by our College Data Analytics TeamThe University of the South is a private not-for-profit institution in Sewanee, Tennessee enrolling 1,607 undergraduates. It accepts 57% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 80%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #323 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 6%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
The University of the South ranks #323 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 6%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
The University of the South was awarded 119 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked The University of the South as #323 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
The University of the South is also ranked #7 on the Best Colleges in Tennessee list.
See all of the rankings for The University of the South.
The acceptance rate at The University of the South is a competitive 57%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.
About 17% of students accepted to The University of the South submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 640 and 710. Math scores were between 620 and 680.
The University of the South received ACT scores from 37% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 27 and 31.
Learn more about The University of the South admissions.
At The University of the South, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 9 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at The University of the South is 89%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The University of the South has a freshmen retention rate of 89%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at The University of the South for first-time, full-time students is 80%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at The University of the South.
In the current academic year, there are 1,607 undergraduates at The University of the South.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at The University of the South.
The overall average net price of The University of the South is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,485 | $10,704 | $17,746 | $22,563 | $38,762 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of The University of the South, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At The University of the South, approximately 34% of students took out student loans averaging $5,985 a year. That adds up to $23,940 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for The University of the South.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from The University of the South with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $64,911 in their early years. That’s great news for The University of the South students since it is 32% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at The University of the South make the most money.
The University of the South is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Sewanee, Tennessee. Students who love country life may enjoy the rural location of The University of the South. Get more details about the location of The University of the South.
Contact details for The University of the South are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 735 University Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383-1000 |
| Phone: | 9315981000 |
| Website: | www.sewanee.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewanee:_The_University_of_the_South |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/sewanee |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/univofthesouth |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 17 majors graduated from The University of the South. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 548 | NA |
| Economics | 67 | $50,532 |
| Political Science & Government | 43 | $38,235 |
| General Biology | 40 | NA |
| General Psychology | 37 | $31,230 |
| Literature | 35 | NA |
| Theological & Ministerial Studies | 31 | $71,807 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 28 | NA |
| Neurobiology & Neurosciences | 27 | NA |
| Natural Resources Conservation | 26 | NA |
Interested in comparing The University of the South? Match them up using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References