Business/Managerial Economics at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

The headline here is counterintuitive: UT-Knoxville's Business Economics program ranks only in the 20th percentile nationally but hits the 60th percentile among Tennessee schools. That gap tells you more about the state's business education landscape than this specific program—Tennessee's median for this major sits nearly $10,000 below the national benchmark. UT-Knoxville essentially performs at Tennessee's standard, which means it's middling compared to Belmont while outpacing Memphis by over $25,000 at the four-year mark.

The debt load of $23,847 is reasonable, creating a manageable 0.54 ratio to first-year earnings. The real question is whether starting at $44,000—about $9,000 below the national median—makes sense when stronger business programs elsewhere launch graduates closer to $53,000. The 43% earnings growth to $62,859 by year four shows solid trajectory, but you're still playing catch-up to programs that start higher.

Given the small sample size here (under 30 graduates), treat these numbers as directional rather than definitive. For in-state families prioritizing UT-Knoxville's broader academic reputation and lower tuition, this program won't sink you in debt. But if your child is comparing business programs across multiple states, understand they'll likely start behind peers from stronger programs and spend their early career closing that gap.