Which Columbia Southern University bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Fire Science graduates leave with a median of $21,248 in federal loans, the lowest among 12 Columbia Southern University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Columbia Southern University cost?

Tuition and fees are $6,760 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $14,580 a year.

How many Columbia Southern University programs report graduate pay?

12 bachelor's programs, 6 associate's programs, and one certificate program at Columbia Southern University report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Columbia Southern University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Private for-profit university
Orange Beach, AL
12,176 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

12 Columbia Southern University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Diagnostic and Treatment Professions pays the most in the first year ($83,927), and Mental Health and Addiction Services the least ($38,439). The median program pays $61,178. Columbia Southern University also has 6 associate's programs and one certificate program that report pay.

Tuition and fees$6,760Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$14,580Per year

Graduation rate33%Within 6 years

All 12 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Alabama" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Alabama. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Alabama
1	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 60 graduates a year	$83,927	Not reported	$24,518	1st of 3
2	Fire ScienceAbout 585 graduates a year	$82,718	$87,912	$21,248	1st of 1
3	Quality Control and Safety TechnologyAbout 521 graduates a year	$78,532	$91,754	$28,415	1st of 2
4	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 61 graduates a year	$74,546	$74,518	$27,071	1st of 1
5	Homeland SecurityAbout 57 graduates a year	$62,313	Not reported	$32,683	1st of 1
6	Information TechnologyAbout 75 graduates a year	$61,894	Not reported	$34,056	1st of 1
7	Criminal JusticeAbout 256 graduates a year	$60,461	$61,453	$30,204	1st of 11
8	Business AdministrationAbout 594 graduates a year	$58,468	$63,635	$31,284	1st of 18
9	Human ResourcesAbout 96 graduates a year	$53,843	$59,483	$31,715	1st of 4
10	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 53 graduates a year	$53,644	$82,769	$28,578	10th of 12
11	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 128 graduates a year	$51,692	$60,480	$38,210	1st of 3
12	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesAbout 93 graduates a year	$38,439	$44,714	$33,180	1st of 1

Program names link to the program's own page, and Alabama ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Alabama programs in the field do too.

All 6 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Alabama" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Alabama. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Alabama
1	Fire ScienceAbout 432 graduates a year	$75,326	$80,640	$10,500	1st of 1
2	Quality Control and Safety TechnologyAbout 307 graduates a year	$74,871	$84,183	$16,710	1st of 1
3	Criminal JusticeAbout 98 graduates a year	$58,241	$62,396	$17,078	1st of 2
4	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 99 graduates a year	$55,667	$66,199	$15,923	1st of 22
5	Business AdministrationAbout 192 graduates a year	$49,820	$51,885	$21,764	1st of 1
6	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 33 graduates a year	$39,247	Not reported	$23,209	1st of 2

One certificate program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Alabama" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Alabama.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Alabama
Business AdministrationAbout 12 graduates a year	$49,753	$78,497	$25,876	1st of 1

3 more certificate programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$83,927
Fire Science$82,718
Quality Control and Safety Technology$78,532
Environmental Science and Conservation$74,546
Homeland Security$62,313

Lowest median debt

Fire Science$21,248
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$24,518
Environmental Science and Conservation$27,071
Quality Control and Safety Technology$28,415
Computer and Information Science$28,578

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 594 graduates a year
Fire ScienceAbout 585 graduates a year
Quality Control and Safety TechnologyAbout 521 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 256 graduates a year
Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 128 graduates a year

Common questions

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions graduates earn a median of $83,927 in their first year, the most of 12 Columbia Southern University bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Alabama rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels