Which Tennessee State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Health and Medical Administration, Political Science, and Agriculture graduates leave with a median of $27,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 18 Tennessee State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Tennessee State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $8,616 a year, and $22,416 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $15,796 a year.

How many Tennessee State programs report graduate pay?

21 bachelor's programs and one associate's program at Tennessee State report first-year pay, and 19 of them also report federal debt.

Tennessee State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Tennessee State University
Public university
Nashville, TN
4,848 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

21 Tennessee State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($65,331), and Music the least ($23,868). The median program pays $34,756. Tennessee State also has one associate's program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$8,616Per year. Out-of-state $22,416

Average net price after aid$15,796Per year

Graduation rate34%Within 6 years

Admission rate70%Of applicants

All 21 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 6 graduates a year	$65,331	$78,099	$31,000	17th of 27
2	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 13 graduates a year	$58,828	Not reported	Not reported	8th of 8
3	AccountingAbout 18 graduates a year	$53,620	$68,010	$29,250	1st of 9
4	Computer ScienceAbout 28 graduates a year	$50,628	$61,218	$27,724	8th of 9
5	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 26 graduates a year	$48,894	$63,262	Not reported	2nd of 5
6	Business AdministrationAbout 115 graduates a year	$40,077	$55,205	$30,875	18th of 28
7	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 26 graduates a year	$38,134	$54,837	$27,000	4th of 5
8	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 23 graduates a year	$37,716	$60,054	$38,562	5th of 10
9	Political ScienceAbout 14 graduates a year	$35,206	$42,765	$27,000	5th of 11
10	SociologyAbout 9 graduates a year	$34,884	Not reported	$37,500	3rd of 8
11	Teacher EducationAbout 45 graduates a year	$34,756	$45,926	$29,000	14th of 15
12	AgricultureAbout 12 graduates a year	$34,255	$43,651	$27,000	2nd of 4
13	Other Health ProfessionsAbout 42 graduates a year	$33,862	$41,776	$29,384	1st of 2
14	Family and Consumer EconomicsAbout 17 graduates a year	$32,793	$37,876	$30,099	2nd of 3
15	Criminal JusticeAbout 42 graduates a year	$32,555	$48,027	$28,001	9th of 11
16	PsychologyAbout 42 graduates a year	$30,735	$40,136	$27,500	9th of 21
17	BiologyAbout 35 graduates a year	$30,672	$40,944	$29,375	3rd of 13
18	Social WorkAbout 18 graduates a year	$29,449	$39,205	$31,500	10th of 11
19	CommunicationsAbout 51 graduates a year	$25,140	$40,921	$30,625	13th of 13
20	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 26 graduates a year	$24,722	$39,832	$31,000	15th of 17
21	MusicAbout 6 graduates a year	$23,868	Not reported	Not reported	9th of 10

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 associate's program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Tennessee" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Tennessee.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Tennessee
Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 20 graduates a year	$44,192	$63,165	$17,900	2nd of 5

Program names link to the program's own page, and Tennessee ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$65,331
Mechanical Engineering$58,828
Accounting$53,620
Computer Science$50,628
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$48,894

Lowest median debt

Health and Medical Administration$27,000
Political Science$27,000
Agriculture$27,000
Psychology$27,500
Computer Science$27,724

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 115 graduates a year
CommunicationsAbout 51 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 45 graduates a year
Other Health ProfessionsAbout 42 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 42 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $65,331 in their first year, the most of 21 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