Biology at Charleston Southern University

Charleston Southern's biology program carries the smallest debt burden in its national cohort—just $28,979 compared to the $32,000 typical for biology majors nationwide. That's genuinely noteworthy. However, graduates start at $29,891, putting them below both the state median ($30,286) and well behind South Carolina's top performers, where Southern Wesleyan biology grads earn $39,464 in their first year. The program sits in the 40th percentile among SC biology degrees, meaning six out of ten similar programs in the state produce better outcomes.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97 looks manageable on paper—basically one year's salary to repay—and earnings do climb 18% to $35,200 by year four. But with fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset, these numbers could shift significantly with a larger sample. What you're seeing might not represent the typical experience.

For a parent, this comes down to alternatives. If your child is set on Charleston Southern for other reasons (location, faith-based environment, smaller classes), the biology program won't saddle them with crushing debt. But if maximizing career outcomes is the priority, other SC schools deliver substantially better returns. The low debt is real; whether the earnings trajectory justifies choosing this program over nearby competitors is the harder question.