Is a liberal arts and general studies degree from Tennessee State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 102% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other Tennessee programs before deciding.

Tennessee State Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Tennessee State liberal arts and general studies graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $38,562, which ranks 8th lowest of 9 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Tennessee. That works out to about $409 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Public university
Nashville, TN
About 23 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Tennessee State liberal arts and general studies graduates earn about what liberal arts and general studies graduates earn nationally, $37,716 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $38,562 in federal loans, more than at 94% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. Several Tennessee programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$37,71658th percentile of 395 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$60,05459% more than year one

Median federal debt$38,5628th lowest of 9 Tennessee programs

Debt-to-earnings102%Tennessee median 76%, national 73%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Tennessee and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Tennessee State	Tennessee	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,716	$37,437	$36,157
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$60,054	$47,032	$48,575
Median federal debt at graduation	$38,562	$28,979	$27,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	102%	76%	73%
Programs compared		10	395

Five years out, Tennessee State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $13,022 more than the Tennessee median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee liberal arts and general studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Tennessee medians.

Tennessee StateOther Tennessee programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 59% between the first and fifth year.

Tennessee State grads, year 1$37,716

Tennessee State grads, year 5$60,054

All Tennessee liberal arts and general studies grads, year 5$47,032

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $409 a month, or 13.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (31 borrowers)	Share
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–39%

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Nashville area are about 4% below the national average, so a $37,716 salary here buys what about $39,150 buys in a typical US city.

About Tennessee State

In-state tuition and fees	$8,616 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$22,416 / year
Average net price after aid	$15,796 / year
Admission rate	70%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	34%
Undergraduate students	4,848

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 8th of 21 bachelor's programs at Tennessee State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($65,331), Mechanical Engineering ($58,828), and Accounting ($53,620).

Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near Nashville

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Tennessee StateNashville, TN · public		$37,716	$38,562
Belmont UniversityNashville, TN · private nonprofit	3 mi	$41,245	$29,438
Cumberland UniversityLebanon, TN · private nonprofit	30 mi	$23,264	$28,476
Middle Tennessee StateMurfreesboro, TN · public	34 mi	$45,074	$29,723
Austin PeayClarksville, TN · public	39 mi	$35,745	$27,128

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,716 one year after graduating and $60,054 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Tennessee is $37,437.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
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 comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the liberal arts and general studies program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Liberal Arts and General Studies bachelor's programs in Tennessee, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies bachelor's programs in the US, ranked395 programs by pay and debt All Tennessee State programs, ranked22 programs by pay and debt