College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Memphis

TNLarge public institution · Overall rank #224 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Memphis #224 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Memphis is a public university in Memphis, Tennessee, where the degree mix is led by Business and Parks, Recreation & Fitness. Access is among the highest we track, and mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. The model adds for the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — and subtracts for what it cannot explain.

Pell recipients complete within a few points of the overall rate. The published cost is well above what the lowest-income families pay on average.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

University of Memphis at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
72.0%
Six-year completion[2]
50.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$57,507

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,923
Median student debt[4]
$23,300
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$15,393

University of Memphis rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Memphis is a public university in Memphis, Tennessee, enrolling 12,701 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the top fifth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (85th percentile).

The university admits 72.0% of applicants, a rate below the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Retention runs below the peer median: 77.4% return after the first year, against 83.1% for comparable institutions.

The six-year graduation rate is 50.9%, compared to a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 33.9% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four sit apart. Access is the strongest, at the 91st percentile, and mobility is close behind at the 88th percentile.

Return is the weakest of the four, at the 40th percentile, with affordability between them at the 78th percentile.

Access gives University of Memphis its clearest point of strength, with mobility and affordability also placing well in Azimuth’s national comparison. Azimuth places the university’s access pillar in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions and its mobility pillar in the 88th percentile.

Azimuth places affordability in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, whereas return stands in the 40th percentile. Access is the strongest pillar and return the weakest, leaving a profile that is stronger on access than on return.

Enrolled students who submitted SAT scores posted a middle 50% range from 915 to 1,180. For the ACT, the range was 18 to 24.

Pell Grants reach 41.2% of undergraduates. Azimuth ranks University of Memphis #140 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Among Pell recipients, the six-year completion rate is 50.3%, which falls 0.6 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (50.9%). For mobility, the university ranks #184 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,686 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of Memphis rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#224

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 88
Access & reach
National percentile: 91
Affordability
National percentile: 78
Return on investment
National percentile: 40

Top-ranked majors

  1. Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General#9
  2. International Business#50
  3. Fine and Studio Arts#54

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 / University of Memphis briefing

University of Memphis cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients at University of Memphis, the average net price, the amount paid after grants and scholarships, is $12,397. The published standard cost of attendance is $25,169; it includes in-state tuition and fees of $10,728 and room and board of $11,342.

Published out-of-state tuition and fees are $15,384, stated separately from that standard budget. Average financial aid offsets $12,772 of the published cost, covering about 51% for the average aid recipient.

The university’s is below the $15,634 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $3,237. Azimuth ranks University of Memphis #307 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The aid offset and lower peer comparison describe a lower average price for aid recipients than at comparable institutions.

The published cost of attendance at University of Memphis is $25,169. Azimuth ranks the university #307 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $10,607, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $13,923, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $18,691. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,084.

Aid covers about 51% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $12,397, which is $3,237 below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,300 in federal student loans, $3,224 above the peer median of $20,076. An estimated 83.9% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS hold a separate median of $15,393. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $265 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,923

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Memphis

Federal borrowing reaches 83.9% of federal aid recipients at University of Memphis, and borrowers who complete carry median federal student loan debt of $23,300. The peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076; the university's median is above that figure by $3,224.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $15,393.

At University of Memphis, access is the strongest pillar, but the investment picture is restrained. Graduates earn a median of $57,507 four years after completion, placing earnings in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,686 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios range from $44,374 in the downside case to $78,246 in the upside case, with the typical scenario matching the observed median. Median federal debt at completion is $23,300, above the $20,076 peer median by $3,224.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $265 a month if repaid over ten years. Below-expected earnings and debt above the peer median point in the same direction.

For the separate parent-borrower population using Parent PLUS, median borrowing is $15,393. That student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $265 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
$23,300
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$15,393

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$265/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$196/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 / University of Memphis briefing

University of Memphis career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Return is the weakest of the four pillars for the University of Memphis, at the 40th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion, $57,507, sit $8,103 below the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That places the median at the 41st percentile nationally. Graduates earn about $2,686 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 45th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $5,439.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,125. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $789.

For graduates entering the workforce, earnings sit toward the lower end of nonprofit four-year institutions. Median earnings at University of Memphis are $57,507 four years after completion; Azimuth places that figure in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort contains 4,180 completers. Graduates earn about $2,686 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix range from $44,374 in the downside scenario to $78,246 in the upside scenario, with the typical scenario matching the reported median. An estimated 27.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The lower earnings placement and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,507. That is $8,103 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks University of Memphis #882 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,686 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. That places the earnings result at the 45th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,439. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,125.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $789. The bachelor's degrees awarded are concentrated in business, parks and recreation, and health professions, while engineering and computer science programs make up a smaller share.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $44,374 on the downside to $78,246 on the upside for completers. An estimated 27.9% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings vary substantially across the earnings scenarios and the fields behind them. The downside earnings scenario is $44,374, the typical scenario is $57,507, and the upside scenario reaches $78,246.

The value picture at University of Memphis pairs a net price that sits below the peer median with earnings that run below it. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,397, which is $3,237 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,300 in federal student loans. That is $3,224 above the $20,076 peer median, and corresponds to an estimated payment of $265 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $15,393. The net price sits below the peer median, while completers earn about $2,686 less than the model expects for similar students.

A lower price and below-expected earnings pull in opposite directions, so the return depends on the program.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,439
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,125
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$2,686

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 / University of Memphis briefing

University of Memphis acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

At 72.0%, University of Memphis admitted a substantial share of applicants in the reported entering class. This rate is the share of that year’s applicants who were admitted, not a prediction for an individual applicant.

It is below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
72.0%
Approximate lower endpoint
915
Reported average
1088
Approximate upper endpoint
1180

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Memphis briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Memphis?[12]

At the University of Memphis, larger bachelor’s programs span markedly different median earnings four years after completion. Nursing stands at $75,444, with 296 degrees awarded; Azimuth places it #278 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Business Administration and Management records $65,045, alongside 138 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national field rank of #229. Kinesiology and Physical Education shows $50,126 and 433 degrees awarded, ranking #129 nationally by Azimuth within its field.

Psychology has median earnings of $45,700 on 195 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #262 nationally within its field. These listed fields range from higher to more moderate earnings.

The program picture includes several nationally ranked fields, though earnings differ sharply by field. University of Memphis has 35 ranked bachelor’s programs among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth ranks Engineering Technologies/Technicians #9 nationally among bachelor’s programs in engineering technologies; it awarded 40 degrees and its completers earned a median of $79,914 four years after completion. International Business ranks #50 nationally by Azimuth among bachelor’s programs in its field, with 23 degrees awarded and median earnings of $62,729 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Fine and Studio Arts #54 nationally among bachelor’s programs in its field; 54 degrees were awarded, and median earnings were $48,064 four years after completion.

The University of Memphis awards bachelor's degrees across 35 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 41 with published four-year earnings data. Business is the largest program family, accounting for 16.8% of degrees awarded, followed by Parks, Recreation & Fitness at 13.9% and Health Professions at 9.5%.

The largest single programs are Kinesiology and Physical Education at 433 degrees awarded, Nursing at 296, and Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 235. The highest-ranked program is Engineering Technologies/Technicians, which ranks #2 in Tennessee within its field and reports median earnings of $79,914 four years after completion.

International Business ranks #50 nationally and #1 in Tennessee within its field. The highest-earning programs are in engineering and computer science.

Computer Science graduates earn a median of $90,207 four years out, from 71 degrees awarded. Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering follow closely, at $89,702 and $89,516 respectively, from 23 and 48 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration: the largest programs sit in health, fitness, and interdisciplinary fields, while the best-paid ones are small engineering and computer science cohorts. The highest earnings come from programs that award far fewer degrees than the largest departments. 14.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 433 degrees awarded
$50,126
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 296 degrees awarded
$75,444
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 235 degrees awarded
$49,707
Psychology, General 195 degrees awarded
$45,700
Business Administration, Management and Operations 138 degrees awarded
$65,045
Finance and Financial Management Services 102 degrees awarded
$65,132

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 / University of Memphis briefing

How does University of Memphis serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is also a strong area for University of Memphis, with its mobility pillar in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 50.9%, while Pell recipients complete at 50.3%, below the overall rate by 0.6 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $2,686 less than the model expects for similar students, and earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit in the 45th percentile. Strong mobility standing coincides with earnings that fall short of the model’s expectation.

Access is a clear strength at University of Memphis, where Azimuth places the access pillar in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Undergraduate enrollment is 12,701.

The admission rate is 72.0%, compared with a peer median of 78.1%, the middle value for comparable institutions. Pell Grants reach 41.2% of undergraduates, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 33.9%. The access ranking and Pell reach point in the same direction.

06 / University of Memphis briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Memphis?[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 University of Memphis.

Admissions peerBaptist Health Sciences University82.0% admitted
Comparison with University of Memphis
MeasureUniversity of MemphisBaptist Health Sciences University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,507$73,191+$15,684 vs University of Memphis
Average annual net price$12,397$11,212-$1,185 vs University of Memphis · lower cost
Admission rate72.0%82.0%
Explore Baptist Health Sciences University →
Higher-admission alternativeArkansas State University82.3% admitted
Comparison with University of Memphis
MeasureUniversity of MemphisArkansas State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,507$56,631-$876 vs University of Memphis
Average annual net price$12,397$12,366-$31 vs University of Memphis · lower cost
Admission rate72.0%82.3%
Explore Arkansas State University →
Nearby alternativeFreed-Hardeman UniversityNearby option · TN
Comparison with University of Memphis
MeasureUniversity of MemphisFreed-Hardeman University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,507$50,701-$6,806 vs University of Memphis
Average annual net price$12,397$21,574+$9,177 vs University of Memphis · higher cost
Admission rate72.0%59.7%
Higher-earnings alternativeBaptist Health Sciences University$73,191 earnings
Comparison with University of Memphis
MeasureUniversity of MemphisBaptist Health Sciences University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,507$73,191+$15,684 vs University of Memphis
Average annual net price$12,397$11,212-$1,185 vs University of Memphis · lower cost
Admission rate72.0%82.0%
Explore Baptist Health Sciences University →
Lower-cost alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois$2,835 average net price
Comparison with University of Memphis
MeasureUniversity of MemphisTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,507$51,985-$5,522 vs University of Memphis
Average annual net price$12,397$2,835-$9,562 vs University of Memphis · lower cost
Admission rate72.0%100.0%
Similar profileNorth Carolina A & T State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Memphis
MeasureUniversity of MemphisNorth Carolina A & T State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,507$56,996-$511 vs University of Memphis
Average annual net price$12,397$10,846-$1,551 vs University of Memphis · lower cost
Admission rate72.0%49.9%
Explore North Carolina A & T State University →

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