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2022 Best Value Colleges for Physics (Income $30-$48k) in Tennessee

8 Ranked Colleges
161 Degrees Awarded
$11,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 14,123 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 67th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $42,475 and had an average of $22,421 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 161 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $22,628 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in physics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great physics 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 physics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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 Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Physics (Income $30-$48k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanderbilt University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large school located in Nashville, Tennessee that handed out 20 ’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanderbilt also made our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Vanderbilt is $6,017 for Tennessee Physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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.

Full Vanderbilt Physics Report

#2

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Middle Tennessee State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Middle Tennessee State University is a public institution located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Middle Tennessee State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $10,637 for tennessee physics students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Middle Tennessee State University.

Read full report on Physics at Middle Tennessee State University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. UT Chattanooga is a fairly large public school situated in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It awarded 3 ’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Chattanooga also took the #5 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UT Chattanooga is $10,515 for tennessee physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Physics Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #4 spot on the list. Knoxville, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physics degrees to 60 students in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville also took the #2 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is $13,745 for tennessee physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Physics at UT Knoxville

#5

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, Tennessee

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, East Tennessee State University landed the #5 spot on the list. East Tennessee State University is a fairly large public school situated in Johnson City, Tennessee. It awarded 5 ’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ETSU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for ETSU is $12,703 for Tennessee Physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Physics at East Tennessee State University

#6

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

University of Memphis ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Memphis is a public institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UofM also took the #7 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Memphis is $12,264 for tennessee physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Physics at University of Memphis

#7

Tennessee Technological University

Cookeville, Tennessee

Tennessee Technological University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #7. Tennessee Tech University is a fairly large school located in Cookeville, Tennessee that handed out 3 ’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Tennessee Tech University, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $13,421 for Tennessee Physics students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Tennessee Technological University.

The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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 Physics at Tennessee Technological University

#8

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee

Austin Peay State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Clarksville, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s physics degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Austin Peay State University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $12,298 for Tennessee Physics students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Austin Peay State University.

Read full report on Physics at Austin Peay State 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.

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