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South Carolina majors and salaries
University of South Carolina · Columbia, South Carolina · Public · 29,820 undergraduates
Finance and Financial Management Services awards the most degrees here (1,090 over two years), and it also pays above most other programs: $92,578 four years out. Computer Engineering ($109,116) and International Business ($107,205) are the best-paid programs four years after graduation. Ohio State University trail South Carolina on median earnings ten years after enrollment, while UMass Amherst, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Pitt are ahead.
Highest-paying bachelor's programs
Every program with earnings data
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Median debt | Pay after 1 yr | Pay after 4 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Engineering | 63 | $20,000 | $72,751 | $109,116 |
| International Business | 326 | $23,250 | $72,633 | $107,205 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 79 | $18,000 | $82,466 | $100,042 |
| Chemical Engineering | 96 | $22,250 | $78,869 | $98,244 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 405 | $19,500 | $70,904 | $98,020 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | 72 | $21,500 | $64,409 | $97,927 |
| Insurance | 171 | $21,000 | $69,288 | $96,539 |
| Business/Managerial Economics | 122 | $22,552 | $65,675 | $94,547 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 1,090 | $20,500 | $69,692 | $92,578 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 290 | $23,250 | $73,872 | $91,296 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 260 | $20,500 | $64,739 | $86,507 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 448 | $23,375 | $69,991 | $84,720 |
| Real Estate | 141 | $20,367 | $63,254 | $84,558 |
| Civil Engineering | 154 | $20,897 | $71,556 | $84,148 |
| Marketing | 718 | $20,500 | $59,271 | $81,945 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 501 | $22,500 | $79,619 | $80,768 |
| Economics | 141 | $17,500 | $53,729 | $77,536 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 498 | $19,500 | $54,865 | $70,527 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 36 | – | $45,571 | $70,284 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 544 | $20,500 | $51,485 | $67,705 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 129 | $22,000 | $40,191 | $67,202 |
| Political Science and Government | 422 | $19,785 | $42,727 | $65,464 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 337 | $20,500 | $49,640 | $65,248 |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations | 294 | $20,012 | $52,597 | $64,631 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences | 363 | $20,500 | $34,833 | $63,534 |
| Mathematics | 83 | $19,687 | – | $62,278 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | 121 | $22,500 | $44,318 | $62,214 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 37 | – | $78,261 | $61,423 |
| Geography and Cartography | 40 | $17,742 | $49,797 | $59,472 |
| Public Health | 837 | $21,437 | $38,470 | $58,715 |
| Biology, General | 767 | $21,500 | $34,180 | $58,669 |
| Chemistry | 68 | $22,135 | $45,207 | $58,462 |
| Information Science/Studies | 49 | $19,422 | $57,165 | – |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 293 | $20,534 | $46,876 | $56,688 |
| Dance | 28 | – | – | $55,274 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | 83 | $22,425 | $30,066 | $55,093 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | 73 | $19,500 | $43,336 | $54,781 |
| Journalism | 136 | $20,500 | $39,037 | $53,294 |
| Sociology | 51 | $18,500 | $36,425 | $53,293 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 178 | $22,000 | $44,648 | $53,247 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | 796 | $20,250 | $33,075 | $51,090 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 447 | $20,875 | $40,341 | $50,847 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 146 | $19,500 | $37,462 | $50,447 |
| Social Work | 73 | $21,500 | – | $49,401 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 259 | $18,500 | $39,605 | $48,990 |
| Psychology, General | – | – | – | $47,234 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 32 | $21,500 | $42,832 | $45,804 |
| History | 126 | $19,500 | $33,035 | $45,595 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 134 | $19,500 | $29,649 | $45,185 |
| Music | 98 | $21,000 | $44,297 | $45,181 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 290 | $23,000 | $42,994 | $43,687 |
| Anthropology | 59 | $18,325 | $36,691 | $42,758 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 173 | $21,602 | $26,269 | $40,962 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 111 | $20,000 | $34,626 | $39,517 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 36 | – | $25,592 | – |
Programs are grouped by four-digit CIP code, so one row can cover several related majors. "Graduates" counts bachelor's degrees awarded across the two years that make up each earnings cohort.
Outcomes
- Six-year graduation rate
- 79% (four-year colleges: 54% median)
- First-year students who return
- 92%
- Students per faculty member
- 19
- Median earnings 10 years after enrolling
- $69,024 (four-year colleges: $58,912 median)
- Median federal debt at graduation
- $20,500 (four-year colleges: $21,609 median)
Colleges similar to South Carolina
The six public four-year colleges closest to South Carolina in acceptance rate and undergraduate enrollment.
| College | Acceptance rate | Avg net price | Earnings after 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| UMass Amherst Amherst, MA | 60% | $22,857 | $80,486 |
| Rutgers New Brunswick, NJ | 58% | $24,897 | $80,490 |
| Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA | 55% | $25,808 | $88,716 |
| Ohio State University Columbus, OH | 61% | $17,269 | $67,080 |
| Texas A&M College Station, TX | 57% | $21,527 | $78,159 |
| Pitt Pittsburgh, PA | 58% | $29,362 | $73,113 |
Program earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: median pay of graduates who were working and not enrolled, one and four years after finishing, for two pooled graduating classes. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and do not appear. College Scorecard data updated November 2, 2026. How these figures are built · South Carolina on College Scorecard