2025 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee
Nursing is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 25 schools in Tennessee to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 3,072 bachelor's degrees in nursing to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The nursing bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for nursing to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in Tennessee
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing.
10 Top Tennessee Schools for a Bachelor's in Nursing
The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. UTHSC is a small public university located in the city of Memphis.
Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center earn $3,177 more than the average nursing student.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center
Union University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Union is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Jackson.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $68,399.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Union University
It's hard to beat East Tennessee State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $64,459 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from East Tennessee State University
Southern Adventist University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Southern Adventist is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Collegedale.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $66,005 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Southern Adventist University
Located in the midsize city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $65,298.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville
