Charleston Southern University is a private not-for-profit institution in Charleston, South Carolina enrolling 2,893 undergraduates. It accepts 96% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 47%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,014 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 39%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Charleston Southern University ranks #2,014 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 39%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
College Factual ranked Charleston Southern University as #2,014 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, Charleston Southern University holds the #28 spot on the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
See all of the rankings for Charleston Southern University.
Charleston Southern University has an acceptance rate of 96%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for Charleston Southern University.
About 49% of students accepted to Charleston Southern University submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 480 and 600. Math scores were between 450 and 560.
Charleston Southern University received ACT scores from 31% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 18 and 24.
Learn more about Charleston Southern University admissions.
At Charleston Southern University, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 12 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Charleston Southern University is 58%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Charleston Southern University is 63%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Charleston Southern University the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 47%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Charleston Southern University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 2,893 undergraduates at Charleston Southern University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Charleston Southern University.
The overall average net price of Charleston Southern University is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20,145 | $23,024 | $20,697 | $21,648 | $23,226 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Charleston Southern University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Charleston Southern University, approximately 48% of students took out student loans averaging $6,422 a year. That adds up to $25,688 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 6.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Charleston Southern University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Charleston Southern University make around $45,898 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Charleston Southern University make the most money.
Charleston Southern University is a private not-for-profit institution found in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Charleston Southern University.
Contact information for Charleston Southern University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 9200 University Blvd, Charleston, SC 29406-9121 |
| Phone: | 8438637000 |
| Website: | www.csuniv.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/charlestonsouthernuniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/csuniv |
In the latest year of available data, students from 24 majors graduated from Charleston Southern University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 826 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 127 | $55,643 |
| Nursing | 81 | $57,826 |
| Rehabilitation Professions | 49 | NA |
| Allied Health Professions | 43 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 39 | $25,028 |
| General Psychology | 37 | $26,162 |
| General Biology | 34 | $23,092 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 28 | $35,190 |
| General Social Sciences | 28 | NA |
1,816 students took at least one online class at Charleston Southern University.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Charleston Southern University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to Charleston Southern University? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References