The College of Charleston (C of C) is a public, sea-grant, and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The College was founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, making it the oldest college or university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and the oldest municipal college in the country. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.