2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in Tennessee
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Communication & Media Studies is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 9th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 68,079 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, communication and media studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,728 and had an average of $24,931 in loans still to pay off.
Across Tennessee, there were 1,049 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,090 and $26,922 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 943 communication and media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee” ranking analyzed 18 colleges that offered a degree in communication and media studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communication and media studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the communication and media studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee
The colleges and universities below are the best for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students.
Top 18 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communication & Media Studies in Tennessee
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga landed the #1 spot on the list. UT Chattanooga is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 113 bachelors’s communications degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Chattanooga, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga is $12,952 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, Middle Tennessee State University landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and it awarded 172 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
Middle Tennessee State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $12,464 for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students per year to attend Middle Tennessee State University.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Middle Tennessee State University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. This large school is located in Knoxville, Tennessee, and it awarded 135 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
UT Knoxville also took the #2 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $18,825 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students per year to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at UT Knoxville
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tennessee State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. This medium-sized school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 62 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
Tennessee State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Tennessee State University is $12,443 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students.
Full Tennessee State University Communication & Media Studies Report
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, East Tennessee State University landed the #5 spot on the list. ETSU is a public institution located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 82 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students list, ETSU has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend East Tennessee State University is $14,332 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at East Tennessee State University
University of Memphis landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. UofM is a large school located in Memphis, Tennessee that handed out 71 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
UofM also took the #11 spot in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Memphis is $13,248 for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students.
With a ranking of #7, The University of Tennessee - Martin did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. This medium-sized school is located in Martin, Tennessee, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
UT Martin not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Tennessee - Martin is $10,955 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at The University of Tennessee - Martin
Austin Peay State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Austin Peay State University is a public institution located in Clarksville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 96 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students list, Austin Peay State University has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Austin Peay State University is $13,692 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Austin Peay State University
Johnson University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Johnson University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Knoxville, Tennessee. It awarded 6 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
Johnson University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Johnson University is $18,915 for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Johnson University
Lee University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #10. Lee University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 24 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Lee University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $17,696 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students per year to attend Lee University.
Union University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Union is located in Jackson, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s communications degrees to qualified students.
Union also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $28,249 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students per year to attend Union University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Lane College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Lane College is a small school located in Jackson, Tennessee that handed out 17 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
Lane College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #18 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $12,966 for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students per year to attend Lane College.
King University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #13. King is a small school located in Bristol, Tennessee that handed out 11 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
King did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $22,652 for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students per year to attend King University.
Carson - Newman University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Jefferson City, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s communications degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.
Carson - Newman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $17,471 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students per year to attend Carson - Newman.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Carson - Newman University
Lipscomb University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 13 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communications students in 2019-2020.
Lipscomb did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $24,749 for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students per year to attend Lipscomb University.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Communication & Media Studies at Lipscomb University
Belmont University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #16. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s communications degrees to 39 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students list, Belmont has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $35,548 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students per year to attend Belmont.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Belmont
Milligan University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Milligan University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Milligan College, Tennessee. It awarded 7 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
Milligan also made our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #17. The estimated yearly cost for Milligan University is $19,806 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Communications students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
With a ranking of #18, Vanderbilt University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communications Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. This fairly large school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s communications degrees in 2019-2020.
Vanderbilt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Vanderbilt University is $19,432 for tennessee bachelor’s degree communications students.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Communication & Media Studies at Vanderbilt University
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland.
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