Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Lincoln Memorial University

Lincoln Memorial's nursing graduates face an unusual earnings trajectory that merits serious consideration: starting salaries of $59,588 trail both Tennessee's median ($67,094) and the national average ($74,888), but more troublingly, earnings actually drop by 9% over the first four years of graduates' careers. While the program falls in the middle of the pack for Tennessee schools (40th percentile statewide), it ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally—meaning 95% of nursing programs across the country produce better-earning graduates.

The debt load itself is reasonable at $27,750, translating to about half of first-year earnings, which isn't alarming for a healthcare field. But the real concern is where graduates end up: earning $54,229 four years out means they're making roughly $20,000 less annually than peers from top Tennessee programs like Baptist Health Sciences or UT-Martin. For context, nearby schools with similar admission profiles are placing nurses at substantially higher starting salaries.

For families banking on nursing as a reliable career path—and it generally is—this program's outcomes suggest something isn't connecting graduates to the higher-paying positions that other Tennessee nursing schools routinely secure. Given the downward earnings trend and weak competitive positioning both in-state and nationally, exploring other Tennessee nursing options would be prudent before committing here.