Graduate earnings are in line with similar institutions.
What graduates earn 10 years after enrollment.
Annual salary at 10 years
Lower quartile earnings
Upper quartile earnings
How graduate earnings grow in the decade after enrollment.
Middle Tennessee State University graduates demonstrate steady earnings advancement over time. Median earnings rise from $39,941 six years after enrollment to $44,447 at eight years and $48,541 at ten years, representing consistent 21.5% growth from the six-year mark.
How outcomes compare to similar institutions.
Graduate earnings fall below the peer average for similar institutions.
Financial justification for the investment.
Healthy debt burden. Most graduates can manage $20,000 in debt with typical earnings.
Middle Tennessee State University graduates carry a median debt of $20,000, matching the peer median exactly and ranking at the 70th percentile nationally for debt levels. Debt ranges from $5,500 at the 25th percentile to $26,532 at the 75th percentile, showing controlled borrowing across the student population.
Middle Tennessee State University demonstrates typical return index performance at the 50.7th percentile, with outcomes around the national average. Graduates earn $5,334 beyond expectations relative to similar students, placing MTSU at the 74.9th percentile for value-added performance.
Approximately 23.9% of MTSU graduates continue to graduate or professional study, with high confidence in this estimate based on program mix analysis....
Program mix explains much of the earnings story.
Computer Science leads program-level earnings at $76,044 with 76 graduates, followed by Information Resources Management at $64,340 with 100 graduates and Adult Health Nursing at $63,829 with 85 graduates. Aeronautics/Aviation programs produce strong $60,361 outcomes with substantial enrollment of 156 students.
Business Administration generates $52,150 with the largest business enrollment of 192 students, while General Studies combines $45,804 earnings with exceptional value scores and 219 graduates annually. The diversity of strong-performing programs across technical, business, health, and general education fields supports MTSU's overall return performance and provides multiple pathways for student economic advancement.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
Earnings outcomes show meaningful variation across career paths, with the 25th to 75th percentile spread ranging from $30,810 to $69,704, representing a 2.3:1 ratio. Low-income graduates earn $41,700, demonstrating solid mobility potential for students from lower-income backgrounds.
