University of Tennessee Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
- Public university
- Knoxville, TN
- About 143 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Tennessee mechanical engineering graduates earn less than graduates of most mechanical engineering programs nationally, $65,756 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,250 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,730. Several Tennessee programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Tennessee and national columns are the medians across all mechanical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Tennessee graduates earn about the national figure and about $2,730 more than the Tennessee median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee mechanical engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Tennessee medians.
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 38% between the first and fifth year.
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 slightly more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $246 a month, or 4.5% 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. Separately, 35 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $30,440.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
70% of graduates (129 of 183) were working in Tennessee one year after graduating. Prices in the Knoxville area are about 7% below the national average, so a $65,756 salary here buys what about $71,035 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 mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Mechanical Engineers
$99,550Median pay in Tennessee. 3,930 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Cost Estimators
$75,650Median pay in Tennessee. 4,340 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$161,430Median pay in Tennessee. 3,600 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Aerospace Engineers
$128,510Median pay in Tennessee. 610 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About University of Tennessee
Mechanical Engineering ranks 7th of 55 bachelor's programs at University of Tennessee by first-year earnings. The top three are Chemical Engineering ($76,302), Electrical Engineering ($75,316), and Computer Engineering ($74,085).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $65,756 one year after graduating and $90,860 five years after. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Tennessee is $67,121.
The median federal loan balance is $23,250, which ranks 3rd lowest of 7 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Tennessee. That works out to about $246 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 35% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%. Compare the cost with other Tennessee programs before deciding.
Most do. 70% (129 of 183) were working in Tennessee one year after graduating.
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 mechanical engineering 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