by our College Data Analytics Team
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.
Columbia International University was awarded 15 badges in the 2025 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is other theological & ministerial studies.
Explore the best ranked schools for the programs you are most interested in.
According to College Factual's 2025 analysis, CIU is ranked #329 out of 2,152 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
Out of the 45 colleges in South Carolina, CIU is ranked at #3.
See all of the rankings for Columbia International University.
Columbia International University has an acceptance rate of 48%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for CIU.
About 42% of students accepted to CIU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 500 and 620. Math scores were between 490 and 575.
Learn more about Columbia International University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio is often used to estimate how much interaction there is between professors and their students at a college or university. At Columbia International University, this ratio is 13 to 1, which is on par with the national average of 15 to 1. That's not bad at all.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Columbia International University is 92%. 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 Columbia International University is 66%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor's degree is typically four years. This rate at CIU for first-time, full-time students is 54%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Columbia International University.
During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 857 undergraduates at CIU with 589 being full-time and 268 being part-time.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $18,252 | $15,671 | $18,423 | $21,167 | $23,105 |
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 for a school. For more information on the sticker price of CIU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At CIU, approximately 66% of students took out student loans averaging $7,182 a year. That adds up to $28,728 over four years for those students.
Get more details about paying for Columbia International University.
See which majors at Columbia International University make the most money.
Get more details about the location of Columbia International University.
Contact details for CIU are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 7435 Monticello Rd, Columbia, SC 29203-1513 |
| Phone: | 800-777-2227 |
| Website: | www.ciu.edu/ |
| Most Popular Majors | Bachelor’s Degrees | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Business Administration & Management | 177 | NA |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 125 | NA |
| Theological & Ministerial Studies | 62 | NA |
| Biblical Studies | 54 | $23,737 |
| Missionary Studies | 54 | NA |
| Educational Administration | 27 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 24 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 24 | NA |
| Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology | 24 | NA |
| Theology & Religious Vocations (Other) | 20 | NA |
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
In 2022-2023, 1,740 students took at least one online class at Columbia International University. This is a decrease from the 1,786 students who took online classes the previous year.
| Year | Took at Least One Online Class | Took All Classes Online |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 1,740 | 1,592 |
| 2021-2022 | 1,786 | 1,569 |
| 2020-2021 | 1,469 | 748 |
| 2018-2019 | 466 | 352 |
Learn more about online learning at Columbia International University.
If you’re considering Columbia International University, here are some more schools you may be interested in knowing more about.
Curious on how these schools stack up against CIU? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare college 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
More about our data sources and methodologies.