---
title: College of Charleston — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Charleston, SC
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# College of Charleston

Charleston, SC · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $56,416 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $35,817 – $81,379 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 66% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $32,362 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 71% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.31× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $28,416 | derived |

**66% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $17,500 (≈ 31% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $21,033 to $59,306 across 34 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $59,306 | $20,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $58,294 | $36,116 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,600 | $23,250 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,506 | $20,500 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $44,489 | $40,493 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $43,809 | not reported |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,638 | $22,646 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,619 | $19,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,151 | $25,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $40,638 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,896 | $21,798 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,823 | $19,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,857 | $21,500 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,977 | $21,067 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,667 | $24,087 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,234 | $23,323 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,605 | $24,000 |
| Historic Preservation and Conservation. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,387 | $21,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,630 | $25,500 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,551 | $22,659 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,080 | $16,554 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,973 | $25,146 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,586 | $21,500 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,218 | $23,250 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,713 | $25,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,569 | $23,750 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,496 | $22,375 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,156 | $23,250 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,255 | $26,746 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,211 | $23,250 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,077 | $19,826 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,829 | $22,875 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,504 | $25,000 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,033 | $22,632 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore College of Charleston by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?217819

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/college-of-charleston-sc.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`