Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsPublic

College of Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina·Public, 4-year or above·Southeast·charleston.edu
6-yr Graduation
66%
+25.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Total enrollment
11,926
peer median 7,303
Avg net price
$19,518
+$5.8k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
31,680
31,680 candidates competed
Admitted
19,016
60.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
2,265
11.9% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
66%+25.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
4-year graduation
57%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
66%
Full-time retention
82%

Pell equity

1.0pp gap
Pell recipients
61%
Non-Pell
60%

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 82 Title IV programs, 36 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 46 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
82
Passing
36
43.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

82programs
  • Passing36 · 43.9%
  • No Data46 · 56.1%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
2
Safe
34
No data
46

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.

36
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+16.3%
$38,378 vs $32,989
Human Development Family Studies and Related Services
Master's Degree · Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
+23.4%
$54,411 vs $44,091
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
+26.1%
$53,477 vs $42,400
Ecology Evolution Systematics and Population Biology
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+28.7%
$42,466 vs $32,989
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+36.4%
$44,991 vs $32,989
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+39.5%
$46,036 vs $32,989
History
Bachelor Degree · History
+43.8%
$47,424 vs $32,989
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+45.3%
$47,926 vs $32,989

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

33
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
66%
$35,172 debt · $53,477 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
54%
$25,000 debt · $46,036 earn
Public Administration
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
54%
$40,545 debt · $75,145 earn
History
Bachelor Degree · History
53%
$25,000 debt · $47,424 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
51%
$24,500 debt · $47,926 earn
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
51%
$19,500 debt · $38,378 earn
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
49%
$24,000 debt · $48,709 earn
Ecology Evolution Systematics and Population Biology
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
48%
$20,500 debt · $42,466 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1916Next review Dec 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 12

  1. Feb 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Jan 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Dec 2024Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Dec 2023Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Dec 2023Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$13,017
$30–48k$13,418
$48–75k$18,049
$75–110k$23,178
$110k+$24,730

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$19,518
+$5,832vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs median $13,687
Federal loans
38.1%
In-state tuition
$12,978
Out-of-state
$36,858

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 2,600 students received $15.3M in Pell grants, alongside $57.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
2,600
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$15.3M
$15,261,152 total
Direct Loans
$57.4M
7,271 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

2k
20
2k
21
2k
22
2k
23
3k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$10.9M
2,578 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$13.8M
3,517 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$2.4M
140 loan awards
Parent PLUS$29.8M
1,004 loan awards
Grad PLUS$451K
32 loan awards

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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 1,953 borrowers who entered repayment, 31 (1.5%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.5%
-0.8pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
1,953
Defaulted
31
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.1%
2017
5.3%
2018
4.1%
2019
1.5%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* 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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at College of Charleston

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs87
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,036 total completions
01Business
57428.2%
02Biological Sciences
30014.7%
03Communication
2019.9%
04Psychology
1899.3%
05Social Sciences
1889.2%
06Visual/Performing Arts
1497.3%
07Education
1477.2%
08Health Professions
1035.1%
09Multi/Interdisciplinary
994.9%
10Computer Sciences
864.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
11,926
12-mo unduplicated
13,568
Undergraduate
11,466
Graduate
2,102

Gender split

Men
32%4,284
Women
68%9,284

Race / ethnicity composition

White
78.5%
Hispanic
7.0%
Black
5.4%
Two or more
4.0%
Unknown
2.1%
Asian
2.0%
Non-resident
0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
381
164 M · 217 W
Women athletes
57.0%
Athletic aid
$5.9M
Total student aid
Budget
$24.8M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$2.3M
$3.6M
Recruiting expense
$213K
$150K
Head-coach salaries
$182K
$68K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Soccer
30 M · 33 W
$2.1M
Baseball
52 M ·
$1.7M
Basketball
17 M · 20 W
$7.7M
Equestrian
· 35 W
$712K
Track and Field (Indoor)
· 33 W
$282K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
· 33 W
$282K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
2.57
28 offenses · 10,885 students

3-year trend

2.702 yrs ago2.741 yr ago2.57Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
86
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
12
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
13
Burglary
4
Fondling
4
Motor vehicle theft
4
Aggravated assault
3

By location

28total
  • On campus21
  • Non-campus1
  • Public property6

Includes 18 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
2
Dating violence
2
Stalking
5 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons63
Drugs5931
Liquor31167

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 2 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
16.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
524

College of Charleston vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions College of Charleston selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

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
SubjectCollege of Charleston
66%11,926$19,518Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Francis Marion University
43%86.4%4,112$13,451Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Middle Georgia State University
24%99.7%8,363$13,922Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Fayetteville State University
38%82.1%7,107$7,360Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
The University of Tennessee-Martin
53%88.2%7,499$10,299Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Albany State University
33%73.0%6,768$14,251Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Peer group median41%86.4%7,303$13,687

Frequently asked questions about College of Charleston

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about College of Charleston.

What is the graduation rate at College of Charleston?

College of Charleston reports a 6-year graduation rate of 66% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend College of Charleston?

College of Charleston reports a total enrollment of 11,926 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at College of Charleston?

The average net price at College of Charleston is $19,518 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at College of Charleston?

College of Charleston's yield rate is 11.9%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is College of Charleston located?

College of Charleston is located in Charleston, South Carolina 29424-0001.

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