Francis Marion University is an arts university based in South Carolina and is named in honour of American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. The university sits on nearly 500 wooded acres of land dotted with stunning foliage and impressive landscaping.

Francis Marion University offers more than forty areas of study, which include: accounting, art education, biology, business economics, French, general business administration, German, mathematics, theatre arts and psychology.

Francis Marion is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award both bachelor's and master's degrees. Moreover, the business programmes are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the teacher education programmes are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education while the chemistry programme is approved by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society. This ensures that all students are fully qualified when entering the professional world. 

The athletic teams at Francis Marion are members of the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference, alongside 13 other member schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The university consists of six men's sports – baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, and tennis – and six women's sports – basketball, cross-country, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.

In 2012, the new Griffin Athletic Complex – located near the main FMU campus – opened which boasts new baseball, softball, and soccer stadiums, a fieldhouse, and a five-acre lake.

Notable alumni include Andrea "Bree" Boyce, former Miss South Carolina, Joshua Wayne Edgin, an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball, and Louis McCullough, an American professional basketball player.