Citadel Military College of South Carolina
About
The Citadel Military College of South Carolina is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges in the United States. The Citadel was initially established as two schools to educate young men from around the state, while simultaneously protecting the South Carolina State Arsenals in both Columbia and Charleston.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 61 Title IV programs, 15 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 46 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing15 · 24.6%
- No Data46 · 75.4%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Programmatic accreditations · 2
Action history · 3
- Dec 2024Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Apr 2024Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
- Dec 2014Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 709 students received $4.3M in Pell grants, alongside $20.1M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 811 borrowers who entered repayment, 11 (1.3%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Citadel
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 10
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus8
- Public property6
Includes 6 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Citadel vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Citadel selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectCitadel Military College of South Carolina | 75% | — | 3,793 | $21,002 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
College of Charleston | 66% | 60.0% | 11,926 | $19,518 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Davidson College | 91% | 13.4% | 1,869 | $18,127 | Baccalaureate |
Elon University | 84% | 66.3% | 7,239 | $41,048 | Doctoral/Professional |
Furman University | 79% | 42.9% | 2,554 | $29,997 | Baccalaureate |
Georgia Southern University | 55% | 87.9% | 27,423 | $16,531 | R2 Research |
James Madison University | 80% | 71.5% | 22,740 | $21,816 | R2 Research |
Norwich University | 60% | 74.4% | 3,149 | $25,600 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Rollins College | 75% | 47.5% | 3,046 | $33,847 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Stetson University | 62% | 71.6% | 3,775 | $21,318 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 50% | 81.1% | 11,775 | $12,817 | Doctoral/Professional |
United States Air Force Academy | 88% | 14.1% | 4,114 | — | Baccalaureate |
United States Military Academy | 87% | 12.5% | 4,473 | — | Baccalaureate |
United States Naval Academy | 93% | 9.3% | 4,474 | — | Baccalaureate |
University of Mary Washington | 66% | 79.8% | 3,826 | $21,108 | Baccalaureate |
University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 56% | 88.5% | 18,012 | $10,170 | R2 Research |
University of North Georgia | 50% | 67.9% | 19,291 | $10,785 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Virginia Military Institute | 76% | 71.2% | 1,527 | $18,849 | Baccalaureate |
Western Carolina University | 60% | 81.8% | 11,686 | $12,579 | Doctoral/Professional |
Winthrop University | 57% | 79.3% | 4,894 | $16,353 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Wofford College | 84% | 51.9% | 1,817 | $28,984 | Baccalaureate |
| Peer group median | 75% | 69.6% | 4,473 | $20,260 |
Citadel Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Office of Institutional Research serves as a comprehensive source of information about The Citadel, providing high-quality data and insightful analyses to inform and support the college.
Visit IR office page- Pam KingDirector of Institutional Research
- Cara DombroskiData and Reporting Analyst
- Kelley KinneyData and Reporting Analyst
Research funding
External research funding from NSF, NIH, HERD, and federal spending sources.
Common Data Set (26)
The institution's official annual Common Data Set publications — the most detailed reference for enrollment, admissions, and outcomes.
Reports & documents (2)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- Strategic planOur Mighty Citadel 20262026Our Mighty Citadel 2026 is The Citadel's strategic plan designed to guide the institution into the future while honoring its 177-year history. It focuses on enhancing academic programming, fostering community engagement, and incorporating athletics and infrastructure planning into its initiatives. The plan, endorsed by President Glenn M. Walters, seeks to maintain The Citadel's mission of developing principled leaders and includes projects such as the completion of Bastin Hall and enhancement of engineering and biology facilities.citadel.edu
Frequently asked questions about Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Citadel.
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