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

8 Ranked Colleges
286 Degrees Awarded
$16,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor's in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Journalism is the 62nd most popular major in the country with 14,528 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 296 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,900 and $22,800 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 286 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in journalism. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great journalism programs and 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 journalism program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

#1

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee
#4 in overall quality
$8,919 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Middle Tennessee State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k. Middle Tennessee State University is a large school located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee that handed out 122 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Middle Tennessee State University, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Middle Tennessee State University is $8,919 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University

#2

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee
#1 in overall quality
$10,224 Average Net Price
$27,822 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a public institution located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 81 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is $10,224 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UT Knoxville Journalism Report

#3

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee
#6 in overall quality
$10,256 Average Net Price
$32,828 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Memphis landed the #3 spot on the list. Memphis, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 44 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UofM, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Memphis is $10,256 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full UofM Journalism Report

#4

Belmont University

Nashville, Tennessee
#2 in overall quality
$25,980 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Belmont University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Belmont, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Belmont is $25,980 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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%.

Read full report on Journalism at Belmont

#5

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee
#8 in overall quality
$10,909 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Austin Peay State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Austin Peay State University is a public institution located in Clarksville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Austin Peay State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Austin Peay State University is $10,909 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Journalism at Austin Peay State University

#6

Lipscomb University

Nashville, Tennessee
#3 in overall quality
$20,036 Average Net Price
$35,600 Average Early-Career Earnings

Lipscomb University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

Lipscomb not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Lipscomb University is $20,036 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Read full report on Journalism at Lipscomb

#7

Southern Adventist University

Collegedale, Tennessee
#7 in overall quality
$19,346 Average Net Price

Southern Adventist University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Collegedale, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Southern Adventist did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Adventist University is $19,346 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Journalism at Southern Adventist

#8

Union University

Jackson, Tennessee
#5 in overall quality
$26,079 Average Net Price

Union University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Jackson, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

Union not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $26,079 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Union University.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Journalism at Union

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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer.

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