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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in Tennessee

9 Ranked Colleges
768 Degrees Awarded
$16,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor's in Tennessee

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts / sciences and humanities students received their degree, making the major the 3rd most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 10,620 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 768 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the liberal arts / sciences and humanities program at the school. 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 Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee

The colleges and universities below are the best for tennessee bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in Tennessee

#1

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, Middle Tennessee State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Middle Tennessee State University is a large public school situated in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It awarded 219 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

Middle Tennessee State University also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Middle Tennessee State University is $12,464 for tennessee bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Middle Tennessee State University

#2

Tennessee Technological University

Cookeville, Tennessee
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Tennessee Technological University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee. Tennessee Tech University is a fairly large public school situated in Cookeville, Tennessee. It awarded 12 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

Tennessee Tech University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Tennessee Tech University is $15,929 for tennessee bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Tennessee Tech University

#3

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, Tennessee
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Tennessee State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. East Tennessee State University is a fairly large public school situated in Johnson City, Tennessee. It awarded 124 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

ETSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for ETSU is $14,332 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at ETSU

#4

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Memphis. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. University of Memphis is a large school located in Memphis, Tennessee that handed out 112 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

UofM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for UofM is $13,248 for tennessee bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at UofM

#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Chattanooga, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Chattanooga, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UT Chattanooga is $12,952 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.

Full The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report

#6

Tennessee State University

Nashville, Tennessee
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Tennessee State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee list. Tennessee State University is a public institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Tennessee State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Tennessee State University is $12,443 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Tennessee State University

#7

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee
#8 in overall quality

Austin Peay State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #7. Austin Peay State University is located in Clarksville, Tennessee and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 113 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Austin Peay State University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Austin Peay State University is $13,692 for tennessee bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Austin Peay State University

#8

Lee University

Cleveland, Tennessee
#4 in overall quality

Lee University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Cleveland, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 56 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Lee University, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $17,696 for tennessee bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend Lee University.

Full Lee University Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report

#9

Belmont University

Nashville, Tennessee
#1 in overall quality

Belmont University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee ranking. Belmont is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 31 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.

Belmont also took the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Belmont University is $35,548 for tennessee bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Belmont 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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