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

# Tennessee State University

Nashville, 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 | $42,730 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $25,972 – $61,975 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 34% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $25,637 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 65% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.41× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $14,730 | derived |

**34% 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 $17,500 (≈ 41% 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 $26,208 to $82,844 across 27 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $82,844 | $50,468 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $68,196 | $77,348 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $63,153 | $41,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,601 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $56,119 | $26,500 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Associate's Degree | $53,002 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,247 | $24,124 |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions. | Associate's Degree | $47,786 | $16,215 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $47,306 | $41,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,583 | $26,471 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,421 | $17,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,743 | $27,968 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $38,198 | $36,290 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,635 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,791 | $26,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,561 | $29,297 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,111 | $25,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,244 | $26,000 |
| Agriculture, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,281 | $26,751 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,151 | $27,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,977 | $27,000 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,839 | $28,750 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,757 | $29,858 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,184 | $26,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,280 | $29,250 |
| Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,266 | $28,250 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,208 | $28,000 |

## 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 Tennessee State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?221838

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