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Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$22,725 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,130 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences School for You

Social Sciences is one of the most popular subjects to study in Tennessee. With 2,210 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 10th out of all the majors we track in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in Tennessee to see which programs offered the best value experiences for social sciences students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Schools

$9,802 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Tennessee Technological University to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a degree in Tennessee. Located in the town of Cookeville, Tennessee Tech University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tennessee Tech University are $9,802 per year. The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at Tennessee Tech University take out is $20,000.

Tennessee Tech University also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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#2

Tennessee State University

Nashville, TN
$8,336 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Tennessee State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best social sciences schools in Tennessee. Located in the city of Nashville, Tennessee State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tennessee State University are $8,336 per year. After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from Tennessee State University carry an average student debtload of $37,750.

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$13,244 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best social sciences schools in Tennessee. Located in the city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UT Knoxville are $13,244 per year. After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from UT Knoxville carry an average student debtload of $22,503. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $306, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

UT Knoxville also took the #4 spot in our Best Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee rankings.

Full Social Sciences at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Report

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$9,232 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Middle Tennessee State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social sciences schools in Tennessee. Located in the midsize city of Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Middle Tennessee State University are $9,232 per year. After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from Middle Tennessee State University carry an average student debtload of $21,234.

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#5

University of Memphis

Memphis, TN
$10,056 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 10 schools in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Memphis landed the # 5 spot on the list. UofM is a fairly large public school located in the city of Memphis.

UofM undergraduate students pay an average of $10,056 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at UofM take out is $26,796.

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$9,848 Average Tuition & Fees

The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for social sciences students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UT Chattanooga undergraduate students pay an average of $9,848 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from UT Chattanooga carry an average student debtload of $25,500.

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$9,438 Average Tuition & Fees

East Tennessee State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee list. ETSU is a large public school located in the city of Johnson City.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ETSU are $9,438 a year. On average, social sciences graduates from ETSU take out $19,889 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#8

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN
$56,966 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Vanderbilt undergraduate students pay an average of $56,966 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, social sciences graduates from Vanderbilt take out $11,462 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $595.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Vanderbilt is ranked #1 for overall quality for social sciences in Tennessee.

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$49,418 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Sewanee - The University of the South did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students. Located in the rural area of Sewanee, Sewanee is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sewanee are $49,418 a year. After completing their degree, social sciences graduates from Sewanee carry an average student debtload of $23,899.

Sewanee not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee list.

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#10

Rhodes College

Memphis, TN
$50,910 Average Tuition & Fees

Rhodes College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the large city of Memphis, Rhodes College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Rhodes College are $50,910 a year. On average, social sciences graduates from Rhodes College take out $23,028 in student loans while working on their degree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Rhodes College also did well on our Best Social Sciences Schools in Tennessee list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 5,208
West Virginia 788
Mississippi 722
South Carolina 1,876
Florida 8,162
Virginia 7,636
Arkansas 897
Alabama 1,640
Kentucky 1,344
Georgia 3,932
Louisiana 1,534

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415
Criminology 11,039
Geography & Cartography 8,526
Other Social Sciences 2,414
Urban Studies 1,507
Sociology & Anthropology 541
Archeology 339
Demography & Population Studies 88

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 327,871
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820
History 32,731

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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