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Columbia International University Data & Information Overview

355 awards Ranking Badges
Great Price Value for Your Money
46% Acceptance Rate
Want the scoop on Columbia International University? We’ve put together a comprehensive report on the school that covers what majors CIU offers, how the school ranks, how diverse it is, and much more.
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How Well Is Columbia International University Ranked?

#158 Best Colleges in Nation
#3 Best Colleges in SC
Biblical Studies Highest Ranked Major
Quality Badge

2024 Rankings

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 355 badges in the 2024 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is biblical studies.

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Overall Quality

According to College Factual's 2024 analysis, CIU is ranked #158 out of 2,217 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. This is an improvement over the previous year, when CIU held the #178 spot on the Best Overall Colleges list.

CIU is also ranked #3 out of 44 schools in South Carolina.

See all of the rankings for Columbia International University.

Is It Hard to Get Into CIU?

46% Acceptance Rate
50% Of Accepted Are Women
39% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

Columbia International University has an acceptance rate of 46%, 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.

Average Test Scores

About 39% 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 480 and 595. Math scores were between 460 and 540.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Columbia International University  ( 480 to 595 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for Columbia International University  ( 460 to 540 )
200
800
CIU received ACT scores from 21% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 17 and 24.

ACT Composite Scores for Columbia International University  ( 17 to 24 )
1
36

Learn more about Columbia International University admissions.

Columbia International University Faculty

16 to 1 Student to Faculty
94% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

With a student to faculty ratio of 16 to 1, Columbia International University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it's a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

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 94%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  94 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at Columbia International University

64% Freshmen Retention
46% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

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 64%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  64 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

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 46%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  46 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Columbia International University.

Columbia International University Undergraduate Student Diversity

589 Full-Time Undergraduates
26.0% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
45.2% Percent Women

During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 857 undergraduates at CIU with 589 being full-time and 268 being part-time.

How Much Does Columbia International University Cost?

$18,222 Net Price
66% Take Out Loans
$24,196 Total Student Loans
The overall average net price of CIU is $18,222. 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.

Net Price by Income Group for CIU

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$15,997 $17,320 $17,307 $18,703 $23,351

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.

Student Loan Debt

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 $6,049 a year. That adds up to $24,196 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at CIU is 4.3%. 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 Columbia International University.

How Much Money Do CIU Graduates Make?

$36,834 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor's degree from CIU make about $36,834 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. Unfortunately, this is 13% less that the average college graduate's salary of $42,485 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.

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See which majors at Columbia International University make the most money.

Location of Columbia International University

South Carolina State
589 Full-Time Undergraduates
Midsize City Campus Setting
Located in Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia International University is a private not-for-profit institution. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.

Get more details about the location of Columbia International University.

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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/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/columbiainternationaluniversity
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CIUImpact

Columbia International University Majors

26 Majors With Completions
201 Undergraduate Degrees
245 Graduate Degrees
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 26 majors graduated from Columbia International University. Of these students, 201 received undergraduate degrees and 245 graduated with a master's or doctor's degree. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Bachelor’s Degrees Average Salary of Graduates
Biblical Studies 52 $27,420
Business Administration & Management 29 NA
Liberal Arts General Studies 28 NA
Health & Physical Education 12 NA
Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries 10 NA
General Psychology 10 NA
Teacher Education Grade Specific 9 NA
Theological & Ministerial Studies 7 NA
Missionary Studies 6 NA
Human Services 5 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Columbia International University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Learning at CIU

76% Take At Least One Class Online
67% Take All Classes Online

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 2020-2021, 1,786 students took at least one online class at Columbia International University. This is an increase from the 1,469 students who took online classes the previous year.

Year Took at Least One Online Class Took All Classes Online
2020-2021 1,786 1,569
2019-2020 1,469 748
2018-2019 1,091 849
2017-2018 466 352
2016-2017 422 257

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!

Notes and References

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.

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