Coastal Carolina University offers baccalaureate degrees in 39 major fields of study and 36 undergraduate minors. The University also offers master's degree programs in business administration, education, and coastal marine and wetland studies, making it a smart choice among colleges in the south. Coastal Carolina University's many international partnerships make it possible for students to study in places such as Australia, Costa Rica, England, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Germany, India, Japan, Russia and Spain.

Coastal comprises 52 main buildings on 302 acres including the Burroughs & Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies and the Coastal Science Center, located on the East Campus at the Atlantic Center on Highway 501. The South Carolina liberal arts college also offers courses at the Coastal Carolina University Higher Education Center in Myrtle Beach, the Waccamaw Center for Higher Education in Litchfield and a site in Georgetown. Waties Island, 1,062 acres of pristine barrier island on the Atlantic coast, provides a natural laboratory for extensive study in marine science and wetlands biology. Students enrolled in Coastal's Professional Golf Management program staff Quail Creek Golf Club at Coastal Carolina University, a public 18-hole golf facility located adjacent to the campus.