Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Christian Brothers University

Christian Brothers University's nursing program lacks graduate-specific data due to small cohort sizes, but comparable Tennessee programs suggest a financially workable investment. Based on state medians, students can expect around $67,000 in first-year earnings and roughly $26,700 in debt—a manageable 0.40 ratio that's well below the concerning 1.0 threshold. By year four, earnings jump to nearly $83,000, showing healthy salary progression that outpaces many peer programs in the state.

The challenge is that this estimated first-year figure trails both the national nursing median ($75,000) and what top Tennessee programs produce. Graduates from Strayer University-Tennessee and Galen Health start around $76,000-$81,000, suggesting Christian Brothers may not deliver the same immediate earning power despite similar training. Whether that $10,000-$14,000 gap stems from the school's smaller network, different clinical partnerships, or simply reflects the uncertainty of working from state averages remains unclear.

For parents, the key question is whether Christian Brothers' smaller program size—which limits our data visibility—offers advantages like personalized attention that justify potentially starting lower on the salary scale. The debt load is reasonable and the four-year earnings are strong, but if maximizing immediate post-graduation income matters, the larger Tennessee nursing programs with verified higher starting salaries deserve serious consideration.