The Best Accounting Programs in South Carolina for 2026

College of Charleston's accounting major runs through a dedicated Department of Accounting where, per the program page, every accounting professor has worked or currently works in the field. A five-year accelerated option lets students add a Master of Science in Accountancy with just one extra year of study. The page names specific employer placements, Elliot Davis, KPMG and FORVIS, and points to Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor society for high-achieving accounting students, as a campus organization. Curriculum builds toward CPA, CMA, CFE and CIA certification tracks, with common outcomes listed as auditor, tax accountant, director of finance and CFO.

College of Charleston's 66% graduation rate is the lowest of South Carolina's four ranked accounting programs, while its 60% admit rate ties USC Columbia for the most accessible. In-state tuition is $12,518 a year versus $37,836 out-of-state, a $25,318 annual gap; four years in-state runs about $50,072. That mix, lower completion offset by open admissions, a low in-state price, and a named internship pipeline, produces a Hakia Score of 87.9, fourth in South Carolina. It fits students prioritizing direct employer connections and a fast add-on master's degree over top-end selectivity or completion rates.

Wofford's accounting major sits inside the Accounting, Business and Finance department, built on the college's liberal arts core. Faculty bring backgrounds in business, nonprofit work, and academia, and the department has handed out an annual Accounting Academic Award to its top graduating senior since the late 1970s, judged on academic excellence.

Wofford posts an 87.5 Hakia Score, the basis for its #5 rank among South Carolina's accounting programs, built on an 84% graduation rate, the highest of the four schools profiled here. Admission runs at a 52% admit rate, and tuition is a flat $54,080 a year with no in-state break, the highest sticker price of the group. At 1,817 total students, it fits someone who wants the smallest campus and the strongest completion odds and can absorb the highest cost of these four.

Anderson University's BSB in Accounting, housed in the College of Business and Economics, runs 128 total credit hours over four years on the seated main campus. The curriculum covers auditing, finance, tax accounting, and managerial accounting across eight dedicated accounting courses, and the program page states that 100% of its graduates who have attempted the CPA exam have passed it. Admission is rolling, with a December 1 deadline for best scholarship consideration and July 1 for fall entry; the school also positions the major as a direct pipeline into its own MBA.

Anderson carries an 84.7 Hakia Score, good for #6 in South Carolina, on a 66% graduation rate and a 55% admit rate. Tuition is flat at $34,020 a year regardless of residency, $20,060 less than Wofford's $54,080. With 4,710 students enrolled, it fits someone who wants a CPA-focused curriculum and a stated 100% CPA pass record at a mid-tier private price point.

Bob Jones University's BS in Accounting pairs a Christ-centered curriculum with auditing, financial and managerial accounting, and taxation coursework, and it prepares students to sit for the CPA exam. The program runs an annual winter recruiting event that draws more than 20 accounting firms and companies from Greenville, Charlotte, and Atlanta, and its program page names Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young, and KPMG among the firms that have hired its graduates. BJU also states its grads have "consistently outperformed state and national CPA Exam pass rates for all four sections taken" and hold CPA certification in more than 25 states.

BJU's 82.2 Hakia Score ranks it #7 in South Carolina, built on a 65% graduation rate. Tuition is a flat $20,752 a year, the lowest of the four South Carolina programs profiled here, well under Anderson's $34,020 and Wofford's $54,080. No admit rate is reported for this program. Across 2,734 students, it fits a cost-conscious applicant who wants a Christian worldview integrated into CPA prep and a built-in recruiting pipeline to national firms.

North Greenville's BBA in Accounting runs through the College of Business and Entrepreneurship, with a 12:1 student/faculty ratio and an average class size of 14. Its Accounting Directed Internship Program places students with the IRS, private CPA practices, local businesses, and government agencies, and graduates are eligible to sit for the CPA exam upon completion. Coursework includes Federal Income Taxation, Advanced Accounting I and II, Municipal and Governmental Accounting, and Fraud and Corporate Responsibility. U.S. News & World Report ranked NGU #36 on its 2026 Best Value Schools list.

NGU's 73.3 Hakia Score places it #8 among South Carolina's ranked accounting programs, on a 55% graduation rate. Its 67% admit rate is the most open of the four schools with admissions data here, and tuition is flat at $25,600 a year. With 2,304 students enrolled, it fits an applicant prioritizing small class sizes and easier admission over selectivity, at a mid-low tuition point between BJU's $20,752 and Anderson's $34,020.

Based in Spartanburg, SC, University of South Carolina-Upstate is a public institution. Its Bachelor's in Accounting program lands at #9 of the 11 ranked here, earning a 72.5 Hakia Score that weighs graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and outcomes. That sits below the 82 group average, in the lower third of the 11 ranked programs. The program graduates 43% of its students, below the 63% average across the ranked schools. University of South Carolina-Upstate admits 67% of applicants, less selective than the 57% average for the group. That is more open than the 38% rate at Clemson University, the most selective program on this list. Its completion rate lands in the middle of the pack in a group where graduation runs from 17% to 87%.

On cost, University of South Carolina-Upstate charges $11,208 a year in-state, roughly 2.0x the $22,710 out-of-state rate. Over four years that is about $44,832 in tuition for residents, against $90,840 for non-residents. That puts it among the most affordable on this list, where annual in-state tuition runs from $11,208 at University of South Carolina-Upstate to $59,360 at Furman University. Graduates step into a field with an $87,660 national median salary reported by the BLS. For prospective students, the main draw here is its low in-state cost.

Based in Conway, SC, Coastal Carolina University is a public institution. Its Bachelor's in Accounting program lands at #10 of the 11 ranked here, earning a 71.9 Hakia Score that weighs graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and outcomes. That sits below the 82 group average, in the lower third of the 11 ranked programs. The program graduates 48% of its students, below the 63% average across the ranked schools. Coastal Carolina University admits 75% of applicants, less selective than the 57% average for the group. That is more open than the 38% rate at Clemson University, the most selective program on this list. Its completion rate lands in the middle of the pack in a group where graduation runs from 17% to 87%.

On cost, Coastal Carolina University charges $11,460 a year in-state, roughly 2.6x the $29,448 out-of-state rate. Over four years that is about $45,840 in tuition for residents, against $117,792 for non-residents. That puts it among the most affordable on this list, where annual in-state tuition runs from $11,208 at University of South Carolina-Upstate to $59,360 at Furman University. Graduates step into a field with an $87,660 national median salary reported by the BLS. For prospective students, the main draw here is its low in-state cost.

Strayer University-South Carolina is a private, for-profit institution in Greenville, SC. Its Bachelor's in Accounting program ranks #11 of the 11 analyzed here with a 63.8 Hakia Score, a composite of graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and graduate outcomes. That sits below the 82 group average, in the lower third of the 11 ranked programs. The program graduates 17% of its students, below the 63% average across the ranked schools. Strayer University-South Carolina holds an open-admission policy, accepting every qualified applicant. Its completion rate lands toward the lower end in a group where graduation runs from 17% to 87%. It is one of the smaller campuses here, with 2,110 students.

On cost, Strayer University-South Carolina charges $13,725 a year in-state. Over four years that totals about $54,900 in tuition. That puts it mid-pack on price on this list, where annual in-state tuition runs from $11,208 at University of South Carolina-Upstate to $59,360 at Furman University. As a private institution, its tuition does not change with residency, unlike the public universities on this list. Graduates step into a field with an $87,660 national median salary reported by the BLS. That median runs roughly 6x the program's annual in-state tuition. For prospective students, the main draw here is its an online option.