Clemson University Overview
Clemson University is a public institution located in Clemson, South Carolina. Clemson is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs.
What Is Clemson University Known For?
- The student loan default rate at Clemson is 3%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- The highest award offered at Clemson is the doctor's degree.
- For the 2017-2018 academic year, 92% of the faculty were full-time.
- Students who graduate from Clemson with a bachelor's degree make about $52,400 a year. That's 28% more than those who graduate from other schools.
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Clemson University Rankings
We have ranked Clemson as #301 out of 2,320 colleges and universities in the country in our 2021 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 15% of all schools in the nation. It is also ranked #3 out of 34 schools in South Carolina.
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
Clemson has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#63 | Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#108 | Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#126 | Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#133 | Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Clemson.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards Clemson has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#1 | Best Colleges for Recreation Administration | College Factual |
#9 | Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | College Factual |
#37 | Best Colleges for English Language & Literature | College Factual |
#40 | Best Colleges for Education | College Factual |
#59 | Best Colleges for Biological & Biomedical Sciences | College Factual |
#175 | Best Nursing Schools | Nursing Degree Search |
Where Is Clemson University?

Contact details for Clemson are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 201 Sikes Hall, Clemson, SC 29634 |
Phone: | 864-656-4636 |
Website: | www.clemson.edu |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/clemsonuniv |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/clemsonuniv |
How Do I Get Into Clemson?
You can apply to Clemson online at: www.clemson.edu/admissions/undergraduate/index.html
Admission Requirements for Clemson
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | considered but not required |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | neither required nor recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Clemson?
Approximately 44% of accepted students are men and 56% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 45%, and the acceptance rate for women is 49%.
Average Test Scores
About 39% of students accepted to Clemson submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 620 and 690. Math scores were between 600 and 700.
Can I Afford Clemson University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Clemson, approximately 40% of students took out student loans averaging $8,747 a year. That adds up to $34,988 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Clemson is 2.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Clemson University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 5,627 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 19,486 full-time undergraduates at Clemson, 50% are male and 50% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Clemson University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 506 |
Black or African American | 1,181 |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,073 |
White | 15,686 |
International Students | 167 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 873 |
Geographic Diversity
South Carolina students aren't the only ones who study at Clemson University. At this time, 42 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 89 countries are represented at Clemson. The most popular countries sending students to the school are India, China, and Iran.
Online Learning at Clemson University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at Clemson has changed over the last few years.

This school is the most popular in South Carolina for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.
Online Growth Rankings of Clemson
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Clemson University was 14.8%. This is the #1,084 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Clemson regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Clemson majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Clemson ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Clemson.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Clemson University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*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.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By hager.angie under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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