The University Of Tennessee-Knoxville

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville prices differently across income levels, and the spread matters for families weighing the real cost of attendance. Low-income families pay approximately $10,029 per year in net price, middle-income families see costs around $18,206, and higher-income families pay closer to $25,688.

Azimuth ranks The University of Tennessee-Knoxville #561 for post-graduation affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The published cost of attendance is $33,678, but need-based aid closes a meaningful portion of that gap for qualifying students, particularly at the lower end of the income spectrum.

Net prices by income band are medians within those bands; individual aid packages vary, so some families in each band pay more and some less than the figures shown. For more on how published costs compare with what families actually pay, see the [net price illusion](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/).

Tennessee's aid structure draws on federal Pell Grants, state programs including the Tennessee Promise and Tennessee HOPE scholarship, and institutional awards. The combination of state lottery-funded merit aid and need-based federal support means that in-state students — particularly those who qualify for both merit and need-based programs — often see net prices well below the sticker figure.

Out-of-state families face a wider gap between published cost and net price, since state-funded programs are generally limited to Tennessee residents. Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $20,500, and families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $30,610; private or institutional loans may add further borrowing that falls outside these federal-only figures — see the [Parent PLUS risk framework](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) for how household context shapes PLUS decisions.

For a graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $67,631, median federal debt of $20,500 projects to a monthly payment of about $232 under standard ten-year repayment. In a downside earnings scenario anchored on The University of Tennessee-Knoxville's lower-earning program clusters, where four-year earnings are closer to $50,756, that same payment represents a heavier share of take-home income — a pattern worth exploring at the program level rather than the institutional average.

For personalized projections across earnings scenarios — including Parent PLUS planning — use [Azimuth's Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Graduates of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville earn median earnings of $67,631 four years after enrollment, placing The University of Tennessee-Knoxville in the 71.6 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure sits above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band).

Graduates earn about $6,618 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the university in the 30.4 percentile for [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks The University of Tennessee-Knoxville #574 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings pattern at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville is anchored by Business, which accounts for 24% of degree output, followed by Engineering at 11% and Social Sciences at 7%. Business Administration combines high enrollment with strong pay, making it a key contributor to the institution's overall return profile.

Azimuth ranks Business Administration #65 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions for median earnings four years after enrollment [per the program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/), with 470 graduates earning $82,074 — 1.2x the national benchmark for the field. Among the highest-earning programs, Azimuth ranks Kinesiology #57 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions with graduates earning $57,020, and Azimuth ranks Biology, General #115 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions with graduates earning $58,149.

Popular programs such as Research Psychology (378 graduates) and Nursing (257 graduates) round out the degree mix, contributing broad enrollment scale across applied and professional fields.

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville's program mix is anchored in Business, which accounts for 24% of degree output, followed by Engineering at 11% and Social Sciences at 7%. The combination of a large business core with meaningful engineering and health-sciences presence gives the university a applied-professional signature common among flagship land-grant institutions.

Business Administration is the largest program with 470 graduates, and Azimuth ranks it #65 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $82,074. That scale-plus-earnings combination makes it the institution's Business Administration — the single program contributing the most aggregate economic value to the graduating class.

Across 72 programs serving roughly 5,530 students annually, 58 meet Azimuth's [ranking threshold](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/). The strongest four-year earnings come from Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, where 189 graduates earn $92,042 and Azimuth ranks the program #24 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Mechanical Engineering follows with 186 graduates earning $90,623, ranked #123 nationally, and the The Finance program graduates 198 students at $83,793, ranked #98 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. Among the largest enrollment programs, Kinesiology program graduates 358 students with median earnings of $57,020, and Azimuth ranks it #57 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions, while The Biology, General program graduates 259 students earning $58,149, ranked #115 nationally.

Engineering and nursing programs are high-mobility pathways where graduates enter the national labor market directly and four-year earnings reflect actual workforce outcomes. Business fields — particularly accounting and finance — follow a similar direct-to-workforce pattern, with strong employer recruitment in the Southeast reinforcing early-career pay.

Programs like Nursing, with 257 graduates earning $77,118, represent fields where some graduates continue to graduate or professional study, meaning four-year earnings may undercount lifetime trajectory. The [supply-demand map](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides additional context for how these program families align with national labor-market demand.