Public Health at South University-Columbia

South University-Columbia's public health program saddles graduates with more than $56,000 in debt—more than double the national median and roughly twice what students at other South Carolina public health programs typically borrow. With first-year earnings of $34,789, graduates face a debt burden 1.6 times their annual income, making this one of the most debt-heavy public health programs in the country. While the earnings actually exceed South Carolina's median for this degree (ranking at the 60th percentile statewide), they still lag the national benchmark by about $3,000 annually.

The debt load is the real concern here. At the 5th percentile nationally for debt, this means 95% of comparable programs leave students with less debt. Compare this to University of South Carolina-Columbia, where public health graduates earn roughly the same amount but likely carry far less debt, or College of Charleston with similar outcomes. The high percentage of Pell grant recipients (58%) suggests many students here come from lower-income backgrounds, making the debt burden particularly risky.

For a field where starting salaries hover in the mid-$30,000s, borrowing this heavily creates years of financial strain. Unless your child has substantial scholarships reducing that debt load to under $30,000, South Carolina's public universities offer substantially better value for the same career outcomes.