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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

10 Ranked Colleges
1,840 Degrees Awarded
$10,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

With 200,458 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, engineering is the 6th most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,888 and had an average of $23,564 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 2,473 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,840 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent engineering 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 engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Vanderbilt University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k. Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 260 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Vanderbilt has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Vanderbilt is $3,156 for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. 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%. 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 Engineering at Vanderbilt University

#2

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Middle Tennessee State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Middle Tennessee State University is a large public school situated in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It awarded 60 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Middle Tennessee State University also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Middle Tennessee State University is $8,919 for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Middle Tennessee State University Engineering Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k. UT Knoxville is a public institution located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 617 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $10,224 for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UT Knoxville.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering at UT Knoxville

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga landed the #4 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it awarded 185 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Chattanooga not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend UT Chattanooga is $8,108 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Engineering at UT Chattanooga

#5

Tennessee Technological University

Cookeville, Tennessee
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Tennessee Technological University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Cookeville, Tennessee, this fairly large public school awarded 353 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

Tennessee Tech University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Tennessee Tech University is $11,641 for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at Tennessee Tech University

#6

Christian Brothers University

Memphis, Tennessee
#7 in overall quality

Christian Brothers University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. This small school is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Christian Brothers did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $9,496 for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Christian Brothers University.

Read full report on Engineering at Christian Brothers University

#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, The University of Tennessee - Martin did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Martin, Tennessee, this medium-sized public school awarded 37 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

UT Martin also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $7,524 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend The University of Tennessee - Martin.

Read more about Engineering at The University of Tennessee - Martin

#8

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of Memphis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. UofM is a public institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 156 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UofM also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $10,256 for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Memphis.

Full UofM Engineering Report

#9

Tennessee State University

Nashville, Tennessee
#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Tennessee State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Tennessee State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 48 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Tennessee State University also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $11,015 for tennessee bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Tennessee State University.

Read more about Engineering at Tennessee State University

#10

Lipscomb University

Nashville, Tennessee
#6 in overall quality

Lipscomb University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Lipscomb is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 46 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Lipscomb also took the #6 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lipscomb University is $20,036 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read more about Engineering at Lipscomb 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.

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