A Complete Guide to Colleges in Tennessee

10 Popular Schools in Tennessee

We've spotlighted 10 notable and popular schools in Tennessee to help you start your search.

All school data below comes from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Tuition and fees are from 2022-2023, while acceptance rates, enrollment statistics, net prices, and number of applicants are from 2021.

• 1. Vanderbilt University

  
  

  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $60,348
  • Acceptance Rate: 7%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 13,796

  Tennessee's "Southern Ivy," Vanderbilt is a highly competitive, private research university located in Nashville.

  The school promises to meet 100% of students' demonstrated financial need. Its Student Critical Support Fund covers medical expenses and certain unexpected events that would cause students financial hardship.

  If you wish to pursue a BA and an MA at Vanderbilt, you can do so through the 4+1 Program, which allows you to earn both degrees in just five years.

Image credit: Douglas Sacha / Moment / Getty Images

• 2. University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  
  

  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $13,244 (in-state) | $31,664 (out-of-state)
  • Acceptance Rate: 75%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 31,701

  Ninety-one percent of beginning undergraduates at UT Knoxville receive grants or scholarships. Located near downtown Knoxville, the public university's campus spans over 900 acres along the Tennessee River.

  UT Knoxville has an active and welcoming student body with many traditions —including an impressive color-coordinated football game stunt.

  You can find many research opportunities at UT Knoxville, especially with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The university is particularly known for its supply chain management, nuclear engineering, printmaking, and accounting programs.

Image credit: photohoo / E+ / Getty Images

• 3. University of Memphis

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $10,056 (in-state) | $14,280 (out-of-state)
  • Acceptance Rate: 95%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 21,622

  Memphis is the largest city in Tennessee and is known for its music scene and recent buzz with startups. Students at UofM benefit from the city's creative culture and access to Fortune 500 companies.

  One of UofM's claims to fame is that it's had the lowest tuition and fee increases in Tennessee for the past five years.

  The school's Access Memphis program provides a locked-in tuition plan for eight semesters, no additional charge for credit loads above 12 hours, and a last-dollar scholarship to fill gaps in financial aid.




Explore Featured Online Programs

• 4. Belmont University

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $39,850
  • Acceptance Rate: 88%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 8,696

  If you're interested in the music industry, Belmont should top your list. A private Christian university in Nashville, Belmont hosts over 500 student performances annually.

  The school's academic programs largely reflect Nashville's music industry. Music business is the most popular major, followed by audio engineering technology, commercial music, songwriting, and creative and entertainment industries.

  The student loan repayment rate for Belmont graduates is nearly 98%, and the university awards both merit-based and need-based financial aid.

• 5. Tennessee Technological University

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $9,802 (in-state) | $19,834 (out-of-state)
  • Acceptance Rate: 79%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 9,840

  Do you happen to be a kazoo enthusiast? Then Tennessee Tech may be the school for you. Its annual homecoming parade features a kazoo band — and that's just one of the university's many unique and lively traditions.

  Located in the small town of Cookeville, Tennessee Tech is known for its technical programs like mechanical engineering, computer science, exercise science, and civil engineering.

  Incoming first-year students can apply for guaranteed scholarships of up to $10,000 annually.

• 6. Rhodes College

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $52,310
  • Acceptance Rate: 57%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 2,073

  Just across the street from the Memphis Zoo sits Rhodes, a private liberal arts college. The school is known for its beautiful historical campus, with gothic architecture and 120 species of trees.

  Rhodes offers over 50 majors, and 58% of students receive need-based financial aid.

  An impressive 75% of Rhodes students also study abroad or at off-campus sites. Along with participating in semester-long and yearlong programs, students can join faculty-led summer programs abroad with their peers.

• 7. East Tennessee State University

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $9,674 (in-state) | $13,484 (out-of-state)
  • Acceptance Rate: 87%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 13,303

  If you love adventure and getting outside, consider ETSU. Its main campus is in Johnson City, home to historical state parks, lakes, mountains, and trails. ETSU also has a U.S. Olympic training site for canoeing, kayaking, weightlifting, bobsledding, luge, and skeleton events.

  In 2022, ETSU awarded students over $20 million in financial aid — and just under half of students graduate from ETSU without any debt.

  The university offers several unique majors, including bluegrass music, survey and mapping science, and Appalachian studies.

• 8. Middle Tennessee State University

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $9,232 (in-state) | $28,264 (out-of-state)
  • Acceptance Rate: 68%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 21,568

  MTSU is a public university in Murfreesboro, a small historical town near Nashville. The university prides itself on its industry-focused, ready-to-work programs in concrete management, the recording industry, and aerospace.

  In 2021, 97% of beginning undergraduates received grants or scholarships. MTSU offers a big array of scholarships students can apply for annually.

  MTSU is particularly known for its aerospace programs. You can choose from among six concentrations: aviation management, aerospace technology, flight dispatch, maintenance management, professional pilot, and unmanned aircraft systems operations.

• 9. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $9,848 (in-state) | $25,966 (out-of-state)
  • Acceptance Rate: 86%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 11,457

  UTC is a midsized public university based near the Tennessee River and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

  A whopping 96% of beginning undergraduates receive grants or scholarships. Students can also apply for the UT Promise program, which guarantees free tuition by filling gaps in financial aid for qualifying Tennessee residents.

  UTC is known for its business program and kinesiology and exercise science program. Other popular majors include biology, nursing, communication, and psychology.

• 10. Fisk University

  
  
  • Avg. Undergraduate Tuition & Fees: $23,578
  • Acceptance Rate: 61%
  • Total Student Enrollment: 942

  Fisk is a private historically Black university (HBCU) and the oldest college in Nashville. Most students here major in biology, business, psychology, music, and political science.

  Fisk's student and campus culture focuses on personal growth, community engagement, and leadership development. The university boasts an active study body and has many student-led organizations, including Greek life and the famous Jubilee Singers.

  For graduate students, Fisk partners with Vanderbilt for bridge masters-to-Ph.D. programs in science subjects like physics, chemistry, and biology.

List of All Tennessee Colleges

Below is an exhaustive table of all four-year nonprofit schools in Tennessee. You can view specific colleges and compare information on student population, average net cost, acceptance rate, and number of applicants.

Source: NCES

Frequently Asked Questions About Colleges in Tennessee

What is the No. 1 college in Tennessee?

The most prestigious college in Tennessee is arguably Vanderbilt University. The school is considered a "Southern Ivy" — meaning it's academically on par with Ivy League institutions like Harvard and Brown — and had just a 7% acceptance rate in fall 2021, according to NCES.

Graduates of Vanderbilt typically have a high salary potential and employment rate.

Do I qualify for in-state tuition in Tennessee?

Residency guidelines vary by university in Tennessee. Generally, if you and/or your parents or guardians are permanent residents of Tennessee, you'll qualify for in-state tuition.

Some colleges, like Middle Tennessee State University, offer an out-of-state fee waiver for students who are working full time and taking part-time classes for at least two semesters.

UT Knoxville does not offer students from border states in-state tuition, while East Tennessee State University does. Students from a border state who attend UTC can qualify for a special border state rate.

What is the cheapest college in Tennessee?

According to NCES, one of the cheapest four-year colleges in Tennessee is LeMoyne-Owen College, a small private HBCU with an average annual net price of around $6,000. UT Martin also has a lower tuition cost, with an average annual net price of $11,650.

What is the cost of living in Tennessee?

Tennessee has a relatively low cost of living that increases the closer you get to big cities like Nashville. According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Tennessee is among the 10 most affordable states in the U.S.

SoFi reports the average cost of living in Tennessee is just over $42,000 per year.

Explore More Local Colleges