by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Nursing is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 3rd of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 322,592 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2019-2020, nursing graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $70,916 and had an average of $25,426 in loans still to pay off.
Across Tennessee, there were 6,004 nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $68,124 and $23,683 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee” ranking, we looked at 46 colleges that offer a degree in nursing. To top this list, a school must have a successful nursing program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee” list to help you make the college 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee”.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Tennessee State University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. ETSU is a public institution located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 737 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lincoln Memorial University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee. LMU is a medium-sized school located in Harrogate, Tennessee that handed out 426 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Memphis. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. Memphis, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s nursing degrees to 407 students in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Vanderbilt University. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee. Vanderbilt University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 424 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate 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. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. South College is a medium-sized school located in Knoxville, Tennessee that handed out 305 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. Knoxville, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s nursing degrees to 320 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Union University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. Union University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Jackson, Tennessee. It awarded 235 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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 undergraduate 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.
Southern Adventist University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #8. Southern Adventist is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Collegedale, Tennessee. It awarded 229 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.
With a ranking of #9, Belmont University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. Belmont is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 215 ’s nursing degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.
Austin Peay State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #10. Austin Peay State University is a public institution located in Clarksville, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 199 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
King University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. King University is a small school located in Bristol, Tennessee that handed out 192 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Tennessee Technological University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. Cookeville, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s nursing degrees to 185 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. Located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this fairly large public school awarded 171 diplomas to qualified ’s nursing students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #14, Middle Tennessee State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. Located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, this large public school handed out 130 diplomas to qualified ’s nursing students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Nursing at Middle Tennessee State University
The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center is a small school located in Memphis, Tennessee that handed out 130 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Dyersburg State Community College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #16. Dyersburg, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s nursing degrees to 112 students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #17, Walters State Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. Located in Morristown, Tennessee, this medium-sized public school handed out 104 degrees to qualified ’s nursing students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Southwest Tennessee Community College landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. Southwest is a public institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 102 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Nursing at Southwest Tennessee Community College
Chattanooga State Community College landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. Chattanooga State Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It awarded 101 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #20, Tennessee Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. Athens, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s nursing degrees to 97 students in 2020-2021.
Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. Located in Madison, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 94 diplomas to qualified ’s nursing students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Columbia State Community College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. Columbia State Community College is a public institution located in Columbia, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 87 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Nursing at Columbia State Community College
Pellissippi State Community College ranked #23 on this year’s Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee list. This medium-sized school is located in Knoxville, Tennessee, and it awarded 84 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Lee University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking. Cleveland, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s nursing degrees to 78 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Northeast State Community College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Nursing Major in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #25. This medium-sized school is located in Blountville, Tennessee, and it awarded 73 ’s nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
