Columbia Southern University Overview
Located in Orange Beach, Alabama, Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit institution. The charming, small-town atmosphere of Orange Beach draws many to the area.
What Is Columbia Southern University Known For?
- The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at Columbia Southern University.
- In 2017-2018, 49% of the faculty were full-time.
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Columbia Southern University Rankings
According to our 2022 analysis, Columbia Southern University is ranked #246 out of 2,587 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. It is also ranked #1 out of 49 schools in Alabama.
These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.
Columbia Southern University has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#8 | Best Associate Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#140 | Best Bachelor’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 Columbia Southern University.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards Columbia Southern University has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#1 | Highest Paid Natural Resources & Conservation Graduates | College Factual |
#1 | Highest Paid Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Graduates | College Factual |
#3 | Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Quality Control Technology | College Factual |
#14 | Best Business Associate Degree Schools | Business Degree Central |
#49 | Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation | College Factual |
#51 | Best Value Colleges for Natural Resources Conservation | College Factual |
Where Is Columbia Southern University?

Contact details for Columbia Southern University are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 21982 University Lane, Orange Beach, AL 36561-9000 |
Phone: | 251-981-3771 |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/Columbia.Southern |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/CSUedu |
How Do I Get Into Columbia Southern University?
You can apply to Columbia Southern University online at: www.columbiasouthern.edu/Apply-Now
Can I Afford Columbia Southern University?
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 Columbia Southern University, approximately 58% of students took out student loans averaging $6,412 a year. That adds up to $25,648 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Columbia Southern University is 8.8%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you'll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans.
Columbia Southern University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 5,279 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 6,866 full-time undergraduates at Columbia Southern University, 59% are male and 41% are female.

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

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 91 |
Black or African American | 1,279 |
Hispanic or Latino | 202 |
White | 3,598 |
International Students | 1 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,695 |
Geographic Diversity
Alabama students aren't the only ones who study at Columbia Southern University. At this time, 44 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Online Learning at Columbia Southern University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at Columbia Southern University has changed over the last few years.

This school is the most popular in Alabama for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of Columbia Southern University Rankings
The following table shows how Columbia Southern University is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are mostly online.
Major | Tuition for In-State Students | Tuition for Out-of-State Students |
---|---|---|
Human Resource Management | #1 | #1 |
Public Administration & Social Service | #1 | #1 |
Homeland Security | #1 | #1 |
Natural Resources Conservation | #1 | #1 |
Public Health | #1 | #1 |
Engineering Technologies | #1 | #1 |
Quality Control Technology | #1 | #1 |
Mental & Social Health Services | #1 | #1 |
Public Administration | #1 | #1 |
Allied Health Professions | #4 | #1 |
Marketing | #4 | #1 |
Information Technology | #4 | #1 |
Natural Resources & Conservation | #4 | #1 |
Criminal Justice & Corrections | #4 | #4 |
Computer Information Systems | #7 | #4 |
Health Professions | #7 | #4 |
Health & Medical Administrative Services | #7 | #7 |
Computer & Information Sciences | #13 | #4 |
Online Growth Rankings of Columbia Southern University
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Columbia Southern University was -3.5%. This is the #859 largest growth rate of all schools that are mostly online. This refers to all students at Columbia Southern University regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Columbia Southern University majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Allied Health Professions | 38% |
Engineering Technologies | 3% |
Fire Protection | 7% |
Health Professions | 8% |
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 2% |
Human Resource Management | 5% |
Mental & Social Health Services | 13% |
Public Administration | 20% |
Public Administration & Social Service | 20% |
Public Health | 17% |
Quality Control Technology | 3% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Columbia Southern University ranks compared to all other mostly online schools that offer a specific major.
Major | Growth Rate Rank | |
---|---|---|
Quality Control Technology | #31 | |
Natural Resources Conservation | #42 | |
Natural Resources & Conservation | #61 | |
Fire Protection | #84 | |
Allied Health Professions | #99 | |
Homeland Security | #126 | |
Mental & Social Health Services | #166 | |
Public Health | #170 | |
Engineering Technologies | #175 | |
Public Administration | #176 | |
Finance & Financial Management | #180 | |
Marketing | #282 | |
Human Resource Management | #330 | |
Public Administration & Social Service | #331 | |
Information Technology | #346 | |
Computer Information Systems | #367 |
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%.
Columbia Southern University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
Major | Basic Certificate | Associate’s | Bachelor’s | Graduate Certificate | Master’s | Doctor’s | TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business Administration & Management | 29 | 386 | 1,032 | 9 | 1,173 | 12 | 2,641 |
Quality Control Technology | 50 | 424 | 793 | 20 | 357 | 0 | 1,644 |
Fire Protection | 11 | 660 | 468 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,139 |
Criminal Justice & Corrections | 0 | 238 | 277 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 555 |
Health & Medical Administrative Services | 0 | 69 | 201 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 274 |
Homeland Security | 1 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 175 | 0 | 251 |
Human Resource Management | 22 | 0 | 167 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 197 |
Liberal Arts General Studies | 0 | 140 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140 |
Public Administration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 126 | 0 | 132 |
Natural Resources Conservation | 25 | 0 | 92 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 123 |
Computer Information Systems | 8 | 0 | 107 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 115 |
Mental & Social Health Services | 0 | 0 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111 |
Public Health | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 82 |
Allied Health Professions | 0 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 |
Information Technology | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
Finance & Financial Management | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Hospitality Management | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
International Business | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Health & Physical Education | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Marketing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TOTAL | 155 | 1,917 | 3,424 | 56 | 1,953 | 12 | 7,517 |
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.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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