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2022 Best Value Colleges for Social Work (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

12 Ranked Colleges
1,148 Degrees Awarded
$13,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Social Work is the 12th most popular major in the country with 57,618 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,459 and had an average of $30,084 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 1,148 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,383 and $29,720 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in social work. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality social work 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 social work program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The social work 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 Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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. 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 Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Social Work (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, this large public school handed out 347 diplomas to qualified ’s social work students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Knoxville, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $10,224 for Tennessee Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UT Knoxville Social Work Report

#2

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k 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 large public school situated in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It awarded 81 ’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Middle Tennessee State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $8,919 for Tennessee Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Middle Tennessee State University.

Full Middle Tennessee State University Social Work Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Martin. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Martin, Tennessee, this medium-sized public school awarded 29 diplomas to qualified ’s social work students in 2019-2020.

UT Martin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $7,524 for tennessee social work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend The University of Tennessee - Martin.

Full UT Martin Social Work Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it awarded 32 ’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Chattanooga not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend UT Chattanooga is $8,108 for Tennessee Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Social Work at The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

#5

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, Tennessee

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, East Tennessee State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Johnson City, Tennessee, this fairly large public school awarded 142 diplomas to qualified ’s social work students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ETSU, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend East Tennessee State University is $10,632 for Tennessee Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Social Work at ETSU

#6

Trevecca Nazarene University

Nashville, Tennessee

Trevecca Nazarene University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 17 degrees to qualified ’s social work students in 2019-2020.

TNU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $15,228 for Tennessee Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Trevecca Nazarene University.

Read full report on Social Work at Trevecca Nazarene University

#7

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

University of Memphis ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Memphis is located in Memphis, Tennessee and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 100 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UofM, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Memphis is $10,256 for tennessee social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Social Work at UofM

#8

Tennessee State University

Nashville, Tennessee

Tennessee State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Tennessee State University is a public institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 48 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Tennessee State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $11,015 for tennessee social work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Tennessee State University.

Read full report on Social Work at Tennessee State University

#9

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee

With a ranking of #9, Austin Peay State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Clarksville, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s social work degrees to 95 students in 2019-2020.

Austin Peay State University also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $10,909 for Tennessee Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Austin Peay State University.

Full Austin Peay State University Social Work Report

#10

Belmont University

Nashville, Tennessee

Belmont University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 27 ’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Belmont also took the #1 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Belmont is $25,980 for tennessee social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Belmont University

#11

Southern Adventist University

Collegedale, Tennessee

With a ranking of #11, Southern Adventist University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Collegedale, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 43 diplomas to qualified ’s social work students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee social work students whose families make $0-$30k list, Southern Adventist has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Adventist University is $19,346 for tennessee social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Social Work at Southern Adventist

#12

Union University

Jackson, Tennessee

Union University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Union is located in Jackson, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 106 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

Union not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Union is $26,079 for Tennessee Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Social Work at Union

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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