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

# University of South Carolina-Columbia

Columbia, 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 | $62,177 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $41,018 – $93,729 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $18,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 79% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $31,638 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 78% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.30× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $34,177 | derived |

**79% 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 $18,500 (≈ 30% 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 $17,736 to $112,833 across 85 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $112,833 | $62,452 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $111,813 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $104,414 | $41,000 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $103,612 | $113,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $102,315 | $44,143 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Master's Degree | $92,505 | $30,442 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $92,294 | $41,000 |
| International Business. | Master's Degree | $82,202 | $41,000 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Master's Degree | $79,975 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,229 | $27,000 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $67,802 | $111,000 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,365 | $25,174 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Doctoral Degree | $65,384 | $55,313 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,383 | $25,675 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,370 | $26,241 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,632 | $22,750 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,735 | $23,375 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,685 | $22,497 |
| Chemistry. | Doctoral Degree | $60,492 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,050 | $26,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $58,415 | $20,500 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,440 | $23,250 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $56,971 | $44,964 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $56,201 | $66,000 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $54,988 | $210,899 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,181 | $23,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,758 | $23,250 |
| Insurance. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,142 | $25,173 |
| Business/Managerial Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,227 | $23,250 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $51,784 | $115,354 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $50,693 | $32,251 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,131 | $25,283 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,936 | $23,250 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,793 | $22,100 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $44,655 | $54,811 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $44,300 | $55,427 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,327 | $22,497 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $42,608 | $30,301 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $42,533 | $33,380 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $41,793 | $30,110 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $41,474 | $38,620 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Master's Degree | $41,030 | not reported |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,689 | $26,836 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $40,553 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $39,974 | $39,122 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $39,788 | $41,000 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $39,435 | $85,000 |
| Music. | Doctoral Degree | $39,171 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,069 | $21,434 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $38,570 | $30,464 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,046 | $21,500 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $36,172 | not reported |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,111 | $22,990 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,916 | $21,500 |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,741 | $23,250 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,341 | $24,000 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,639 | $21,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,399 | $24,490 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,878 | $27,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,471 | $21,910 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,065 | $23,250 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,800 | $20,500 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,673 | $21,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,397 | $21,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,327 | $19,500 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,218 | $25,250 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,181 | $21,750 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $29,736 | $38,386 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,596 | $18,875 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,317 | $21,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,824 | $22,500 |
| Dance. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,533 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,443 | $20,500 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,527 | $23,263 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Master's Degree | $27,020 | not reported |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,963 | $21,500 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,473 | $23,250 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,267 | $18,965 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,955 | $21,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,772 | $23,125 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,487 | $21,467 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,440 | $22,500 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,103 | $23,250 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,809 | $24,250 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,736 | $18,000 |

## 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 University of South Carolina-Columbia by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?218663

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