Colleges in Tennessee: cost, admission and results

"Not reported" means the Department of Education has no figure, often because the college is small, new, or does not take first-time students. Medians are the middle value of the colleges listed here.

The colleges of Tennessee in brief

Of the 68 colleges listed for Tennessee, 24 are public, 38 are private nonprofit and 6 are private for-profit. By level, 45 mainly award bachelor's degrees, 18 mainly award two-year associate degrees and 5 mainly award graduate degrees. Together they teach about 224,922 undergraduates, 71% of them at public colleges. The three largest, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University and University of Memphis, hold 26% of the total, and the middle-sized college has 1,810 undergraduates. The towns with the most colleges are Nashville (13), Memphis (10) and Chattanooga (4).

What college costs in Tennessee

At the public colleges, the median published tuition and fees are $5,217 a year for students from Tennessee and $8,682 for students from elsewhere. At the private nonprofit colleges the median is $27,374. Published prices are not what most families pay. Counting colleges with at least 300 undergraduates, the lowest average net price after grants is at Roane State Community College ($1,635) and Southwest Tennessee Community College ($5,091) and the highest at Fisk University ($37,143) and Belmont University ($32,648). The median net price across the state, $15,965, is 8% below the national median of $17,357.

Getting in

38 of the 68 colleges report an admission rate. The hardest to get into are Vanderbilt University (5.9% admitted), Visible Music College (28% admitted) and Fisk University (37% admitted). 19 of them admit at least seven applicants in ten. 23 colleges have an open admission policy and report no rate: they do not turn applicants away on grades or test scores.

Finishing and earning

Among colleges with at least 300 undergraduates, the highest share of students finishing their course is at Vanderbilt University (93%), Rhodes College (81%) and The University of the South (79%). The median graduation rate of the state's colleges is 46%, against 49% for the country. Ten years after starting, former students with federal aid earn the most at Vanderbilt University ($99,080), Rhodes College ($79,506) and The University of Tennessee Health Science Center ($77,971). The state median for that measure is $48,641, 8% below the national $53,132. Students who finish leave with a median federal loan debt of $19,567 (national median $19,994). Earnings follow the subjects a college teaches as much as its quality, so compare like with like.

Questions about colleges in Tennessee

Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education, data released on 2 November 2026; checked in November 2026. Net price, debt and earnings describe students who received US federal aid. Costs change each year. This is official data for general information, not advice: confirm costs and admission rules on the college's own website and at collegescorecard.ed.gov.

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