Southern Adventist University

Basic Information

Type Private
Geographical Reach National
Religious Affiliation Seventh-day Adventist
Population 500,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 120 (87%)
Sunshine Hours 2,526 (37%)
Days Without Precipitation 237 (32%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 3,404
Men / Women 47% / 53%
From State 20%
From Region 17%

Racial/Ethnic

White 34%
Hispanic 26%
Asian 14%
International 9%
Mixed 7%
Black 6%
Native American 1%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Arts and Sciences 105 53% 36% 20% 2% 29% 6% $64,707 25 -0.02 64 100%
Chemistry 6 — 50% 17% 17% 0% 50% 17% $68,268 33 -0.32 70 — — — — —
Mathematics 5 +1 80% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $67,706 26 -0.67 69 — — — — —
Physics 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $70,278 13 -0.96 74 — — — — —
Biochemistry 8 — 38% 50% 25% 0% 12% 0% $68,363 37 -0.28 71 — — — — —
Biological and Biomedical Sciences 2 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% $71,706 59 +0.20 75 — — — — —
Biology 16 — 69% 25% 31% 6% 25% 6% $70,189 70 +0.43 73 100% — — — —
Biomedical Sciences 27 — 48% 33% 30% 0% 22% 4% $70,189 45 +0.06 73 100% — — — —
Biophysics 3 — 100% 33% 33% 0% 33% 0% $68,996 40 -0.22 72 — — — — —
American Literature 2 — 0% 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% $53,177 58 +0.09 35 — — — — —
Archaeology — — — — — — — — $58,522 69 +0.16 50 — — — — —
English 7 — 43% 29% 14% 14% 29% 0% $54,333 63 +0.23 39 — — — — —
History 8 +2 75% 38% 0% 0% 50% 0% $54,896 48 -0.20 40 — — — — —
Interdisciplinary Studies 2 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $59,836 72 +0.24 53 — — — — —
Italian 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $59,000 56 +0.09 51 — — — — —
Modern Languages 2 +1 50% 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% $58,942 55 +0.08 51 — — — — —
Spanish 1 +2 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% $58,911 55 +0.08 51 — — — — —
International Studies 2 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $63,622 29 -0.48 62 — — — — —
Political Science 3 +1 0% 33% 0% 0% 67% 0% $65,946 34 -0.46 66 — — — — —
Art 3 — 0% 33% 0% 0% 67% 0% $44,905 41 -0.21 15 — — — — —
Music 2 — 50% 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% $46,866 49 +0.01 19 — — — — —
Music Performance 2 +1 50% 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% $46,795 49 +0.01 19 — — — — —
Music Theory and Composition 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $46,961 50 +0.02 19 — — — — —
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians 1 — 100% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% $85,021 31 -0.31 88 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Business 63 63% 54% 3% 5% 29% 5% $65,998 32 -0.96 66 93%
Accounting 14 — 57% 50% 0% 7% 29% 7% $76,524 28 -0.68 81 — — — — —
Business Administration 26 +1 69% 58% 8% 8% 19% 4% $54,263 2 -1.21 39 93% — — — —
Business Analytics 4 — 25% 75% 0% 0% 25% 0% $76,101 15 -0.94 80 — — — — —
Finance 9 — 78% 33% 0% 0% 67% 0% $78,834 16 -0.70 83 — — — — —
Human Resources Management 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $67,258 22 -0.63 69 — — — — —
International Business — — — — — — — — $69,109 31 -0.64 72 — — — — —
Management Information Systems 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $76,164 15 -0.93 80 — — — — —
Marketing 8 — 50% 62% 0% 0% 25% 12% $64,800 13 -0.99 64 — — — — —
Sales — — — — — — — — $67,496 19 -0.78 69 — — — — —
Construction Management — — — — — — — — $94,131 24 -0.56 93 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Computing 20 90% 50% 20% 0% 20% 5% $102,961 95 -0.15 96
Electrical Engineering 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $111,851 47 -0.25 98 — — — — —
Engineering Mechanics 3 — 67% 33% 33% 0% 33% 0% $100,438 62 +0.16 95 — — — — —
Computer Science 11 +2 100% 73% 18% 0% 0% 0% $111,223 38 -0.40 98 — — — — —
Computer and Information Systems Security 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $100,080 69 +0.34 95 — — — — —
Information Technology 2 — 50% 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% $101,778 66 +0.17 96 — — — — —
Information Technology — — — — — — — — $98,321 62 +0.00 95 — — — — —
Digital Media 2 — 100% 0% 50% 0% 50% 0% $59,487 76 +0.26 52 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Education and Psychology 93 28% 40% 13% 4% 30% 1% $58,459 6 +0.28 50 97%
Exercise Science 23 — 52% 22% 26% 4% 35% 4% $63,258 59 +0.17 61 100% — — — —
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies — — — — — — — — $61,748 59 +0.10 58 — — — — —
Sports Management 1 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $63,258 59 +0.21 61 100% — — — —
Behavioral Neuroscience 2 — 50% 0% 50% 0% 50% 0% $64,886 19 -0.76 64 — — — — —
Clinical Psychology 10 — 20% 40% 10% 0% 40% 0% $56,922 64 +0.28 46 — — — — —
Family Studies 5 — 0% 60% 0% 0% 40% 0% $54,746 57 +0.18 40 — — — — —
Industrial and Organizational Psychology 3 — 33% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $59,722 43 -0.18 53 — — — — —
Psychology 22 — 32% 41% 18% 5% 18% 0% $57,243 65 +0.33 46 — — — — —
Social Work 5 — 20% 20% 0% 20% 60% 0% $54,487 55 +0.15 39 96% — — — —
Education 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $55,886 56 +0.10 43 — — — — —
Elementary Education 17 — 6% 53% 0% 6% 24% 0% $56,060 80 +0.56 43 92% — — — —
History Teacher Education 2 — 50% 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% $57,091 70 +0.26 46 — — — — —
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching — — — — — — — — $56,615 50 -0.14 45 — — — — —
Teaching English as a Second Language — — — — — — — — $57,419 67 +0.28 47 — — — — —
Music Education 2 — 0% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $55,886 88 +0.98 43 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Journalism and Communication 44 30% 36% 0% 14% 32% 14% $55,484 3 -0.51 42 86%
Advertising and Public Relations 3 — 33% 33% 0% 67% 0% 0% $65,756 16 -0.92 66 — — — — —
Applied Communication — — — — — — — — $67,025 36 -0.42 68 — — — — —
Broadcast Journalism 5 — 20% 0% 0% 0% 40% 60% $62,573 58 +0.03 60 — — — — —
Communication 4 — 50% 50% 0% 0% 25% 0% $61,837 54 -0.00 58 — — — — —
Journalism 2 — 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $62,600 58 +0.03 60 — — — — —
Journalism 1 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $62,499 56 +0.02 60 — — — — —
Public Relations 6 +1 17% 33% 0% 0% 50% 17% $65,568 31 -0.56 66 — — — — —
Strategic Communication 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $67,135 36 -0.41 68 — — — — —
Commercial and Advertising Art — — — — — — — — $51,207 43 -0.30 30 — — — — —
Digital Arts 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $50,954 43 -0.32 29 — — — — —
Film Production 8 — 62% 38% 0% 25% 12% 25% $43,458 14 -0.82 13 86% — — — —
Graphic Design 9 — 0% 22% 0% 11% 67% 0% $51,460 24 -0.67 31 — — — — —
Photography 4 — 25% 75% 0% 25% 0% 0% $43,458 11 -0.83 13 86% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Nursing 96 28% 39% 21% 2% 16% 11% $83,697 81 -0.73 87 94%
Medical Laboratory Science 6 — 83% 0% 50% 0% 33% 17% $75,863 48 -0.17 80 — — — — —
Nursing 89 — 25% 42% 19% 2% 15% 10% $84,427 17 -0.78 87 94% — — — —
Health Administration 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% $65,784 60 -0.03 66 — — — — —
Art Therapy — — — — — — — — $62,572 96 +1.69 60 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Religion 20 85% 20% 15% 5% 45% 15% $53,737 2 +0.36 37
Biblical Studies 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $51,658 50 +0.10 31 — — — — —
Ministry 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% $51,079 48 +0.03 30 — — — — —
Religious Education — — — — — — — — $51,486 49 +0.08 31 — — — — —
Religious Studies 9 +1 78% 22% 22% 11% 44% 0% $56,627 84 +0.71 45 — — — — —
Theology 9 — 89% 22% 11% 0% 44% 22% $51,375 49 +0.07 30 — — — — —

Financial

Tuition & Fees $29,211
ROI Percentile 70th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 83%
4-Year Graduation Rate 35%
6-Year Graduation Rate 49%
Transfer-Out Rate 5%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Health Sciences 26.8% 118 33% 36% 22% 3% 19% 9% $79,865 62 -0.56 84 95% —
Social Sciences 16.1% 71 24% 41% 8% 3% 32% 6% $59,397 53 +0.05 52 96% —
Business & Economics 15.4% 68 60% 53% 3% 7% 26% 6% $65,944 15 -0.93 66 93% —
Life & Natural Sciences 12.7% 56 57% 32% 29% 2% 21% 7% $69,918 60 +0.11 73 100% —
Humanities 9.8% 43 67% 30% 12% 5% 42% 7% $54,792 50 +0.19 40 — —
Arts 7.7% 34 35% 35% 6% 12% 32% 9% $48,098 33 -0.42 22 86% —
Education 4.5% 20 10% 50% 0% 5% 30% 0% $56,154 68 +0.51 44 92% —
Computer Science 3.2% 14 93% 57% 14% 0% 14% 7% $109,078 48 -0.27 98 — —
Physical Sciences & Math 2.7% 12 67% 50% 8% 0% 33% 8% $68,201 20 -0.52 70 — —
Engineering 0.9% 4 75% 50% 25% 0% 25% 0% $103,291 57 +0.05 96 — —
Professional 0.2% 1 100% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% $85,021 84 -0.31 88 — —

Research

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Agriculture & Food Science — — — — — — — —
Business & Economics — — — — — — — —
Computer Science — — — — — — — —
Education — — — — — — — —
Engineering — — — — — — — —
Health Sciences — — — — — — — —
Humanities & Social Sciences — — — — — — — —
Life & Natural Sciences — — — — — — — —
Physical Sciences & Math — — — — — — — —
Total — — — — — — — —

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Admissions

Uses Common App No
Acceptance Rate 74%
Yield (non-ED) 36%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 74% 74% 74%

This college’s Common Data Set does not break down admissions by applicant demographics, so in-state, out-of-state, and international applicants share one Regular Decision rate.

Standardized Tests

Test Policy optional
Submitted Test Scores 100%
SAT Range 1020 – 1300
SAT Math Range 490 – 640
SAT RW Range 530 – 660