Which University of South Carolina major has the lowest debt?

Ecology and Evolution graduates leave with a median of $18,896 in federal loans, the lowest among 54 University of South Carolina bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does University of South Carolina cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $12,688 a year, and $35,972 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $22,811 a year.

How many University of South Carolina programs report graduate pay?

56 bachelor's programs at University of South Carolina report first-year pay, and 54 of them also report federal debt.

University of South Carolina Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

University of South Carolina-Columbia
Public university
Columbia, SC
29,820 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

56 University of South Carolina bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Electrical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($77,161), and Romance Languages the least ($21,411). The median program pays $38,890.

In-state tuition and fees$12,688Per year. Out-of-state $35,972

Average net price after aid$22,811Per year

Graduation rate79%Within 6 years

Admission rate60%Of applicants

All 56 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in South Carolina" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across South Carolina. 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 South Carolina
1	Electrical EngineeringAbout 42 graduates a year	$77,161	$98,758	$27,000	2nd of 3
2	Chemical EngineeringAbout 58 graduates a year	$75,680	$99,912	$27,000	2nd of 2
3	Computer EngineeringAbout 29 graduates a year	$73,982	$87,710	$27,000	2nd of 2
4	NursingAbout 241 graduates a year	$73,872	$74,996	$24,250	7th of 15
5	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 166 graduates a year	$72,370	$88,180	$25,000	2nd of 3
6	International BusinessAbout 175 graduates a year	$70,992	$105,852	$25,174	1st of 2
7	StatisticsAbout 23 graduates a year	$69,543	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
8	Civil EngineeringAbout 82 graduates a year	$69,424	$87,617	$27,000	1st of 3
9	Management ScienceAbout 217 graduates a year	$68,804	$91,024	$22,922	1st of 1
10	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 239 graduates a year	$68,597	$87,069	$25,250	3rd of 9
11	InsuranceAbout 109 graduates a year	$63,417	$85,286	$25,995	1st of 1
12	Business EconomicsAbout 64 graduates a year	$62,692	$101,307	$25,000	1st of 2
13	FinanceAbout 597 graduates a year	$62,231	$91,441	$25,000	1st of 5
14	AccountingAbout 155 graduates a year	$59,283	$84,344	$25,826	2nd of 8
15	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 38 graduates a year	$57,311	$73,342	$26,000	2nd of 2
16	MarketingAbout 367 graduates a year	$52,374	$77,355	$23,750	1st of 8
17	Real EstateAbout 75 graduates a year	$51,965	Not reported	$22,500	1st of 1
18	MathematicsAbout 46 graduates a year	$49,949	$74,650	$22,700	1st of 2
19	EconomicsAbout 73 graduates a year	$48,149	$68,890	$24,062	2nd of 3
20	Business AdministrationAbout 262 graduates a year	$47,993	$69,907	$26,000	6th of 27
21	GeographyAbout 20 graduates a year	$46,929	$53,719	$23,250	1st of 1
22	Sales and MerchandisingAbout 147 graduates a year	$45,052	$55,908	$24,979	1st of 1
23	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 23 graduates a year	$44,919	$51,777	$27,000	1st of 2
24	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 183 graduates a year	$42,974	$66,664	$24,250	2nd of 5
25	Teacher EducationAbout 146 graduates a year	$40,785	$43,561	$26,000	7th of 18
26	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 296 graduates a year	$40,702	$63,908	$25,000	2nd of 13
27	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 11 graduates a year	$40,596	$41,608	$23,780	3rd of 9
28	ChemistryAbout 36 graduates a year	$39,018	$70,138	$25,046	2nd of 2
29	JournalismAbout 81 graduates a year	$38,762	$51,441	$26,000	1st of 2
30	MusicAbout 59 graduates a year	$38,657	$48,505	$27,000	1st of 2
31	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 27 graduates a year	$38,432	Not reported	$26,500	2nd of 2
32	Hospitality ManagementAbout 150 graduates a year	$36,690	$53,539	$26,000	2nd of 4
33	Criminal JusticeAbout 223 graduates a year	$35,781	$49,134	$25,000	5th of 11
34	CommunicationsAbout 89 graduates a year	$35,586	Not reported	$25,500	3rd of 11
35	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 75 graduates a year	$35,081	$63,196	$25,500	1st of 3
36	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 63 graduates a year	$33,941	$59,326	$21,500	1st of 1
37	International RelationsAbout 40 graduates a year	$33,612	$55,763	$20,500	2nd of 2
38	DanceAbout 15 graduates a year	$33,291	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
39	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 136 graduates a year	$33,245	$41,776	$26,000	2nd of 8
40	Political ScienceAbout 210 graduates a year	$33,157	$60,403	$25,000	8th of 12
41	Area StudiesAbout 34 graduates a year	$32,064	Not reported	$20,125	1st of 1
42	Public HealthAbout 435 graduates a year	$31,756	$55,090	$24,958	3rd of 4
43	PhilosophyAbout 22 graduates a year	$30,936	Not reported	$25,000	1st of 1
44	SociologyAbout 33 graduates a year	$30,517	$43,426	$27,000	4th of 9
45	Experimental PsychologyAbout 405 graduates a year	$29,350	$48,055	$24,250	1st of 1
46	BiologyAbout 390 graduates a year	$28,035	$60,846	$24,620	15th of 20
47	Social WorkAbout 40 graduates a year	$28,032	$45,169	$24,000	3rd of 3
48	HistoryAbout 61 graduates a year	$27,652	$51,175	$22,550	8th of 9
49	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 60 graduates a year	$27,467	$40,790	$27,000	2nd of 7
50	Physiology and PathologyAbout 190 graduates a year	$27,374	$62,997	$25,000	3rd of 3
51	EnglishAbout 60 graduates a year	$25,729	$46,297	$26,000	7th of 9
52	Ecology and EvolutionAbout 46 graduates a year	$25,271	$47,536	$18,896	2nd of 2
53	AnthropologyAbout 29 graduates a year	$23,785	$42,350	$23,687	2nd of 2
54	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 81 graduates a year	$23,763	Not reported	$26,300	2nd of 2
55	Film and PhotographyAbout 88 graduates a year	$23,686	$40,191	$25,750	1st of 1
56	Romance LanguagesAbout 22 graduates a year	$21,411	$60,164	$23,189	4th of 4

Program names link to the program's own page, and South Carolina 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 South Carolina programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Electrical Engineering$77,161
Chemical Engineering$75,680
Computer Engineering$73,982
Nursing$73,872
Mechanical Engineering$72,370

Lowest median debt

Ecology and Evolution$18,896
Area Studies$20,125
International Relations$20,500
Radio, TV, and Digital Media$21,500
Real Estate$22,500

Largest programs

FinanceAbout 597 graduates a year
Public HealthAbout 435 graduates a year
Experimental PsychologyAbout 405 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 390 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 367 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrical Engineering graduates earn a median of $77,161 in their first year, the most of 56 University of South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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