COLUMBIA, SC (courtesy columbiasc.edu) — As of October 2017, The Columbia College Class of 2017 achieved a ninety-four percent placement average for the total percent of students employed and/or pursuing graduate education. This exceeds the national average of eighty-one percent for the Class of 2016 (The six-month national average for the Class of 2017 will be available in July 2018).
Graduates who elected to enter the workforce have pursued positions with Colonial Life, First Community Bank, Nephron Pharmaceuticals, Mekra Lang, Michelin, state agencies and social service organizations across 7 states (SC, NC, GA, FL, NY, MA, and CA), China, and Serbia. As the second largest employer, Columbia College education graduates span many districts in SC alone (e.g. Bluffton, Charleston, Florence, Lancaster, Lexington 1 and 2, Lexington/Richland 5, and Richland 1 and 2).
Graduates who are pursuing a graduate education have ventured across 7 states (FL, IN, NC, GA, NY, TX), including SC, to institutions such as Coastal Carolina, USC, Ball State, Winthrop, Mary Baldwin, UGA, City University of New York, Citadel, and University of Houston. Four students have gone on to purse degrees in medicine, veterinary, dentistry and physical therapy. The remainder of graduates are either entrepreneurs, in the military or other forms of service.
Columbia College’s 4-year data for the First Destination Survey reports the following:
- 2016-2017 Graduates – 94%
- 2015-2016 Graduates – 93%
- 2014-2015 Graduates – 96%
- 2013-2014 Graduates – 88%