboretum that is being developed into a resource with many of the native species of the area.

The campus features modern classroom buildings, laboratories and residence facilities to provide a safe, comfortable learning environment for students. The campus also features a number of recreational facilities that are available for use by students, faculty, staff and alumni, and for use in intramural and intercollegiate athletic competition.

Most buildings have been constructed or renovated since 1970. Facilities are equipped with ramps, and those of more than one story are equipped with elevators. Though each building has its own unique design, all are planned for architectural harmony.