Columbia Southern University is a completely online college that all programs are offered completely via distance education (online classes). It offers 58 major programs for degree-granting and/or certificate - 14 Certificate, 9 Associate, 16 Bachelors, 9 Masters, 1 Doctorate, and 9 Post-graduate Certificate.

The 2024 tuition & fees is $5,808 for undergraduate programs and $3,820 for graduate programs.

Total of 15,948 students have enrolled in the school online exclusively. Last year, total 5,778 students have completed their degree/certificate program through distance learning.

Columbia Southern University is accredited by Distance Education Accrediting Commission.

Online Degrees / Programs Overview
School NameColumbia Southern University
TypeFour-year, Private (for-profit)
Address21982 University Lane, Orange Beach, AL
Online Students15,948
Undergraduate Tuition & Fees$5,808
Graduate Tuition & Fees$3,820
Student to Faculty28:1 (3.57%)
Online Degree Programs
Total58 Programs
Certificate14 Programs
Associates9 Programs
Bachelors16 Programs
Masters9 Programs
Doctorate1 Programs
Post-Graduate9 Programs

2024 Tuition & Fees

The following table and chart describe 2023-2024 tuition & fees and costs trends over last 5 years at Columbia Southern University. Each cost is an average amount over the all offered programs. The tuition & fees is $5,808 for all students. For graduate programs, the 2024 tuition & fees is $3,820 for all students.

The cost per credit hour for part-time students or overload credits of full-time students is $270 for undergraduate programs.

Tuition Changes (2020-2024)
2019-20202020-20212021-20222022-20232023-2024
Undergraduate$5,655$5,775$5,775$6,015$5,808
Graduate$3,915$4,035$4,035$4,155$3,820
Tuition Changes (2020-2024)
2019-20202020-20212021-20222022-20232023-2024
Undergraduate$230$235$235$245$270
Graduate$0$0$0$0-$1
Data source: IPEDS (integrated Postsecondary Education Data System)

Online Programs By Area of Study

Columbia Southern University offers 58 degree programs through Certificate, Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate, Post-Graduate Certificate programs. Of that, 58 programs can be conferred by distance learning - 14 Certificates, 9 Associates, 16 Bachelors, 9 Masters, 1 Doctorate, 9 Post-Bachelors or Post-Masters.

The following table summarizes the number of degree programs by degree types.

Total Number of Online Degree Programs
CertificateAssociatesBachelors MastersDoctorate Post-Graduate
Online Programs14916 919
Overall Programs14916 919

Majors and number of completers

The following tables show the offered programs by degree/certificate along with number of completers for each program last year.

What is Computer and Information Sciences program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Environmental Studies15 NOT OFFERED 61NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 4
What is Engineering Technology program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Information Technology10 5 53NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance10 NOT OFFERED 75NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
What is Liberal Arts and Sciences, Humanities program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician29 307 521378 NOT OFFERED 15
What is Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
General StudiesNOT OFFERED 99 NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
What is Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Firefighting program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Sport and Fitness Administration/ManagementONLY IN CLASSROOM NOT OFFERED NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
What is Human Services program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement AdministrationNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 18157 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Criminal Justice/Police ScienceNOT OFFERED 98 75NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Fire Services AdministrationNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 5804 NOT OFFERED 4
Fire Science/Fire-fighting22 432 5NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Homeland SecurityNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 5334 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management4 NOT OFFERED 497 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Critical Infrastructure ProtectionNOT OFFERED 2 NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
What is Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Public AdministrationNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED149 NOT OFFERED 10
What is Business program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Health/Health Care Administration/ManagementNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 128NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 3
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/CoderNOT OFFERED 33 NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)NOT OFFERED 90 60NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician3 NOT OFFERED 93NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Public HealthNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED64 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
What is Business program?
CertificateAssociate'sBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoratePost-Graduate
Business Administration and Management5 192 515771 41 NOT OFFERED
Project Management7 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 3
Organizational LeadershipNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 79182 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Finance2 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 1
Hospitality Administration/ManagementONLY IN CLASSROOM NOT OFFERED NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED
Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration8 NOT OFFERED 96NOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 6
Marketing/Marketing Management2 NOT OFFERED NOT OFFEREDNOT OFFERED NOT OFFERED 1

Distance Learning Program Student Population

Since Columbia Southern University is an online college that all programs are offered via distance learning, all 15,948 students have enrolled online exclusively.

Distance Learning Enrollment Distribution
Total Enrollment15,948
Enrolled Exclusively in Online Courses15,948
Enrolled in Some But Not All Online Courses0
Not Enrolled In Any Online Courses0

By location where enrolled students live, out of a total of 15,948 enrolled exclusively in online courses, 947 Alabama Residents were enrolled in online classes exclusively, 14,286 students living in the U.S. States other than Alabama, and 561 non-U.S. students enrolled in online courses.

Distance Learning Enrollment By Student Location
Enrolled Exclusively in Online Courses15,948
Alabama Resident947
Other State In U.S.14,440
Outside of U.S.561
Distance Learning Enrollment By Degree
Enrolled Exclusively in Online Courses15,948
Undergraduate11,330
Graduate4,618
Distance Learning Enrollment Undergraduate Students
Enrolled Exclusively in Undergraduate Online Courses11,330
Degree/Certificate Seeking11,208
Non-Degree/Certificate Seeking122

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