2022 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies in Tennessee (With Aid)

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 9,704 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,163 and had an average of $28,712 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 116 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in religious studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great religious studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the religious studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Religious Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for tennessee religion students with aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies in Tennessee (With Aid)

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

#1 in overall quality

$19,432 Average Net Price

$67,244 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Vanderbilt University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid. Vanderbilt is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.

Vanderbilt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $19,432 for Tennessee Religion students with aid per year to attend Vanderbilt.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University

#2

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

#4 in overall quality

$12,464 Average Net Price

$36,971 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Middle Tennessee State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and it awarded 8 ’s religion 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 Religious Studies Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Middle Tennessee State University is $12,464 for tennessee religion students with aid.

Full Middle Tennessee State University Religious Studies Report

#3

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

#2 in overall quality

$18,825 Average Net Price

$43,722 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #3 spot on the list. Knoxville, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s religion degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville also took the #2 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $18,825 for tennessee religion students with aid per year to attend UT Knoxville.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at UT Knoxville

#4

Carson - Newman University

Jefferson City, Tennessee

#3 in overall quality

$17,471 Average Net Price

$49,017 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carson - Newman University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Religion Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid. Carson - Newman is a private not-for-profit institution located in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 15 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Carson - Newman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $17,471 for tennessee religion students with aid per year to attend Carson - Newman University.

Read more about Religious Studies at Carson - Newman

• Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies in the Southeast Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (With Aid)

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 Sowlos.

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