Points of Pride

Affordability: We’re one of Georgia’s most affordable four-year institutions, providing high-quality academic programs at a lower cost than many of our peers. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), covering 16 states, shows Georgia’s tuition and fees are lower than all but two SREB states, marking Georgia as one of the more budget-friendly states for higher education in the Southeast.

Financial Support: Over 90% of our students receive financial aid and/or benefit from a collective $3 million in scholarships awarded annually by the CSU Foundation, further reducing attendance costs.

Academic & Career Coaching: We have invested over $4 million to provide students with access to more than 40 International Coaching Federation–certified academic and career coaches who are paired with students throughout their undergraduate journey. Through this pioneering, student-centered model, academic coaches provide students with personalized guidance in selecting the right courses for their major, maximizing academic support resources to help ensure their success, and staying on track so they graduate on time. Read more.

Academic Success: Each semester, as many as a fifth of all undergraduate students qualify for the university’s President’s List for semester GPAs of 3.8 or higher and the Dean’s Lists for GPAs of 3.6 or higher.

Servant Leadership Program: Our unique interdisciplinary undergraduate Servant Leadership Program integrates academic seminars, community service and practical leadership through the William B. Turner Center, established in 2022 with a $1 million gift. It has been recognized as a potential national model for servant-leadership education.

Schwob School of Music: Our heralded Schwob School of Music, based in the College of the Arts and located on our RiverPark Campus, hosts students from 20 different countries. The school has a 100% placement rate of music education graduates, and other graduates are members of some of the country’s most prestigious music organizations, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the “President’s Own” Marine Band, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera.

Cybersecurity: Through our traditional and stackable one-year certificate and nexus programs in cybersecurity, based in the Turner College of Business & Technology, our students are networking with industry experts and leaders as part of their studies—and many are offered jobs even before they complete their studies. Center for Cybersecurity

Pre-Medical Studies: Our Competitive Pre-Medical Studies Program, based in the College of Letters & Sciences, boasts an annual acceptance rate of 80% or higher for its students’ acceptance into top-choice medical schools.

Robotics Engineering: Since its inception in 2019, our undergraduate robotics engineering program based in the College of Letters & Sciences has grown tenfold. It, along with graduate studies in the field, is the only program of its kind in Georgia. Graduates go on to job fields in artificial intelligence, healthcare, defense, cybersecurity, aviation and computing technologies.

Tournament Appearances (NCAA): Seven of our 13 NCAA Division II teams have appeared in their respective NCAA tournaments, including Men’s Cross Country, Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Golf, Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s Tennis and Women’s Tennis.

Coaching Excellence: Head Tennis Coach Evan Issacs (25-plus years at Columbus State) was named the Peach Belt Conference’s 2024 Co-Coach of the Year Award—the seventh time he has held the title. Head Women’s Soccer Coach Jay Entlich (20-plus years at Columbus State) is currently the Peach Belt Conference’s winningest coach, 10-time PBC Coach of the Year and the 8th-winningest coach in the NCAA Division II.

Service: In May 2024, the Athletics Department received the Peach Belt Conference’s Connecting Communities Award for the first time for embracing community engagement. The conference also awarded Women’s Golf with its Spring 2024 Sportsmanship Award—the team’s second in a row and 10th time overall to receive the award.

Nationally Ranked: For over a decade, MilitaryFriendly.com has recognized us as a military-friendly institution. We hold Gold Status among small, public military-friendly schools and recently ranked as a Top-10 Military Spouse-Friendly School for the first time. CSU is also the only small public college in Georgia currently with these honors. Read more.

Military-Connectedness: Our students who are active-duty and retired military, as well as their families, benefit from our Military-Connected Student Services team, who provide specialized guidance on enrollment, military benefits and adjusting to college life.

Military Education: The Hallock Endowment for Military History has established us as an international hub for military history research and education. It funds the Col. Richard R. Hallock Distinguished University Chair, supports public lectures and seminars, and

No. 1-ranked ROTC: Our ROTC program was ranked the No. 1 battalion in its tier in 2024 by claiming the top spot among its regional counterparts and the No. 3 spot nationally at Cadet Summer Training. In doing so, Columbus State reclaimed the coveted Titan Helmet for the third consecutive year—and the fourth time in six years.

Academic Partnerships: Graduates of all of the U.S. Army’s Captains Career Courses and its Sergeant Majors Academy can apply pre-approved transfer credits from their military studies toward fully online master’s degrees in our organizational leadership, public administration or strategic communication management programs.

Historic Uptown RiverPark Campus: Our downtown RiverPark Campus in historic Uptown Columbus is the city’s creative heart. Our teaching, performance and artistic spaces there are some of the nation’s most sophisticated—and are surrounded by shops, live music, coffee shops, restaurants and the scenic Chattahoochee River.

Main Campus Major Renovations: A Main Campus makeover began in 2024 with expanded greenspace around the Clock Tower where Woodall Hall once stood, a $5 million renovation of the Davidson Student Center, and a new façade for the Synovus Center for Commerce & Technology.

New State-Funded Academic Building: A new $22.2 million, 36,000-square-foot building announced in 2025 will co-house our Coca-Cola Space Science Center and Georgia’s only robotics engineering program. Funded by local, state and private support, it’s the first new Main Campus building in 20 years.

CSU's Endowment: Our endowment passed the historic $100 million milestone in 2024—making it the sixth largest among the University System of Georgia’s 26 institutions. Donors have established more than 300 individual endowments of at least $25,000 through the CSU Foundation.

Enduring Support: Our President’s Society for donors with a cumulative lifetime giving of $100,000-plus has more than 200 members.

Planned Giving Support: More than 200 people have joined our Legacy Society, which honors those establishing planned gifts benefiting the university through their will, trust, bequest or other estate-planning means.

Military Partnerships: Our robotics engineering and geographic information systems (GIS) partnerships with U.S. Army Fort Benning and the Maneuver Center of Excellence are providing the military with access to the university’s faculty subject-matter experts, giving students experiential learning opportunities, and benefiting the military through mutual problem-solving and cost savings.

Bolstering the K-12 Workforce: Launched in 2019, our Teaching Contract Guarantee ensures a Muscogee County School District teaching contract for any of our teacher-education graduates from the College of Education & Health Professions who pass the student teaching component of their degree and meet Georgia Professional Standards Commission induction certification requirements. More than half of the system’s 5,500 educators, school counselors and administrators hold at least one Columbus State degree.

Academic & Career Coaching: We have invested over $4 million to provide students with access to more than 40 International Coaching Federation–certified academic and career coaches, who are paired with students throughout their undergraduate journey. Through this pioneering, student-centered model, coaches in our Center for Career Design work collaboratively with our faculty, staff and industry professionals to connect students with career opportunities, internships, experiential learning opportunities and relevant career events to ready them for their chosen professional fields. Read more.

Embedded Industry Certifications: We are embedding industry-recognized certification opportunities directly into existing academic courses, thereby adding immediate workforce value to students’ educational experiences and helping to set them apart from their fellow job seekers.

New RIVER Core Curriculum: Our novel RIVER core curriculum is widening our newest students’ classroom experiences early in their studies through practical community engagement projects that better acquaint them with the region, build their networks, explore their chosen majors and career fields more thoroughly, and develop critical skills required by employers.

Upskilling for Working Professionals: Our Leadership Institute and Continuing & Professional Education offer programs that provide professional development and industry certifications, helping working professionals upskill and advance in their current careers or pivot to new career challenges and roles.

Regional Economic Impact: We have a $297.5 million regional economic impact. During FY23, the university generated 2,685 full- and part-time jobs in the region, making CSU a top-10 Columbus-area employer. Read more.

Tourism Partner: Our arts and culture programs, outreach centers, sporting events and other activities are part of the community’s vibrant tourism industry, which attracts nearly 2 million visitors to the region annually and generates more than $381 million in annual revenue.