Which East Tennessee State major has the lowest debt?

Teacher Education graduates leave with a median of $15,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 29 East Tennessee State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does East Tennessee State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $10,472 a year, and $14,522 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $15,983 a year.

How many East Tennessee State programs report graduate pay?

29 bachelor's programs at East Tennessee State report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

East Tennessee State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

East Tennessee State University
Public university
Johnson City, TN
10,004 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

29 East Tennessee State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($64,459), and Fine and Studio Arts the least ($16,696). The median program pays $32,514.

In-state tuition and fees$10,472Per year. Out-of-state $14,522

Average net price after aid$15,983Per year

Graduation rate53%Within 6 years

Admission rate86%Of applicants

All 29 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Tennessee" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Tennessee. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Tennessee
1	NursingAbout 588 graduates a year	$64,459	$74,304	$25,091	23rd of 27
2	Engineering TechnologyAbout 42 graduates a year	$56,551	$73,958	$27,000	5th of 5
3	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 78 graduates a year	$52,008	$93,295	$24,669	3rd of 4
4	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 34 graduates a year	$51,316	$60,729	$15,687	2nd of 2
5	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 53 graduates a year	$48,671	Not reported	$24,568	3rd of 5
6	AccountingAbout 47 graduates a year	$44,834	$58,006	$19,250	7th of 9
7	Teacher EducationAbout 73 graduates a year	$40,276	$42,111	$15,000	9th of 15
8	FinanceAbout 44 graduates a year	$39,936	$64,300	$18,125	7th of 7
9	Public HealthAbout 17 graduates a year	$38,435	$53,377	$22,299	1st of 2
10	Political ScienceAbout 26 graduates a year	$37,594	$34,325	$23,000	3rd of 11
11	Business AdministrationAbout 126 graduates a year	$37,041	$51,918	$19,725	24th of 28
12	MarketingAbout 80 graduates a year	$35,632	$45,416	$21,819	9th of 10
13	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 26 graduates a year	$34,177	Not reported	$19,250	4th of 6
14	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 35 graduates a year	$33,301	$40,594	$20,032	1st of 2
15	Social WorkAbout 44 graduates a year	$32,514	$42,050	$23,000	8th of 11
16	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 100 graduates a year	$32,474	$41,482	$25,000	9th of 10
17	Human ServicesAbout 46 graduates a year	$32,437	$40,094	$22,150	1st of 1
18	Criminal JusticeAbout 68 graduates a year	$30,097	$43,784	$25,942	11th of 11
19	MusicAbout 27 graduates a year	$30,004	$24,436	$23,000	4th of 10
20	BiologyAbout 91 graduates a year	$28,138	$50,185	$20,625	6th of 13
21	HistoryAbout 40 graduates a year	$27,799	$42,492	$20,500	7th of 9
22	CommunicationsAbout 65 graduates a year	$27,380	$41,501	$23,250	7th of 13
23	Other Health ProfessionsAbout 80 graduates a year	$27,196	$53,532	$20,500	2nd of 2
24	PsychologyAbout 140 graduates a year	$26,403	$37,942	$17,976	20th of 21
25	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 108 graduates a year	$25,768	$46,637	$22,036	14th of 17
26	SociologyAbout 30 graduates a year	$24,468	$33,474	$18,352	7th of 8
27	EnglishAbout 36 graduates a year	$21,836	$33,670	$16,598	10th of 10
28	Graphic CommunicationsAbout 49 graduates a year	$20,802	$37,167	$24,217	1st of 1
29	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 22 graduates a year	$16,696	$26,651	$23,875	8th of 8

Program names link to the program's own page, and Tennessee ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Tennessee programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$64,459
Engineering Technology$56,551
Computer and Information Science$52,008
Dental Hygiene and Assisting$51,316
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$48,671

Lowest median debt

Teacher Education$15,000
Dental Hygiene and Assisting$15,687
English$16,598
Psychology$17,976
Finance$18,125

Largest programs

NursingAbout 588 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 140 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 126 graduates a year
Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 108 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 100 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $64,459 in their first year, the most of 29 East Tennessee State bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Tennessee rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels