Health and Physical Education/Fitness at Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina's Health and Physical Education program follows an unusual trajectory that deserves careful attention: graduates start below both national and state averages at $27,920, then surge 47% to $41,034 by year four—ultimately exceeding not just state competitors but also the national 75th percentile. This dramatic growth pattern, backed by a robust sample size of over 100 graduates, suggests the program either develops skills that take time to translate into income or places graduates in career paths with steep early advancement.

The starting salary ranks this program at just the 28th percentile nationally, but the 60th percentile within South Carolina tells a more nuanced story. While you'll pay slightly more in debt than the state median ($26,997 vs. $27,000), that initial debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97 improves dramatically as earnings accelerate. By year four, graduates are out-earning peers from higher-ranked schools like Winthrop and several other SC institutions.

For parents, this is a program that rewards patience. If your child needs immediate earning power post-graduation—perhaps to support themselves independently right away—the $27,920 starting salary will feel tight. But if you can provide some runway for those first few years, the trajectory here competes with South Carolina's best programs. The relatively low debt burden makes that waiting period more manageable than it would be at higher-cost institutions.