---
title: East Tennessee State University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Johnson City, TN
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, TN · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $44,859 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $27,964 – $66,045 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,400 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 53% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $27,042 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 63% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.32× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $16,859 | derived |

**53% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $14,400 (≈ 32% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $19,138 to $105,882 across 51 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $105,882 | $237,447 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $87,648 | $59,445 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $86,704 | $44,053 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $71,980 | $87,258 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $69,704 | $61,968 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $56,673 | $20,500 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $53,417 | $194,983 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,719 | $19,558 |
| Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,039 | $27,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,234 | $23,370 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $48,748 | not reported |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,113 | $14,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $46,822 | $30,750 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $46,405 | $24,553 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $45,737 | $35,553 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,048 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $41,554 | $28,500 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $39,587 | $44,220 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,304 | $20,903 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,530 | $16,250 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,727 | not reported |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design. | Master's Degree | $36,892 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $36,106 | $34,650 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,285 | $17,739 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,928 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,854 | $15,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,833 | $18,500 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,818 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,758 | $20,500 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $31,722 | $27,245 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,864 | $22,299 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,351 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,150 | $20,000 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,196 | $18,250 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,582 | $23,250 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,312 | $21,500 |
| Human Services, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,569 | $20,875 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,544 | $19,500 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,418 | $17,750 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,159 | $21,274 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,961 | $21,928 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,938 | $21,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,806 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,571 | $19,625 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,772 | $16,387 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,920 | $20,500 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,614 | $23,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,044 | $22,000 |
| Graphic Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,656 | $22,250 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,434 | $17,022 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,138 | $17,495 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore East Tennessee State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?220075

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/east-tennessee-state-university-tn.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`