2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the public policy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Getting Aid” 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 when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in Tennessee (With Aid)

#1

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

#4 in overall quality

$13,248 Average Net Price

$38,610 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Memphis. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid list. UofM is a public institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UofM also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $13,248 for tennessee public policy students with aid per year to attend UofM.

Read full report on Public Policy at UofM

#2

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 #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid. Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 62 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Vanderbilt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Vanderbilt University is $19,432 for tennessee public policy students with aid.

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

Read more about Public Policy at Vanderbilt University

#3

Trevecca Nazarene University

Nashville, Tennessee

#2 in overall quality

$17,499 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 #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Tennessee For Those Getting Aid. Trevecca Nazarene University is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

TNU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Trevecca Nazarene University is $17,499 for tennessee public policy students with aid.

Read more about Public Policy at Trevecca Nazarene University

#4

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

#3 in overall quality

$18,825 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 Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, this large public school awarded 11 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $18,825 for tennessee public policy students with aid per year to attend The University of Tennessee - 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.

Read more about Public Policy at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in the Southeast Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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