by our College Data Analytics TeamTennessee State University is a public institution in Nashville, Tennessee enrolling 4,848 undergraduates. It accepts 70% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 34%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,474 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 48%), 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.
Tennessee State University ranks #2,474 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 48%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Tennessee State University is ranked #2,474 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, Tennessee State University holds the #53 spot on the Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.
See all of the rankings for Tennessee State University.
Tennessee State University has an acceptance rate of 70%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.
About 33% of students accepted to Tennessee State University submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 460 and 540. Math scores were between 420 and 510.
Tennessee State University received ACT scores from 65% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 16 and 21.
Learn more about Tennessee State University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 13 to 1, Tennessee State University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
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 Tennessee State University is 77%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate is a measure of what percentage of first-year, full-time students come back for their sophomore year. The 34% rate at Tennessee State University is a good bit lower than the national rate of 68%. This could be for a number of reasons, such as students transferring after a year because they changed majors.
When it comes to finishing their studies on time, those seeking a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University have a four-year graduation rate of 34%. This is comparable to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Tennessee State University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 4,848 undergraduates at Tennessee State University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Tennessee State University.
The average net price of Tennessee State University 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15,005 | $15,840 | $15,579 | $20,624 | $20,099 |
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 Tennessee State University, 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 Tennessee State University, approximately 46% of students took out student loans averaging $5,984 a year. That adds up to $23,936 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 8.5%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Tennessee State University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $42,730 in their early years. This is about 13% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.
See which majors at Tennessee State University make the most money.
Tennessee State University is an public institution situated in Nashville, Tennessee. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Tennessee State University.
Get in touch with Tennessee State University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209-1561 |
| Phone: | 6159635000 |
| Website: | www.tnstate.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_State_University |
| Facebook: | on.fb.me/TSUnewsroom |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/TSUedu |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 23 majors graduated from Tennessee State University. 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 | 1,210 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 170 | $44,919 |
| General Psychology | 80 | $30,184 |
| General Biology | 65 | $31,151 |
| Public Administration | 61 | NA |
| Rehabilitation Professions | 59 | $63,153 |
| Health & Physical Education | 51 | $26,208 |
| General Agriculture | 47 | $32,281 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 44 | $28,280 |
| Other Health Professions | 43 | $30,839 |
2,766 students took at least one online class at Tennessee State University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Tennessee State University.
Interested in comparing Tennessee State University? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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