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2025 Best Civil Engineering Schools in Tennessee

6 Colleges in Tennessee
285 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$71,769 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in civil engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #50 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Civil Engineering Schools in Tennessee ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 285 degrees in civil engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Civil Engineering School

Best Civil Engineering Schools in Tennessee Your choice of civil engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for civil engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Civil Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Civil Eng
Master's Degrees in Civil Eng
Doctor's Degrees in Civil Eng

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Civil Engineering Schools in Tennessee list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Civil Engineering in Tennessee

The schools below may not offer all types of civil eng degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Tennessee Schools in Civil Eng

1
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In TN
7.4% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in civil engineering has to look into Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were roughly 27 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
102 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$66,335 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat The University of Tennessee - Knoxville if you want to pursue a degree in civil engineering. Located in the medium-sized city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #226 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UT Knoxville is a great university overall.

There were about 102 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Knoxville in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career earnings of $66,335.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
69 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
2.9% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in civil engineering has to check out Tennessee Technological University. Located in the remote town of Cookeville, Tennessee Tech University is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 19th out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 69 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Tennessee Tech University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career earnings of $63,577.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Tennessee Technological University

4
Lipscomb crest
Lipscomb University
Nashville, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In TN
33.3% Growth in Graduates

Lipscomb University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in civil engineering. Located in the city of Nashville, Lipscomb is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #688 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Lipscomb is a great university overall.

There were approximately 12 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Lipscomb in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Lipscomb University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$65,419 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 16th out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 24 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Chattanooga in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, civil eng degree recipients usually make an average of $65,419 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$64,780 Median Starting Salary

UofM is a fairly large public university located in the city of Memphis. This university ranks 12th out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 32 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UofM in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career earnings of $64,780.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Memphis

Best Civil Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 446
Florida 282 1,164
North Carolina 279 448
Virginia 274 616
South Carolina 248 307
Kentucky 244 217
Louisiana 242 247
Mississippi 234 193
Arkansas 234 118
Alabama 233 461
West Virginia 207 112

View All Rankings >

One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Civil Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Civil Eng Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Civil Engineering 285

View All Civil Eng Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 634
Electrical Engineering 313
Biomedical Engineering 202
Chemical Engineering 177
General Engineering 168
Computer Engineering 107
Industrial Engineering 85
Nuclear Engineering 79
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 70
Materials Engineering 48

View All Civil Eng Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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