Student population: 3,137 (all undergraduate) Student-to-faculty ratio: 19 to 1 [thirdlast] [/messagebox] History. Benedict College was founded in 1870 on a 110-acre (45 ha) plantation in Columbia, South Carolina. On November 2, 1894, the institution was chartered as a liberal arts college by the South Carolina Legislature and the name Benedict Institute was changed to Benedict College.