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

# Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, 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 | $48,541 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $30,810 – $69,704 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,093 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 54% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $24,289 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 71% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.29× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $20,541 | derived |

**54% 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 $14,093 (≈ 29% 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 $19,222 to $88,408 across 67 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $88,408 | $39,834 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Master's Degree | $71,903 | $20,750 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $68,709 | $27,500 |
| Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,935 | $19,125 |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,220 | $17,000 |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,628 | $19,402 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $57,896 | $20,500 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,662 | $21,198 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,209 | $25,696 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Master's Degree | $53,270 | $37,889 |
| Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,929 | $26,274 |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other. | Master's Degree | $50,963 | $24,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Master's Degree | $49,120 | $31,136 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,892 | $19,500 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $47,635 | $25,881 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,565 | $21,506 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $46,286 | $21,883 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,271 | $21,250 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $44,024 | $31,145 |
| Air Transportation. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,750 | $20,500 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $42,760 | $20,374 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,732 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $39,531 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $39,500 | $39,750 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,486 | $17,897 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,176 | $17,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,847 | $20,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,691 | $14,000 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,333 | not reported |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,088 | $19,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,993 | $23,044 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,527 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,437 | not reported |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,515 | not reported |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,383 | $23,250 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,549 | $19,875 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,407 | $22,000 |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,251 | not reported |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,095 | $25,789 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,628 | not reported |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,475 | $20,802 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,470 | $19,750 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,251 | $17,500 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $30,919 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,711 | $20,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,676 | $19,574 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,663 | $18,344 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,593 | $25,500 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,416 | $20,083 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,785 | $19,940 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,391 | $27,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,367 | $15,097 |
| Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,099 | $23,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,742 | $22,795 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,150 | $21,500 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,953 | not reported |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,837 | $15,716 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,637 | $18,166 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,465 | $18,578 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,266 | $18,904 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,896 | $16,133 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,960 | $21,000 |
| History. | Master's Degree | $24,945 | not reported |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,501 | $17,626 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,451 | $20,500 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,173 | $21,507 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,222 | $17,875 |

## 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 Middle Tennessee State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?220978

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