Columbus State opened in 1958 inside a converted hosiery mill. Today it has two very different homes: a wooded main campus built on a former dairy farm, and an arts campus in restored industrial buildings along the Chattahoochee in Uptown Columbus. It also runs some unexpected places, among them a space science center holding Apollo-era artifacts, Carson McCullers' childhood home, and Pasaquan, a folk artist's painted compound in rural Marion County.
About this site
Columbus State University is a college & university in Columbus, Muscogee County. It is one of 248 historic sites cataloged in Muscogee County on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 32.4859, -84.9603 near Columbus. The nearest cataloged historic site is “Wildwood” (historical marker), about 0.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include St. Elmo, He Helped Bring And Keep Fort Benning, and Dismukes, Robert E., Sr., House.
This record is drawn from Georgia Roam. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
What makes Columbus State University different
Its first classroom was a factory: in 1958 Columbus College opened in the renovated Shannon Hosiery Mill on Talbotton Road, with almost 300 students. columbusstate.edu
The main campus, first occupied in 1963, was built on a former dairy farm. columbusstate.edu
The Schwob School of Music went All-Steinway in 2008. It now has more than 70 Steinway pianos, and its 450-seat Legacy Hall holds the G. Gunby Jordan pipe organ. columbusstate.edu
The university's Coca-Cola Space Science Center, open since 1996, has more than 300 NASA artifacts. Among them are items flown by Apollo 15 commander David Scott, one of the 12 people who have walked on the Moon. news.columbusstate.edu
Columbus State helped restore Pasaquan and now operates it. The 7-acre painted compound near Buena Vista was built by folk artist Eddie Owens Martin, who called himself St. EOM, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. en.wikipedia.org
The university runs the Carson McCullers Center in the novelist's Columbus childhood home, and it also owns her later house in Nyack, New York. en.wikipedia.org
Cougar men's golf has won six NCAA Division II national titles, and the baseball team won the Division II championship in 2002. en.wikipedia.org
The Columbus Chamber of Commerce first pushed for a local junior college in 1949, and local residents raised money to buy land for it. Columbus College finally opened in 1958. Its campus wasn't ready yet, so the first classes met in the renovated Shannon Hosiery Mill on Talbotton Road, where 14 faculty members taught almost 300 students. In 1963 the college moved to a new campus built on a former dairy farm in MidTown. The Board of Regents approved four-year status in 1965, and the first bachelor's degrees were awarded in 1970. Founding president Thomas Y. Whitley, who led the school until 1979, admitted its first Black student in 1963. In 1970 he retired the Confederate-themed mascot and brought in the cougar.
The college grew quickly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, adding a science building and the Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center. In 1996 it became Columbus State University, the same year the Coca-Cola Space Science Center opened downtown. A second campus began in 2001, when the Schwob School of Music moved into the new RiverCenter for the Performing Arts. The art and theatre departments followed in 2007 to RiverPark, a campus built from restored 19th- and early-20th-century buildings near the river. In 2016 the College of Education and Health Professions moved into the renovated 1931 building that once housed the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.
Columbus State is part of the University System of Georgia and offers more than 90 degree programs. Stuart Rayfield became its sixth president in 2023.
#189 among master's universities (national list) — Washington Monthly, 2025source
#96 in 'Best Colleges for Your Tuition and Tax Dollars' – Southeast — Washington Monthly, 2026source
Majors & programs
Columbus State offers more than 90 degree programs, from associate to doctoral level, in four colleges. Arts students are based on the downtown RiverPark campus, and most other programs are on the main campus. The university's official list has the full catalog.
Known for
Music (Schwob School of Music)
An All-Steinway school since 2008. Students perform in Legacy Hall and in the 2,000-seat Bill Heard Theatre inside the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.
Known for
Cybersecurity and Computer Science
The TSYS School of Computer Science is designated by the NSA as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education. It offers cybersecurity at bachelor's and master's level.
Known for
Robotics Engineering
Offered as a B.S., an M.S. and an accelerated combined B.S./M.S. program, with hands-on lab and field work.
Known for
Earth and Space Science
It includes an astrophysics and planetary geology track, and the university's Coca-Cola Space Science Center and its WestRock Observatory are used for training.
Known for
Art and Theatre
Both are nationally accredited, and both are taught in the restored buildings of the RiverPark campus, home to the Bo Bartlett Center gallery.
All degree programs at Columbus State University (4)
College of the Arts
Majors include Music Performance and Music Education (Schwob School of Music), Art and Art Education, Theatre and Theatre Education, and Communication
College of Education and Health Professions
Majors include Elementary, Special and Secondary Education, Nursing (BSN and MSN, including family nurse practitioner), Health Science and Kinesiology; the Ed.D. in Curriculum and Leadership
College of Letters and Sciences
Majors include Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Robotics Engineering, Mathematics, History, English, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Criminal Justice
Turner College of Business and Technology
Majors include Accounting, Finance, Management, Marketing, Management Information Systems, Computer Science, Cybersecurity and Information Technology; the MBA
Joni Ernst — U.S. Senator from Iowa (Master of Public Administration, 1995) en.wikipedia.org
Bob the Drag Queen — winner of season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race (studied theater; attended) en.wikipedia.org
Rick Lowe — MacArthur Fellow and founder of Houston's Project Row Houses (attended Columbus College) en.wikipedia.org
Roderick Cox — orchestra conductor (studied at the Schwob School of Music) en.wikipedia.org
John Clarence Stewart — actor in 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' (BFA in Performance Theater, 2009) en.wikipedia.org
Jontavious Willis — Grammy-nominated country blues musician (studied sociology and anthropology) en.wikipedia.org
Mark Immelman — golf broadcaster; three-time All-American and part of national title teams as a Cougar, later the school's golf coach en.wikipedia.org
Josh Pate — college football analyst and podcast host (B.A.) en.wikipedia.org
Athletics: Columbus State Cougars
NCAA Division II · Peach Belt Conference
BaseballBasketballCheerleadingCross countryGolfSoccer (women)SoftballTennisTrack & field
NCAA Division II baseball national champions, 2002 (the team won five straight games after an opening loss) en.wikipedia.org
Six NCAA Division II men's golf national championships (1978, 1980, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1997) en.wikipedia.org
Baseball: eight Division II College World Series trips, runner-up in 1986, 2007 and 2018 csucougars.com
Women's soccer reached the NCAA Division II national semifinals in 2022 youtube.com
Home venues: Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center (basketball) · Ragsdale Field at Burger King Stadium (baseball) · Cougar Field (softball) · Walden Soccer Complex · John W. Walden Tennis Center
Pasaquan at Columbus State University · Columbus State UniversityAppreciating art at the Bo Bartlett Center in Columbus · WTVM News Leader 9CSU Women's Soccer heads to the NCAA DII Final Four in Seattle · Columbus State UniversityCSU year-long Hallock Military History Lecture Series · WRBL News 3Columbus State University breaks ground on Key Golf Studio · WRBL News 3
The Columbus State Cougars compete in NCAA Division II as members of the Peach Belt Conference.
What is Columbus State University known for?
Its Schwob School of Music and arts programs on the downtown RiverPark campus, plus education, nursing, business and cybersecurity. It also runs the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, and its golf and baseball teams have won Division II national titles.
How big is Columbus State University?
It had 7,913 students in Fall 2024 (6,123 undergraduates), according to the U.S. Department of Education. The main campus covers 132 acres, and there is a second campus downtown.
Has Columbus State won national championships?
Yes. It won the NCAA Division II baseball title in 2002 and six Division II men's golf titles, the most recent in 1997.
Is Columbus State a good school for music?
Music is one of its best-known programs. The Schwob School of Music has been All-Steinway since 2008, and it performs in the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, which includes the 450-seat Legacy Hall with a large pipe organ.
Can the public visit the Coca-Cola Space Science Center?
Yes. The university's space science center at 701 Front Ave. in Uptown Columbus is open to the public, with exhibits, a planetarium and observatory programs. Check ccssc.org for current hours.
Where is Columbus State University?
In Columbus, Georgia. The main campus is off University Avenue near I-185, and the RiverPark arts campus is downtown along Broadway near the Chattahoochee River.
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