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

# The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

Chattanooga, 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 | $51,151 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $33,200 – $74,361 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $6,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 50% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $25,489 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 68% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.23× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $23,151 | derived |

**50% 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 $12,000 (≈ 24% 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 $23,503 to $146,119 across 37 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $146,119 | $61,063 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $96,465 | not reported |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Master's Degree | $81,784 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $74,736 | $29,420 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $68,269 | $74,500 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,245 | $23,000 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,427 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,841 | $20,841 |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,446 | $24,570 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $57,421 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,404 | $18,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,069 | $18,740 |
| Engineering, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,615 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,241 | $21,975 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,039 | $25,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $43,667 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,220 | $21,207 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $40,956 | $37,675 |
| Psychology, General. | Master's Degree | $40,600 | $28,500 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $35,698 | $37,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,102 | $21,250 |
| Legal Support Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,635 | not reported |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,709 | $21,250 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,562 | $20,147 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,720 | $17,500 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,306 | $18,894 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,951 | $18,214 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,012 | $24,145 |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,590 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,326 | $18,108 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,316 | $24,499 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,731 | $18,968 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,103 | $19,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,300 | $18,500 |
| Social Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,299 | $20,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,558 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,503 | 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 The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?221740

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