by our College Data Analytics TeamSouth University-Columbia is a private for-profit institution in Columbia, South Carolina enrolling 450 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 23%, below the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,825 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 55%), 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.
South University-Columbia ranks #2,825 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 55%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
College Factual ranked South University, Columbia as #2,825 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, South University, Columbia holds the #48 spot on the Best Colleges in South Carolina ranking.
See all of the rankings for South University-Columbia.
Learn more about South University-Columbia admissions.
At South University-Columbia, the student to faculty ratio is 21 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.
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 on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at South University-Columbia is 34%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At South University-Columbia this rate is 57%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.
When we say that a student has graduated on time, we mean that they have finished their bachelor’s degree within four years. The on-time graduation rate at South University, Columbia is 23%. That’s lower than the national rate of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at South University-Columbia.
In the current academic year, there are 450 undergraduates at South University, Columbia.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at South University-Columbia.
The average net price of South University, Columbia is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. 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 South University, Columbia, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At South University, Columbia, approximately 65% of students took out student loans averaging $7,921 a year. That adds up to $31,684 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 17.4%. This is significantly higher than the national default rate of 10.1%, which means you could have trouble paying back your student loans if you take any out. Get more details about paying for South University-Columbia.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from South University-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $34,421 in their early years. Unfortunately, this is 30% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at South University-Columbia make the most money.
South University-Columbia is a private for-profit institution found in Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of South University-Columbia.
Contact information for South University-Columbia are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 9 Science Court, Columbia, SC 29203 |
| Phone: | 8037999082 |
| Website: | www.southuniversity.edu/columbia#location=Columbia,%20SC |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/southU/ |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 7 majors graduated from South University-Columbia. 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 | 124 | NA |
| Nursing | 41 | $65,499 |
| Allied Health Services | 20 | $39,095 |
| Business Administration & Management | 19 | $41,223 |
| Health/Medical Admin Services | 15 | $38,193 |
| Mental & Social Health Services | 10 | $38,224 |
| Information Science | 4 | $39,831 |
| Public Health | 4 | $29,498 |
| General Psychology | 4 | $26,893 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 3 | $37,295 |
326 students took at least one online class at South University-Columbia.
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.
Learn more about online learning at South University-Columbia.
Interested in comparing South University, Columbia? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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.