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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $30-$48k) in Tennessee

8 Ranked Colleges
286 Degrees Awarded
$17,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor's in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

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 “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 14,528 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. 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 $30-$48k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent journalism programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the journalism program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism (Income $30-$48k) in Tennessee

#1

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee
#4 in overall quality
$10,637 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 $30-$48k. Middle Tennessee State University is a large public school situated in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It awarded 122 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Middle Tennessee State University also took the #4 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Middle Tennessee State University is $10,637 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University

#2

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee
#1 in overall quality
$13,745 Average Net Price
$27,822 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k. Knoxville, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 81 students in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $13,745 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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 freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Journalism at UT Knoxville

#3

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee
#6 in overall quality
$12,264 Average Net Price
$32,828 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Memphis. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k. UofM is a large public school situated in Memphis, Tennessee. It awarded 44 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UofM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $12,264 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UofM.

Full UofM Journalism Report

#4

Belmont University

Nashville, Tennessee
#2 in overall quality
$26,275 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Belmont University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. Belmont University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 22 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Belmont not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Belmont University is $26,275 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Belmont University Journalism Report

#5

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee
#8 in overall quality
$12,298 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Austin Peay State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k. Austin Peay State University is a fairly large public school situated in Clarksville, Tennessee. It awarded 1 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Austin Peay State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Austin Peay State University is $12,298 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Journalism at Austin Peay State University

#6

Lipscomb University

Nashville, Tennessee
#3 in overall quality
$20,503 Average Net Price
$35,600 Average Early-Career Earnings

Lipscomb University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Lipscomb is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $30-$48k list, Lipscomb has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lipscomb is $20,503 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Lipscomb Journalism Report

#7

Southern Adventist University

Collegedale, Tennessee
#7 in overall quality
$19,618 Average Net Price

Southern Adventist University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Southern Adventist University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Collegedale, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees 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 is $19,618 for tennessee bachelor’s degree journalism students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Journalism at Southern Adventist

#8

Union University

Jackson, Tennessee
#5 in overall quality
$27,004 Average Net Price

Union University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in Jackson, Tennessee, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Union, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $27,004 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Union.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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. The low student loan default rate of 4.1% 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 Union University

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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