Charleston Southern sees record enrollment in its 60-year history

Charleston Southern University welcomed its largest incoming freshman class ever this fall. In its 60^thanniversary year, Charleston Southern also celebrates record overall enrollment for its traditional undergraduate, graduate, and online headcount of 3,820. The last record enrollment year was in 2016 with 3,619. CSU has seen a 66% increase in military and veteran students as well as a jump in transfer and international students in fall 2024. This incoming class is 38% ethnically diverse, which continues a long history of Charleston Southern serving as the most diverse university campus in the greater Charleston region and certainly one of the most diverse in the state of South Carolina. 

Notable stats from this year’s class include: 

• 1,067 full-time freshmen/transfers 
• 43% are from the Charleston Metro area; 79% are from South Carolina 
• 24 countries represented
• 22% Black/African American, 65% White/Caucasian, 10% Hispanic, 5% two or more races, 1% Asian, >1% American Indian or Alaskan
• 62% female, 38% male 
• Top 5 Majors: nursing, business, kinesiology, aeronautics, biology
• Average GPA: 3.39 unweighted, 3.95 weighted 
• 11 valedictorians, 9 salutatorians
• 97 graduated in top 10% of their class 
• 322 are first generation college students 
• 97 are Legacy Bucs (one or both parents are CSU alumni) 

Charleston Southern once again saw a record number of residential students, with more than 1,400 living on campus this fall. Though CSU opened a new residence hall five years ago, this is the fourth consecutive year that CSU exceeded housing goals and converted the Wingate Hotel to on-campus housing in order to accommodate the additional residents.   

Dr. Tony Turner, vice president of enrollment management, said, “We can only celebrate the tremendous growth in enrollment with the dedication of staff who are committed to CSU’s mission and exemplify our E.P.I.C. values daily. The record-breaking enrollment is a testament to CSU’s recognition as a leader in Christian Higher Education, a fact that fills us with pride and confidence. It is exciting to see what the Lord is doing here. We want to encourage students seeking a college to strongly consider CSU and see what the Lord is doing here.”

Last year, CSU announced the launch of its tuition promise program—Buc Promise—which officially kicked off with the fall 2024 class. The renewable scholarship is for Pell-eligible South Carolina residents with a minimum 3.5 high school GPA. CSU is the only private four-year university in the state to offer this tuition guarantee. Turner said CSU’s long-standing dedication to first generation college students inspired the program. Nearly a third of CSU students are first gen.

National sites have named CSU as one of the top-ranked safest college campuses in South Carolina for several years. According to this year’s StateUniversity.com rankings, CSU is the #2 safest campus in the state. 

The private, Christian university has also made high national rankings for its online degrees, ranking the best among its South Carolina peers for online bachelor’s programs for veterans by US News and World Report.

“As an alum, it is my deepest wish to see our newest Buccaneers find and declare the purpose for their lives just as I did at this university,” CSU President Keith Faulkner said. “There is an exciting and transformative spirit on campus. We have felt it during Welcome Week—from Move In Days to Prayer First Chapel and everything in between. Students, faculty, and staff are ready to embark on a new academic year, and we are ready to guide our students through a successful college experience to graduation and beyond.”

Overall, Charleston Southern continues to grow, in population and in degree programs. The newest degree program kicked off this fall is the Master of Science in information technology, which blends computer science and leadership courses to prep students for roles such as chief information officer and chief technology officer. To learn more about Charleston Southern University, go to charlestonsouthern.edu.   

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