by our College Data Analytics TeamColumbia Southern University is a private for-profit institution in Orange Beach, Alabama enrolling 12,176 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 33%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,025 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 20%), 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.
Columbia Southern University ranks #1,025 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 20%.
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 Southern University was awarded 90 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Columbia Southern University is ranked #1,025 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, Columbia Southern University holds the #7 spot on the Best Colleges in Alabama ranking.
See all of the rankings for Columbia Southern University.
Learn more about Columbia Southern University admissions.
At Columbia Southern University, the student to faculty ratio is 37 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Columbia Southern University is 40%. This is lower 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 Southern University is 71%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full-time students who get their bachelor’s degree within four years. At Columbia Southern University this rate is 33%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Columbia Southern University.
The current enrollment includes 12,176 undergraduates at Columbia Southern University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Columbia Southern University.
The typical net cost at Columbia 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12,913 | $13,455 | $15,569 | $16,226 | $17,408 |
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 Columbia 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 Columbia Southern University, approximately 26% of students took out student loans averaging $6,738 a year. That adds up to $26,952 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.6%. 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 Southern University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Columbia Southern University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $63,534 in their early years. This is good news for future Columbia Southern University graduates since it is 29% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Columbia Southern University make the most money.
Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit institution found in Orange Beach, Alabama. Orange Beach is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Columbia Southern University.
Get in touch with Columbia Southern University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 21982 University Lane, Orange Beach, AL 36561-9000 |
| Phone: | 25198137711278 |
| Website: | www.columbiasouthern.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/Columbia.Southern |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/CSUedu |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 12 majors graduated from Columbia 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 | 9,287 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 2,351 | $54,863 |
| Quality Control Technology | 2,166 | $72,484 |
| Fire Protection | 2,027 | $68,678 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 582 | $51,248 |
| Homeland Security | 354 | $75,707 |
| Allied Health Professions | 306 | NA |
| Human Resource Management | 243 | $48,176 |
| Computer Information Systems | 231 | $47,097 |
| Health/Medical Admin Services | 228 | $41,584 |
12,213 students took at least one online class at Columbia Southern University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Columbia Southern University.
Interested in comparing Columbia Southern University? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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.