---
title: Lee University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Cleveland, TN
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Lee University

Cleveland, TN · Private nonprofit · 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 | $43,222 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $25,758 – $61,725 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,334 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 63% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $35,688 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 63% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.45× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $15,222 | derived |

**63% 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 $19,500 (≈ 45% 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 $19,292 to $53,298 across 22 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,298 | $16,750 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,085 | $24,997 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $46,254 | $25,950 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $44,217 | $34,120 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $40,233 | $36,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,093 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,045 | $29,625 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,537 | $23,750 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,450 | $24,788 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,999 | $16,668 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $32,664 | $42,100 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,791 | $27,203 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,445 | $27,000 |
| Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,666 | $25,875 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,130 | $21,535 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,091 | $27,000 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,839 | $26,725 |
| Education, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,340 | $27,750 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,006 | $22,500 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,818 | $25,500 |
| Missions/Missionary Studies and Missiology. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,106 | not reported |
| Theological and Ministerial Studies. | Master's Degree | $19,292 | not reported |

## 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 Lee University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?220613

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