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Tennessee State University Comprehensive Profile

2 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
70% Acceptance Rate

Get the facts about Tennessee State University. Learn how it ranks, what majors it offers, how diverse it is, and much more.

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* Rankings

How Does Tennessee State University Stack Up?

#2,340 Best Colleges in Nation
#46 Best Colleges in TN
Tennessee State University ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

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 was awarded 2 badges in the 2026 rankings.

National Standing

According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, Tennessee State University is ranked #2,340 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.

Tennessee State University is also ranked #46 on the Best Colleges in Tennessee list.

See all of the rankings for Tennessee State University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Tennessee State University?

70% Acceptance Rate
72% Of Accepted Are Women
33% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

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.

Standardized Test Scores

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.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Tennessee State University  ( 460 to 540 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Tennessee State University  ( 420 to 510 )
200
800

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.

ACT Composite Scores for Tennessee State University  ( 16 to 21 )
1
36

Learn more about Tennessee State University admissions.

Instructors at Tennessee State University

13 to 1 Student to Faculty
71% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

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.

Full-Time Faculty Share

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 71%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  71 out of 100
0
100

Academic Performance at Tennessee State University

60% Freshmen Retention
33% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At Tennessee State University this rate is 60%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  60 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

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 33%. This is comparable to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  33 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Tennessee State University.

Undergraduate Diversity at Tennessee State University

6,498 Undergraduate Students
89.1% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
65.1% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 6,498 undergraduates at Tennessee State University.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Tennessee State University.

Cost of Attending Tennessee State University

$16,772 Net Price
46% Take Out Loans
$23,936 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Tennessee State University is $16,772. 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.### Net Price by Income Group for Tennessee State University

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$9,239 $9,436 $11,079 $16,738 $16,378

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.

Student Debt

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.

How Much Money Do Tennessee State University Graduates Make?

$42,730 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

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.

Location of Tennessee State University

Tennessee State
6,498 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

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.

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
Facebook: on.fb.me/TSUnewsroom
Twitter: twitter.com/TSUedu

Tennessee State University Areas of Study

23 Majors With Completions
2,472 Undergraduate Degrees

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 1,236 NA
Business Administration & Management 162 $43,989
Educational Administration 120 NA
General Psychology 70 $30,184
Rehabilitation Professions 59 $63,153
General Biology 58 $31,151
General Agriculture 56 $32,281
Other Health Professions 49 $30,839
Criminal Justice & Corrections 46 $30,977
Health & Physical Education 40 $26,208

Learn more about the majors offered at Tennessee State University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Study Options at Tennessee State University

43% Take At Least One Class Online
3% Take All Classes Online

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.

2,766 students took at least one online class at Tennessee State University.

Learn more about online learning at Tennessee State University.

Comparable CollegesInterested in comparing Tennessee State University? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

References and Footnotes

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

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