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

# The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Knoxville, 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 | $60,249 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $39,008 – $88,456 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $16,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 74% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $33,678 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 76% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.27× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $32,249 | derived |

**74% 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 $16,000 (≈ 27% 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 $16,553 to $101,446 across 74 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $101,446 | $40,816 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Master's Degree | $99,284 | $31,248 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $98,080 | $61,500 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $84,024 | $31,504 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,052 | $21,500 |
| Education, General. | Doctoral Degree | $69,723 | $61,500 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,868 | $21,565 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,618 | $26,000 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,418 | $17,066 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,222 | $23,250 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $63,642 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $62,837 | $20,500 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,677 | $21,000 |
| Soil Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,798 | $22,798 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $54,708 | $61,500 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,186 | $25,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,030 | $19,500 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,150 | $24,812 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,711 | $21,295 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,956 | $12,500 |
| Nuclear Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,780 | $22,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,816 | $20,500 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,575 | $20,500 |
| Business/Managerial Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,337 | $23,847 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $46,972 | not reported |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,245 | $31,000 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,182 | $22,200 |
| Public Policy Analysis. | Master's Degree | $45,029 | not reported |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Master's Degree | $43,598 | not reported |
| Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,988 | $18,500 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $42,866 | $18,950 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $42,123 | $20,500 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,633 | $19,248 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $40,792 | $16,430 |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,500 | $20,248 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $40,130 | $35,963 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $39,989 | $39,967 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $39,480 | $41,000 |
| Social Work. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $38,517 | $41,000 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,452 | not reported |
| Food Science and Technology. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,091 | $20,632 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,789 | $24,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,158 | $20,750 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,105 | $21,500 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,884 | $21,119 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,756 | $25,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $35,321 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,138 | $19,611 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $34,413 | $36,269 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,786 | $25,000 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,676 | $20,500 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $32,313 | $34,623 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,266 | $25,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,132 | $19,500 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,325 | $20,612 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,848 | $23,331 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,095 | $21,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,920 | $20,500 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,766 | $22,750 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,367 | $20,157 |
| Forestry. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,822 | $25,548 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,639 | $23,500 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,600 | $19,500 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,959 | $19,500 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,669 | $20,265 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,106 | $21,832 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,843 | $25,877 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,805 | $21,278 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,635 | $26,949 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,567 | $15,750 |
| Agricultural Public Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,464 | $19,500 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,206 | $22,078 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,769 | not reported |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $16,553 | $24,914 |

## 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-Knoxville by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?221759

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