Clemson University /ˈklɛmsən/ is an American public, coeducational, land-grant and sea-grant research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States.

Founded in 1889, Clemson University consists of five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Sciences; Engineering and Science; and Health, Education and Human Development. As of the year 2011, Clemson University enrolled a total of 15,346 undergraduate students for the spring semester and 3,743 graduate students, and the student/faculty ratio is 16:1. The cost of in-state tuition is about $11,078 and out-of-state tuition is $25,388.

Thomas Green Clemson, the university's founder, came to the foothills of South Carolina in 1838, when he married Anna Maria Calhoun, daughter of John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina statesman and seventh U.S. Vice President. When Clemson died on April 6, 1888, he left most of his estate, which he inherited from his wife, in his will to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians. His decision was largely influenced by South Carolina Governor Benjamin Tillman. Tillman strongly lobbied the South Carolina General Assembly to create the school 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.