2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $75-$110k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for tennessee public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

#1 in overall quality

$14,890 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 Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $75-$110k. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 62 diplomas to qualified ’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

Vanderbilt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Vanderbilt is $14,890 for Tennessee Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

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 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Public Policy at Vanderbilt University

#2

Trevecca Nazarene University

Nashville, Tennessee

#2 in overall quality

$19,588 Average Net Price

$55,950 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Trevecca Nazarene University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $75-$110k. TNU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

TNU also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Trevecca Nazarene University is $19,588 for Tennessee Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Trevecca Nazarene University Public Policy Report

#3

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

#4 in overall quality

$18,061 Average Net Price

$38,610 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Memphis. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $75-$110k. This large school is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and it awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UofM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for UofM is $18,061 for tennessee public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full UofM Public Policy Report

#4

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

#3 in overall quality

$24,901 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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #4 spot on the list. UT Knoxville is a large school located in Knoxville, Tennessee that handed out 11 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is $24,901 for Tennessee Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

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

Full UT Knoxville Public Policy Report

• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k)

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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