Orange Beach, Alabama · Private for-profit · 4-year · Town
Overview
Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit four-year institution based in Orange Beach, Alabama. All of its programs are delivered through distance education. It enrolled 17,763 students in fall 2024, including 12,213 undergraduates and 5,550 graduate students.
Columbia Southern University offers certificates, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees across 31 programs. Its largest programs by number of graduates are Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician, Business Administration and Management, and Fire Services Administration. It awarded 9,287 degrees and certificates in 2024-25.
The school has an open admission policy. 71% of full-time first-year students return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio is 37 to 1.
Key figures
Open
Admission policy
17,763
Students enrolled
71%
First-year retention
9,287
Degrees and certificates awarded, 2024-25
31
Programs and majors
37:1
Student-to-faculty ratio
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Delivery modes
Online
Program levels
CertificateAssociateBachelorMasterPhD
Programs and majors offered 31
Graduate counts are degrees and certificates awarded in each program between July 2024 and June 2025. Largest fields are listed first.
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement and Firefighting 8