University of Memphis Finance (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Finance and Financial Management Services
  • Public university
  • Memphis, TN
  • About 100 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

University of Memphis finance graduates earn less than graduates of most finance programs nationally, $44,395 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 82% of finance programs in the country. Several Tennessee programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$44,39512th percentile of 407 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$63,37743% more than year one
Median federal debt$27,0007th lowest of 7 Tennessee programs
Debt-to-earnings61%Tennessee median 45%, national 44%

How it compares

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

Five years out, University of Memphis graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Tennessee median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee finance program

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

University of MemphisOther 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 43% between the first and fifth year.

University of Memphis grads, year 1$44,395
University of Memphis grads, year 5$63,377
All Tennessee finance grads, year 5$63,230

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

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $28,020 against $20,500.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$44,494Median debt $28,020
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$34,942Median debt $20,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 7.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

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

78% of graduates (70 of 90) were working in Tennessee one year after graduating. Prices in the Memphis area are about 8% below the national average, so a $44,395 salary here buys what about $48,162 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to finance, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$106,970

Median pay in Tennessee. 63,720 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $50,820Top 10%: $230,660

Financial Managers

$141,010

Median pay in Tennessee. 17,630 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $83,080Top 10%: $288,750

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents

$58,050

Median pay in Tennessee. 11,370 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 35,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,980Top 10%: $145,230

Financial and Investment Analysts

$92,990

Median pay in Tennessee. 4,910 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,130Top 10%: $140,870

About University of Memphis

Finance ranks 14th of 40 bachelor's programs at University of Memphis by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($73,680), Electrical Engineering ($71,137), and Mechanical Engineering ($69,386).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $44,395 one year after graduating and $63,377 five years after. The median across finance bachelor's programs in Tennessee is $45,325.

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 finance program.

Sources

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

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