by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools in Tennessee to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 359 bachelor's degrees in liberal arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of liberal arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality liberal studies program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for liberal arts students working on their bachelor's degree.
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 Liberal Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for liberal arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree.
University of Memphis is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Located in the city of Memphis, UofM is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from University of Memphis
It's difficult to beat Union University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Located in the city of Jackson, Union is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Union University
Lee University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Lee University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cleveland.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Lee University
East Tennessee State University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. ETSU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Johnson City.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from East Tennessee State University
Located in the city of Clarksville, Austin Peay State University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Austin Peay State University
Located in the city of Nashville, Belmont is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Belmont University
Located in the city of Nashville, Tennessee State University is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts from Tennessee State University
Explore all the Best Liberal Arts Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 492 | 693 |
| North Carolina | 453 | 751 |
| Georgia | 453 | 193 |
| Virginia | 421 | 2,153 |
| South Carolina | 370 | 351 |
| Kentucky | 331 | 291 |
| Alabama | 320 | 163 |
| Louisiana | 306 | 66 |
| Arkansas | 294 | 61 |
| Mississippi | 275 | 155 |
| West Virginia | 223 | 58 |
One of 3 majors within the Liberal Arts General Studies area of study, Liberal Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Studies | 190 |
| Humanities | 20 |
| Individualized Studies | 13 |