Business Administration, Management and Operations at The University of Tennessee Southern

UT Southern's business program delivers earnings below both national and Tennessee standards, though the debt burden remains manageable relative to first-year income. At $36,954, graduates earn about $6,000 less than the typical Tennessee business grad and nearly $9,000 below the national median. While the program ranks in the 40th percentile within Tennessee—middle of the pack statewide—it places in just the 14th percentile nationally, indicating this outcome is fairly typical for regional institutions but lags significantly when compared across the country.

The debt picture offers some relief: at $24,625, it's slightly below both state and national medians, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.67 that most graduates should be able to manage within a reasonable timeframe. Still, when Tennessee institutions like UT-Knoxville and Tennessee Wesleyan are producing business graduates earning $20,000+ more annually, the opportunity cost becomes significant—that's roughly $100,000 in additional lifetime earnings over just five years.

The critical caveat here is sample size: fewer than 30 graduates reported data, so individual circumstances heavily influence these figures. For students committed to staying in the Pulaski area or who have strong cost advantages at UT Southern, the controllable debt makes this workable. But families with geographic flexibility should seriously compare this to Tennessee's stronger business programs, where the earnings premium would likely justify any modest increase in tuition.