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2024 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

25 Colleges in Tennessee
3,180 Bachelor's Degrees
$55,126 Avg Early-Career Salary
Nursing is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 25 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,180 bachelor's degrees in nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee The nursing bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Nursing Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in Tennessee

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing.

10 Top Tennessee Schools for a Bachelor's in Nursing

1
53 Annual Graduates
$58,663 Median Starting Salary
$29,537 Median Student Debt

The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. UTHSC is a small public university located in the city of Memphis.

Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center earn a boost of about $3,537 above the average income of nursing majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center

2
89 Annual Graduates
$56,507 Median Starting Salary
$28,191 Median Student Debt

Southern Adventist University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Southern Adventist is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Collegedale.

After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients typically make around $56,507 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Southern Adventist University

3
Union crest
Union University
Jackson, TN
161 Annual Graduates
$58,095 Median Starting Salary
$29,127 Median Student Debt

Union University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Union is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Jackson.

Bachelor's recipients from the nursing program at Union University get $2,969 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Union University

4
242 Annual Graduates
$51,956 Median Starting Salary
$23,292 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in nursing has to take a look at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Located in the city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $51,956.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

5
563 Annual Graduates
$51,719 Median Starting Salary
$25,091 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $51,719 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from East Tennessee State University

6
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN
186 Annual Graduates
$55,459 Median Starting Salary
$25,625 Median Student Debt

Belmont is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $55,459.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Belmont University

7
King crest
King University
Bristol, TN
118 Annual Graduates
$55,715 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

King is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Bristol.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $55,715 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from King University

8
304 Annual Graduates
$59,957 Median Starting Salary
$27,168 Median Student Debt

UofM is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Memphis.

Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Memphis receive $4,831 more than the standard nursing student.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Memphis

9
South College crest
South College
Knoxville, TN
254 Annual Graduates
$48,802 Median Starting Salary
$42,916 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Knoxville, South College is a private for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $48,802 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from South College

10
64 Annual Graduates
$59,782 Median Starting Salary
$47,500 Median Student Debt

Baptist College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Memphis.

Bachelor's recipients from the nursing degree program at Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences make $4,656 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences


 

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 9,015
Georgia 224 3,954
North Carolina 213 3,488
Virginia 213 3,096
South Carolina 195 1,605
Kentucky 187 2,530
Alabama 184 2,607
Louisiana 171 1,963
Mississippi 169 1,307
Arkansas 167 1,371
West Virginia 147 774

View All Rankings >

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 3,175
Nursing Practice 3
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 2

Related Major Annual Graduates
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 499
Allied Health Professions 199
Health & Medical Administrative Services 168
Communication Sciences 156
Public Health 132
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 127
Other Health Professions 127
Dental Support Services 77
Health/Medical Prep Programs 54
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 48

Notes and References

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