College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Middle Tennessee State University

TNLarge public institution · Overall rank #236 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Middle Tennessee State University in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Middle Tennessee State University is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where the degree mix is led by Business and Visual & Performing Arts, and mobility is well above average. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds, while the part it attributes to a remainder it cannot explain subtracts.

Return is modestly below average. Pell recipients complete within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is well above average.

Families at the bottom of the income scale pay well below the published cost, and affordability is well above average. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

Middle Tennessee State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
69.1%
Six-year completion[2]
53.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$54,525

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,007
Median student debt[4]
$20,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$14,229

Middle Tennessee State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Middle Tennessee State University is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, enrolling 16,301 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the upper portion of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (84th percentile).

The university admits 69.1% of applicants, a rate that is more selective than the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 79.5% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate is 53.7%, compared with a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 34.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a specific subset of the student body rather than everyone who studies here.

The four sit in a clear pattern: mobility and access are the strongest, while return is the weakest. Affordability sits between them.

The shape is a public university where the strongest pillars are those that measure economic opportunity and financial access, and the return pillar trails the others.

Middle Tennessee State University stands out most for mobility, which sits in the 90th percentile of nonprofit four-year institutions. Access reaches the 88th percentile and affordability the 84th percentile, while return is the weakest pillar at the 28th percentile.

High mobility, access, and affordability standings sit alongside a much lower return standing.

At Middle Tennessee State University, Pell Grant recipients account for 31.8% of the undergraduate population, a financial-access measure. Those students complete at 50.5% within six years, a rate that sits 3.2 percentage points below the overall graduation rate for the entering cohort (53.7%).

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth ranks Middle Tennessee State University #184 for access. Azimuth ranks Middle Tennessee State University #150 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

On earnings beyond expectations, graduates earn about $8,061 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Middle Tennessee State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#236

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 90
Access & reach
National percentile: 88
Affordability
National percentile: 84
Return on investment
National percentile: 28

Top-ranked majors

  1. Construction Management#5
  2. Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management#8
  3. Biological and Physical Sciences#12

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Middle Tennessee State University briefing

Middle Tennessee State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

A sticker budget at Middle Tennessee State University comes to $24,289 before aid, putting the published cost in view for families comparing offers. In-state tuition and fees are $10,266, out-of-state tuition and fees are $31,574, and room and board are $12,242.

For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $13,359. That is $10,930 below the sticker total.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, with the university below it by $2,275. Azimuth ranks Middle Tennessee State University #231 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Its average aid-recipient price sits below the peer median, alongside a sizable offset from the published cost.

At Middle Tennessee State University, the published cost of attendance is $24,289, but aid recipients face different average net prices by family-income band. The is $9,289 for the lowest family-income band, $10,273 for the lower-middle band, $13,007 for the middle band, $16,935 for the upper-middle band, and $19,046 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,757. Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid offsets a substantial part of the published cost. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $13,359, and aid covers about 45% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Average financial aid savings against the sticker price are $10,930. That net price is $2,275 below the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published in-state tuition and fees are $10,266, versus $31,574 for out-of-state tuition and fees. The aid offset and lower peer comparison point in the same direction on price.

Borrowing at completion sits slightly below the comparable-institution figure, though federal loans are common among undergraduates. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,000, and 79.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That median is $76 below the $20,076 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing among parent borrowers is $14,229.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,007

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Middle Tennessee State University

Federal borrowing sits below the peer benchmark but is common among undergraduates. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at Middle Tennessee State University was $20,000.

Federal loans were taken by 79.7% of federal aid recipients. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median was $20,076, placing this median below by $76.

For Parent PLUS parent borrowers, a separate population, median borrowing was $14,229. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 44% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount per borrower of $22,596.

That reporting includes 43% of graduates with federal loans, averaging $19,209. It also includes 5% of graduates with private loans, averaging $29,995.

At Middle Tennessee State University, mobility is the strongest Azimuth pillar, though the investment picture is mixed. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $54,525; Azimuth places that figure in the 31st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offers a less favorable view. Graduates earn about $8,061 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places this measure in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The downside, typical, and upside earnings scenarios are $43,294, $54,525, and $79,026.

For borrowers, median federal student debt at completion is $20,000, below the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $20,076 by $76. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years. Lower debt and the model's earnings assessment pull in different directions.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $14,229. The median federal student debt cited above corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$14,229

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$227/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$181/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Middle Tennessee State University briefing

Middle Tennessee State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Mobility is the stronger part of the profile, while the return picture is less favorable. Azimuth places Middle Tennessee State University’s return pillar in the 28th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $8,061 less than the model expects for similar students. That earnings-beyond-expectations measure, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, sits in the 25th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,059. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $13,120.

Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $54,525 four years after completion, in the 31st percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving the university $11,085 below it. The model comparison and peer comparison point in the same direction.

At Middle Tennessee State University, graduate earnings sit low in the national distribution. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $54,525 four years after completion, based on an earnings cohort of 5,268.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 31st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are negative here.

Graduates earn about $8,061 less than the model expects for similar students. The program-mix model sets a downside earnings scenario at $43,294 and an upside scenario at $79,026.

An estimated 26.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The low earnings percentile and lower-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, the median four years after finishing is $54,525, at the 31st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median is $11,085 below the $65,610 level for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks Middle Tennessee State University #1,053 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,061 less than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome falls at the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,059.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $13,120. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $627.

Degrees cluster in business, visual and performing arts, and multidisciplinary studies, while engineering technology and aviation programs also contribute to the overall program mix. Estimated earnings scenarios from the program mix range roughly from a downside of $43,294 to an upside of $79,026.

An estimated 26.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings can differ sharply by field at Middle Tennessee State University. The downside earnings scenario is $43,294, and the upside scenario is $79,026; these are scenarios rather than observed groups.

The university has 53 programs with published earnings data four years after completion. Computer Science reaches $96,485, and Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering reaches $92,533 at the same point. Those field-level figures show why the modeled range is broad.

At Middle Tennessee State University, borrower debt is below the comparable-institution median, but graduate earnings fall short of the model's expectation. Borrowers who completed have median federal student loan debt of $20,000, which is below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $8,061 less than the model expects for similar students.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, have median borrowing of $14,229. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $13,359.

Average net prices for aid recipients are $9,289 in the lowest family-income band, $10,273 in the next band, $13,007 in the middle band, $16,935 in the next-highest band, and $19,046 in the highest band. Lower borrowing and below-expected earnings pull the return picture in different directions.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,059
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$13,120
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$8,061

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Middle Tennessee State University briefing

Middle Tennessee State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, Middle Tennessee State University reported 17,724 first-year applicants, 11,277 admitted applicants, and 3,267 enrolled first-year students. Federal admissions data show an admission rate of 69.1%, below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The rate describes an outcome for a reported entering class, not a forecast for an individual applicant.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
69.1%
25th percentile
1020
Median
1120
75th percentile
1220

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Middle Tennessee State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Middle Tennessee State University?[12]

At Middle Tennessee State University, the earnings picture differs sharply across fields, with Air Transportation standing apart from several moderately earning programs. Four years after completion, Air Transportation reports median earnings of $80,424 from 205 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #13 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies reports $49,997 and 259 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth national field rank of #64 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Construction Management records $98,967 across 51 degrees awarded and ranks #5 nationally by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Air Transportation posts $80,424 with 205 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #13 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Program choice carries particular weight at Middle Tennessee State University: Azimuth assigns national ranks to 39 fields, and earnings data are published for 53 fields. Azimuth ranks Construction Management #5 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; it awarded 51 degrees and has median earnings of $98,967 four years after completion.

Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management ranks #8 nationally in its field, with 106 degrees awarded and median earnings of $46,349. Biological and Physical Sciences ranks #12 nationally in its field, awarded 49 degrees, and shows median earnings of $56,293 four years after completion.

The degree mix at Middle Tennessee State University is broad, with Business accounting for 18.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Visual & Performing Arts at 11.1% and Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 8.5%. The university has 39 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 53 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single programs are Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 259 degrees awarded, Business Administration and Management and Psychology at 218 each. The highest-ranked program is Construction Management, which Azimuth ranks #1 in Tennessee within its field.

It awards 51 degrees a year. Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management ranks #8 nationally and #1 in Tennessee within its field, with median earnings of $46,349 four years after completion.

Construction Management leads both the top-ranked and highest-earning programs. Construction Management graduates earn a median of $98,967 four years after completion, from 51 degrees awarded.

Computer Science follows at $96,485 with 83 degrees awarded, and Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering at $92,533 with 44 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of strength spread across several fields rather than concentrated in a single area.

The highest-ranked programs span construction, arts, sciences, and professional fields, while the highest earnings come from construction, computing, and engineering. Across all fields, 13.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings for fields that commonly precede graduate study may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 259 degrees awarded
$49,997
Psychology, General 218 degrees awarded
$43,826
Business Administration, Management and Operations 218 degrees awarded
$63,928
Air Transportation 205 degrees awarded
$80,424
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 150 degrees awarded
$48,608
Biology, General 141 degrees awarded
$56,659

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Middle Tennessee State University briefing

How does Middle Tennessee State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is Middle Tennessee State University's strongest Azimuth pillar, standing in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 53.7%, and Pell recipients complete at 50.5%, below the overall rate by 3.2 percentage points.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit in the 25th percentile. Graduates earn about $8,061 less than the model expects for similar students. The mobility standing is high, while the modeled earnings comparison is lower.

Middle Tennessee State University combines a large undergraduate body with several routes into a public university. Azimuth places its access pillar in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 69.1% of applicants and enrolls 16,301 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 31.8% of undergraduates, while an estimated 34.8% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Its enrollment scale, Pell participation, and transfer presence describe an access profile that reaches beyond a first-time entry cohort.

06 / Middle Tennessee State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Middle Tennessee State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Middle Tennessee State University.

Admissions peerTrevecca Nazarene University69.4% admitted
Comparison with Middle Tennessee State University
MeasureMiddle Tennessee State UniversityTrevecca Nazarene University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,525$64,175+$9,650 vs Middle Tennessee State University
Average annual net price$13,359$16,813+$3,454 vs Middle Tennessee State University · higher cost
Admission rate69.1%69.4%
Higher-admission alternativeWestern Kentucky University93.9% admitted
Comparison with Middle Tennessee State University
MeasureMiddle Tennessee State UniversityWestern Kentucky University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,525$53,602-$923 vs Middle Tennessee State University
Average annual net price$13,359$10,990-$2,369 vs Middle Tennessee State University · lower cost
Admission rate69.1%93.9%
Explore Western Kentucky University →
Nearby alternativeThe University of Tennessee-ChattanoogaNearby option · TN
Comparison with Middle Tennessee State University
MeasureMiddle Tennessee State UniversityThe University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,525$57,377+$2,852 vs Middle Tennessee State University
Average annual net price$13,359$14,265+$906 vs Middle Tennessee State University · higher cost
Admission rate69.1%81.1%
Explore The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Tulsa$79,396 earnings
Comparison with Middle Tennessee State University
MeasureMiddle Tennessee State UniversityUniversity of Tulsa
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,525$79,396+$24,871 vs Middle Tennessee State University
Average annual net price$13,359$15,000+$1,641 vs Middle Tennessee State University · higher cost
Admission rate69.1%61.5%
Lower-cost alternativeWestern Kentucky University$10,990 average net price
Comparison with Middle Tennessee State University
MeasureMiddle Tennessee State UniversityWestern Kentucky University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,525$53,602-$923 vs Middle Tennessee State University
Average annual net price$13,359$10,990-$2,369 vs Middle Tennessee State University · lower cost
Admission rate69.1%93.9%
Explore Western Kentucky University →
Similar profileUniversity of North GeorgiaMatched across several measures
Comparison with Middle Tennessee State University
MeasureMiddle Tennessee State UniversityUniversity of North Georgia
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,525$55,974+$1,449 vs Middle Tennessee State University
Average annual net price$13,359$9,823-$3,536 vs Middle Tennessee State University · lower cost
Admission rate69.1%67.9%
Explore University of North Georgia →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings