2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 6,199 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 92 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,300 and $37,495 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy 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 public policy 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

The public policy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

#1 in overall quality

$8,086 Average Net Price

$67,244 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Vanderbilt University landed the #1 spot on the list. Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 62 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanderbilt also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Vanderbilt is $8,086 for tennessee public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Vanderbilt

#2

Trevecca Nazarene University

Nashville, Tennessee

#2 in overall quality

$17,587 Average Net Price

$55,950 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Trevecca Nazarene University landed the #2 spot on the list. Trevecca Nazarene University is a small school located in Nashville, Tennessee that handed out 2 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, TNU has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for TNU is $17,587 for tennessee public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Public Policy at Trevecca Nazarene University

#3

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

#4 in overall quality

$15,287 Average Net Price

$38,610 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Memphis landed the #3 spot on the list. UofM is a large public school situated in Memphis, Tennessee. It awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UofM, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Memphis is $15,287 for tennessee public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Memphis

#4

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

#3 in overall quality

$23,211 Average Net Price

$43,722 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #4 spot on the list. The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a public institution located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $23,211 for tennessee public policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UT Knoxville.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UT Knoxville Public Policy Report

• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k)

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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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