Civil Engineering at Citadel Military College of South Carolina

The Citadel's civil engineering program starts graduates at $61,163—about $8,000 below both state and national medians—but the trajectory matters more than the starting point here. By year four, graduates reach $80,055, a 31% jump that puts them ahead of what most civil engineers earn early in their careers. Among South Carolina's five civil engineering programs, this places in the 40th percentile for first-year earnings, essentially middle-of-the-pack despite the lower start.

The $24,500 debt load is exactly at the national median and actually slightly below South Carolina's typical $25,750, creating a manageable 0.40 debt-to-earnings ratio. That's a reasonable trade-off for a program at a school with a 98% admission rate, where the military college structure provides built-in discipline and networking that many civilian programs lack. While Clemson and USC grads start about $8,000 higher, the Citadel's strong earnings growth suggests its graduates are catching up quickly—possibly benefiting from the leadership training and work ethic the institution instills.

For parents worried about employability and debt burden, this program delivers solid outcomes despite the modest start. The real question is whether your child thrives in the Citadel's regimented military environment, because the financial value proposition is sound: reasonable debt and accelerating earnings in a stable engineering field.