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East Tennessee State University Complete Information Guide

245 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
86% Acceptance Rate

Get the facts about East Tennessee State University. Learn how it ranks, what majors it offers, how diverse it is, and much more.

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* Rankings

How Does East Tennessee State University Stack Up?

#1,107 Best Colleges in Nation
#18 Best Colleges in TN
East Tennessee State University ranking badge

2026 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

East Tennessee State University was awarded 245 badges in the 2026 rankings.

National Standing

According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, ETSU is ranked #1,107 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.

ETSU also holds the #18 spot on the Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.

See all of the rankings for East Tennessee State University.

Is It Hard to Get Into East Tennessee State University?

86% Acceptance Rate
86% Of Accepted Are Women
7% Submit SAT Scores

Admission Selectivity

East Tennessee State University has an acceptance rate of 86%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for ETSU.

SAT and ACT Scores

About 7% of students accepted to ETSU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 510 and 620. Math scores were between 470 and 580.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for East Tennessee State University  ( 510 to 620 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for East Tennessee State University  ( 470 to 580 )
200
800

ETSU received ACT scores from 76% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 26.

ACT Composite Scores for East Tennessee State University  ( 19 to 26 )
1
36

Learn more about East Tennessee State University admissions.

Instructors at East Tennessee State University

15 to 1 Student to Faculty
64% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at East Tennessee State University is about average at 15 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.

Full-Time Instructors

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at East Tennessee State University is 64%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  64 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at East Tennessee State University

74% Freshmen Retention
50% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

The freshmen retention rate of 74% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like East Tennessee State University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  74 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At ETSU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 50%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  50 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at East Tennessee State University.

Undergraduate Diversity at East Tennessee State University

9,807 Undergraduate Students
15.4% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
60.6% Percent Women

The current enrollment includes 9,807 undergraduates at ETSU.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at East Tennessee State University.

What Does East Tennessee State University Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
34% Take Out Loans
$29,872 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of ETSU is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for ETSU

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$13,158 $13,625 $16,944 $19,753 $20,907

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of ETSU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Debt

It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At ETSU, approximately 34% of students took out student loans averaging $7,468 a year. That adds up to $29,872 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 9.9%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for East Tennessee State University.

Post-Graduation Earnings for East Tennessee State U

$44,859 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from East Tennessee State University make about $44,859 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.

See which majors at East Tennessee State University make the most money.

Location of East Tennessee State University

Tennessee State
9,807 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

East Tennessee State University is an public institution found in Johnson City, Tennessee. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of East Tennessee State University.

Location of East Tennessee State University

Contact information for East Tennessee State University can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 1276 Gilbreath Drive, Johnson City, TN 37614
Phone: 4234391000
Website: www.etsu.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/easttennesseestateuniversity
Twitter: twitter.com/etsu

East Tennessee State University Areas of Study

26 Majors With Completions
6,774 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 26 majors graduated from East Tennessee State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 3,387 NA
Nursing 559 $58,042
Business Administration & Management 187 $42,515
Health & Physical Education 174 $25,821
General Psychology 153 $22,772
Public Health 144 $43,665
Teacher Education Grade Specific 125 $36,421
Computer Information Systems 121 $50,234
Other Health Professions 105 $25,418
Social Work 98 $36,179

Learn more about the majors offered at East Tennessee State University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Learning at ETSU

81% Take At Least One Class Online
17% Take All Classes Online

Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.

7,917 students took at least one online class at East Tennessee State University.

Learn more about online learning at East Tennessee State University.

Comparable CollegesWant to see how other colleges compare to ETSU? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

Data Sources and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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