College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Clemson University

SCLarge public institution · Overall rank #232 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth’s composite profile of Clemson University centers on mobility.

Who it’s a good fit for

Clemson University is a public university in Clemson, South Carolina, where Business and Engineering lead the degree mix. Mobility is well above average and affordability is modestly below average, so the strongest sits above the weakest.

Graduates earn less than what predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it cannot explain subtracts.

Return is above average. Pell recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole.

Access is well above average, but affordability is modestly below average, so the financial picture is mixed. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are not the largest.

Clemson University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
38.3%
Six-year completion[2]
86.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$75,142

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$18,851
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$35,463

Clemson University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Clemson University is a public university in Clemson, South Carolina, enrolling 23,300 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the top fifth of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 38.3% of applicants, a rate well below the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 93.5% return for a second year and 86.6% finish within six years.

Both figures run above the medians for comparable institutions, which are 83.1% for retention and 65.0% for completion. An estimated 24.6% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four pillars are spread widely. Mobility is the strongest, and access is also strong.

Return sits above the median of the field, while affordability is the clear outlier. The shape is a public university where the strongest and weakest pillars sit far apart.

Clemson University is strongest on mobility and access, rather than on the affordability side of the college equation. Across nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places mobility in the 89th percentile and access in the 81st percentile.

Return stands in the 71st percentile, while affordability, the weakest pillar, is in the 43rd percentile. Strong mobility and access sit beside a more modest affordability result.

14.8% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access that shows the share of the student body eligible for this federal aid. The access pillar uses this share alongside the completion rate for those students.

Azimuth ranks Clemson University #276 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The access pillar weighs both the share of students receiving Pell Grants and how those students fare.

Pell recipients complete at 71.2%, below the overall rate by 15.4 percentage points (86.6% for the entering cohort). Azimuth ranks the university #157 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The mobility pillar captures how well graduates move up economically. Graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students.

That is the earnings-beyond-expectations measure, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Clemson University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#232

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 89
Access & reach
National percentile: 81
Affordability
National percentile: 43
Return on investment
National percentile: 71

Top-ranked majors

  1. Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other#1
  2. Microbiological Sciences and Immunology#3
  3. Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies#5

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Clemson University briefing

Clemson University cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Clemson University is $35,015. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported out-of-state tuition of $39,350 and required fees of $1,516 as sticker charges.

For aid recipients, the average net price—what students pay after grants and scholarships—is $22,253. Financial aid reduces the published cost by $12,762 on average.

That is $6,619 above the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #805 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

A published cost of attendance of $35,015 is the starting point before grants and scholarships. For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $13,607 in the lowest family-income band, $14,109 in the lower-middle band, $18,851 in the middle band, $24,833 in the upper-middle band, and $27,922 in the highest family-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,315. Azimuth ranks Clemson University #805 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 36% of the published cost, or average savings of $12,762. The overall average net price is $22,253, which is $6,619 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $15,634.

Published in-state tuition is $15,554, out-of-state tuition is $40,866, and room and board is $13,284. The higher overall price than comparable institutions sits alongside aid that offsets part of the published cost.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $21,500, and 91.2% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That median is $1,424 above the $20,076 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,463.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,851

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Clemson University

Borrowing is widespread at Clemson University: federal loans are used by 91.2% of federal aid recipients. Among completers with federal loans, median federal student loan debt is $21,500.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $20,076, placing the university's median $1,424 above it. Separate parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $35,463.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 44% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $35,392 in cumulative borrowing. Its figures include 42% of graduates with federal loans, whose average cumulative borrowing was $19,847.

They also include 15% of graduates with private loans, whose average cumulative borrowing was $47,984.

At Clemson University, the investment picture is mixed: graduates out-earn their peers, but the earnings fall short of what the model expects for similar students. Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $75,142 four years after completion, placing the university at the 84th percentile nationally.

That is $9,532 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). However, graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 23rd percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $52,284 in a downside case to $94,446 in an upside case, with $75,142 as the typical outcome. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, $1,424 above the peer median.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.

For Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $35,463. Median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$35,463

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$451/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Clemson University briefing

Clemson University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

The return picture at Clemson University is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $75,142 four years after completion, at the 84th percentile nationally.

That is $9,532 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 23rd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,948.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $21,422. Azimuth places the university at the 71st percentile for return.

Among federally aided Clemson University completers who are working and not enrolled, the median four years after finishing is $75,142. That is $9,532 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places that figure in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, from a cohort of 4,521 completers. Graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students.

That gap sits at the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $52,284 on the downside to $94,446 on the upside, with typical earnings at $75,142.

An estimated 30.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At $75,142 four years after completion, Clemson University graduates fall in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, putting Clemson’s figure $9,532 above that benchmark.

For earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students. That measure is in the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,948. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $21,422.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,609. The typical earnings scenario grounded in the program mix is $75,142, with downside and upside scenarios of $52,284 and $94,446.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Business Administration and Management is the largest program, with 422 degrees awarded.

Its median earnings are $70,059 four years after completion, and Azimuth ranks it #126 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies has median earnings of $67,102 four years after completion and ranks #5 with Azimuth; its earnings are 1.38x the national median for its field.

Marketing had 281 degrees awarded, with median earnings of $81,109 four years after completion and an Azimuth rank of #37 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Earnings vary widely by field at Clemson University, making the modeled program-mix scenarios more useful than a single campuswide figure. The downside earnings scenario is $52,284, and the upside scenario is $94,446.

At the upper end, program medians four years after completion are $105,646 in Information Science/Studies, $102,762 in Computer Engineering, and $101,301 in Computer and Information Sciences. These program figures show why the modeled range is wide.

Mobility is the strongest pillar for Clemson University, but the borrowing and earnings figures call for a careful reading. Graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students.

Borrowers who completed have median federal student loan debt of $21,500, which is above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,424. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median debt of $35,463. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,253, above the $15,634 peer median at comparable institutions.

Earnings fall short of the model expectation while both debt and average net price sit above their peer medians.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$12,948
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$21,422
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$8,474

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Clemson University briefing

Clemson University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Clemson University admitted 38.3% of applicants, below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 60,498 first-year applicants, 23,145 admitted applicants, and 4,820 enrolled applicants.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
38.3%
25th percentile
1250
Median
1320
75th percentile
1400

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Clemson University briefing

What are the largest majors at Clemson University?[12]

The largest programs at Clemson University span a wide earnings range four years after completion. Mechanical Engineering leads among the big fields at $91,028, with 242 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #103 nationally within its field. Business Administration and Management is the biggest by volume, awarding 422 degrees a year, and its graduates earn $70,059.

Psychology sits at the more moderate end, with 328 degrees awarded and median earnings of $55,126. The highest-earning program overall is a smaller one: Information Science/Studies reports $105,646 from 28 degrees a year.

Computer and Information Sciences is larger, at 177 degrees awarded, and its graduates earn $101,301. Azimuth ranks it #62 nationally and #1 in South Carolina.

Clemson University has 44 nationally ranked programs, giving applicants several fields to compare beyond the university-wide figures. Azimuth ranks Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics #1 nationally in its field; it awarded 29 degrees and had median earnings of $69,274 four years after completion.

Microbiological Sciences and Immunology ranks #3 nationally in its field, with 55 degrees awarded and $81,526 in median earnings. Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies is ranked #5 nationally in its field, awarded 71 degrees, and shows $67,102 in median earnings.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences ranks #6 nationally in its field, with 94 degrees awarded and median earnings of $72,010 four years after completion.

Clemson University awards bachelor's degrees across a broad set of fields, with 51 programs reporting four-year earnings and 44 carrying an Azimuth national rank. The degree mix is led by Business, which accounts for 21.0% of degrees awarded, followed by Engineering at 18.1% and Biological Sciences at 8.8%.

The largest single programs are Business Administration and Management with 422 degrees awarded, Psychology with 328, and Biology with 284. The strongest programs by national rank span foreign languages, biological sciences, and writing.

Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics is the highest-ranked, at #1 in South Carolina within its field, with 29 degrees awarded and a benchmark ratio of 1.37x against the national median. Microbiological Sciences and Immunology ranks #3 nationally and #1 in South Carolina within its field, with 55 degrees awarded.

Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies ranks #5 nationally and #1 in South Carolina within its field, with 71 degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is Information Science/Studies, where graduates earn a median of $105,646 four years after completion, from 28 degrees awarded.

Computer and Information Sciences, another high-earning program, reports a median of $101,301 and ranks #62 nationally and #1 in South Carolina within its field. The pattern is one of strength spread across several applied and technical fields rather than concentrated in a single department.

The largest programs in business and psychology sit alongside highly ranked programs in foreign languages, microbiological sciences, and health professions, while the highest earnings come from computing and engineering fields. The presence of a top-ranked writing program shows that strong returns are not limited to the highest-earning fields. 31.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 422 degrees awarded
$70,059
Psychology, General 328 degrees awarded
$55,126
Biology, General 284 degrees awarded
$65,577
Marketing 281 degrees awarded
$81,109
Mechanical Engineering 242 degrees awarded
$91,028
Finance and Financial Management Services 241 degrees awarded
$91,269

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Clemson University briefing

How does Clemson University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest Azimuth pillar for Clemson University: its six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 86.6%. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 71.2%, below the overall rate by 15.4 percentage points.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the mobility pillar is in the 89th percentile. Graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 23rd percentile. The completion figure and modeled earnings measure point in different directions.

For applicants, Clemson University offers entry through a 38.3% admission rate and undergraduate enrollment of 23,300. Pell Grants reach 14.8% of undergraduates, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 24.6%.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures describe admission, financial access, and estimated transfer entry across the undergraduate population.

06 / Clemson University briefing

What colleges are similar to Clemson University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Clemson University.

Admissions peerUniversity of Georgia37.7% admitted
Comparison with Clemson University
MeasureClemson UniversityUniversity of Georgia
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,142$74,144-$998 vs Clemson University
Average annual net price$22,253$13,936-$8,317 vs Clemson University · lower cost
Admission rate38.3%37.7%
Explore University of Georgia →
Higher-admission alternativeWofford College51.9% admitted
Comparison with Clemson University
MeasureClemson UniversityWofford College
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,142$65,763-$9,379 vs Clemson University
Average annual net price$22,253$18,732-$3,521 vs Clemson University · lower cost
Admission rate38.3%51.9%
Nearby alternativeWofford CollegeNearby option · SC
Comparison with Clemson University
MeasureClemson UniversityWofford College
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,142$65,763-$9,379 vs Clemson University
Average annual net price$22,253$18,732-$3,521 vs Clemson University · lower cost
Admission rate38.3%51.9%
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Georgia$13,936 average net price
Comparison with Clemson University
MeasureClemson UniversityUniversity of Georgia
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,142$74,144-$998 vs Clemson University
Average annual net price$22,253$13,936-$8,317 vs Clemson University · lower cost
Admission rate38.3%37.7%
Explore University of Georgia →
Similar profileAuburn UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Clemson University
MeasureClemson UniversityAuburn University
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,142$73,151-$1,991 vs Clemson University
Average annual net price$22,253$24,323+$2,070 vs Clemson University · higher cost
Admission rate38.3%45.9%
Explore Auburn University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings