Citadel Military College Of South Carolina

Citadel Military College of South Carolina's published cost of attendance is $33,880. Net price by income band reflects the institution's public tuition structure and financial aid availability: low-income families pay approximately $15,430, middle-income families pay around $18,140, and higher-income families pay approximately $24,047.

Azimuth ranks Citadel Military College of South Carolina #687 for post-graduation affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Net prices by income band are medians within those bands; individual aid packages vary, so some families in each band pay more and some less than the figures shown.

Citadel Military College of South Carolina participates in federal need-based aid programs, including Pell Grants and Direct Loans, alongside institutional aid. The institution's military affiliation also shapes the financial picture: service academy structure means tuition is covered for cadets, though room, board, and other fees apply.

Families should review the institution's financial aid page for current aid policies and application requirements. Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $21,096, and families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $33,899; private or institutional loans may add further borrowing that falls outside these federal-only figures — see the [Parent PLUS risk framework](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) for how household context shapes PLUS decisions.

For a graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $74,517, median federal debt of $21,096 projects to a monthly payment of about $238 under standard ten-year repayment. For personalized projections across earnings scenarios — including Parent PLUS planning — use [Azimuth's Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Graduates of Citadel Military College of South Carolina earn median 4-year earnings of $74,517, placing Citadel Military College of South Carolina in the 74.8 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,400 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Citadel Military College of South Carolina in the 28.0 percentile for [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth ranks Citadel Military College of South Carolina #411 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That performance reflects the institution's distinctive military-college structure, which channels a large share of graduates into officer career tracks and federal service roles that carry strong, stable earnings from the outset.

The earnings pattern across programs reflects Citadel Military College of South Carolina's concentration in Business and related applied fields. Mechanical Engineering stands out as the program combining the broadest graduate cohort with strong four-year earnings, anchoring the institution's overall return profile.

Business/Commerce, General is the largest program by scale, graduating 173 students, while Intelligence, Command Control and Information Operations (98 graduates) and Mechanical Engineering ((63 graduates) round out the core of degree output. Among the highest-earning programs, Azimuth ranks Criminal Justice #29 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $65,574 — 1.2x the national benchmark for the field.

Azimuth ranks Civil Engineering #118 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $81,055 — 0.9x the national benchmark for the field. Together, these programs reflect a curriculum oriented toward leadership, public service, and professional careers that translate into strong early-career earnings relative to SC's broader labor market.

Citadel Military College of South Carolina's program mix is anchored in Business, with additional strength in engineering, social sciences, and health-related fields — a portfolio shaped by the institution's military-college identity and its focus on producing career-ready graduates. The Mechanical Engineering program represents the clearest intersection of enrollment scale and strong post-graduation earnings, making it the single largest driver of aggregate economic return across the institution's degree offerings.

Among the most popular programs, Business/Commerce, General enrolls the largest cohort with 173 graduates, followed by Intelligence, Command Control and Information Operations with 98 graduates and Mechanical Engineering with 63 graduates. Azimuth ranks Mechanical Engineering #196 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning median earnings of $83,912.

Criminal Justice, with 56 graduates, also performs well — Azimuth ranks it #29 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning median earnings of $65,574. The highest-earning programs at Citadel Military College of South Carolina cluster in applied and technical fields.

Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering leads with median earnings of $88,869 four years after enrollment — Azimuth ranks it #166 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions — followed by Mechanical Engineering, where graduates earn median earnings of $83,912 and Azimuth ranks the program #196 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. These programs reflect the institution's strength in preparing graduates for direct entry into high-demand workforce roles, consistent with the [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) patterns in applied technical and business fields.

For more on how these rankings are constructed, see [how Azimuth evaluates programs](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/).