Best Military-Friendly Online Colleges in South Carolina

Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > South Carolina

Key takeaway: 38 of the 46 South Carolina-based institutions in our directory that offer at least one fully online program report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024). 21 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is Clemson University. The Census Bureau records 13 military installations in South Carolina (1 Army, 3 Navy, 3 Air Force, 2 Marine Corps, 1 Coast Guard, 2 National Guard, 1 Other), and 29 South Carolina cities have their own page below.

Military-friendly online colleges based in South Carolina

Ranked by BOC Score, which weights graduation rate, median earnings, net price, retention, and online availability from federal data. The tags on each card are the school’s own answers on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey: credit for military training, a dedicated military contact, DoD MOU membership, and a recognized student veteran organization.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score โ€” U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Clemson University

Clemson, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • Student veteran org
80.4 BOC Score
Graduation rate 84%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $71,513
Avg net price $22,253/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 93%
  • Programs offered: 136

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Citadel Military College of South Carolina

Charleston, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
77.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 74%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $72,085
Avg net price $20,723/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 87%
  • Programs offered: 43

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#3

University of South Carolina-Columbia

Columbia, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
74.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $62,177
Avg net price $22,811/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 92%
  • Programs offered: 165

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

College of Charleston

Charleston, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
65.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 64%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $56,416
Avg net price $18,960/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 82%
  • Programs offered: 77

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#5

Bob Jones University

Greenville, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
59.3 BOC Score
Graduation rate 66%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $44,354
Avg net price $16,641/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 82%
  • Programs offered: 66

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#6

Winthrop University

Rock Hill, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
53.8 BOC Score
Graduation rate 60%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $47,185
Avg net price $15,343/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 73%
  • Programs offered: 53

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#7

Greenville Technical College

Greenville, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
52.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 25%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $39,473
Avg net price $11,713/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 58

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#8

Coastal Carolina University

Conway, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
51.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 53%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $47,258
Avg net price $13,966/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 77%
  • Programs offered: 61

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#9

Anderson University

Anderson, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
49.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 62%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $42,101
Avg net price $23,544/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 82%
  • Programs offered: 55

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#10

Southern Wesleyan University

Central, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
48.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 55%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $47,756
Avg net price $15,464/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 68%
  • Programs offered: 30

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#11

Francis Marion University

Florence, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
44.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 45%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $43,888
Avg net price $11,386/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 70%
  • Programs offered: 40

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#12

University of South Carolina Aiken

Aiken, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
44.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 46%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $45,603
Avg net price $11,641/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 66%
  • Programs offered: 32

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#13

Lander University

Greenwood, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
  • Student veteran org
43.9 BOC Score
Graduation rate 53%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $42,396
Avg net price $15,363/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 69%
  • Programs offered: 37

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#14

Newberry College

Newberry, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
42.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 53%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $48,040
Avg net price $21,656/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 70%
  • Programs offered: 34

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#15

Converse University

Spartanburg, SC
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Credit for military training
  • Dedicated military contact
  • DoD MOU member
42.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 59%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $40,867
Avg net price $23,283/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 73%
  • Programs offered: 39

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Military installations in South Carolina

The Census Bureau’s 2024 TIGER/Line military layer records 13 installations in South Carolina (1 Army, 3 Navy, 3 Air Force, 2 Marine Corps, 1 Coast Guard, 2 National Guard, 1 Other, branch inferred from the recorded name). The largest by land area are listed; city pages show the ones within 100 miles of each city, with distances.

  • Fort Jackson
  • Naval Weapons Station Charleston
  • Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
  • Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
  • Shaw AFB
  • Charleston AFB
  • McEntire Joint National Guard Base
  • North Air Force Auxiliary Fld
  • National Guard Mta Clarks Hill Reservation
  • Naval Hospital Beaufort
  • Naval Weapons Station Charleston (Short Stay)
  • Charleston Defense Fuel Support Pt

Common post-service careers in South Carolina

Statewide median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 OEWS).

Occupation Median annual wage Scope
Information Security Analysts $105,800 SC statewide
Logisticians $80,330 SC statewide
Emergency Management Directors $93,680 SC statewide
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers $58,070 SC statewide
Medical and Health Services Managers $105,620 SC statewide
Project Management Specialists $95,040 SC statewide
Network and Computer Systems Administrators $92,520 SC statewide
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers $106,860 SC statewide

BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; these are statewide medians.

What the four services mean

  • Credit for military training (IPEDS VET2): the institution reports that it awards academic credit for military training, typically evaluated through the Joint Services Transcript. How much credit applies is set program by program.
  • Dedicated military contact (VET3): a named point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families.
  • DoD MOU member (VET5): the institution has signed the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding, a requirement for participating in service education programs.
  • Student veteran org (VET4): a recognized student veteran organization on the institution’s records.

Of the 38 schools in South Carolina that meet this page’s two-service definition, 21 report all four. All 38 are fully online by the IPEDS DISTPGS flag, as is every school on the national military-friendly online colleges list; the state view differs only in where the institution is based.

Military-friendly online colleges near South Carolina cities

Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.