Middle Tennessee State University

Overview

Rankings

• #1 Best Communications Colleges in Tennessee
• #3 Best Criminal Justice Colleges in Tennessee
• #4 Best Online Colleges in Tennessee
• #4 Best Business Colleges in Tennessee
• #5 Best Bachelor's Programs in Tennessee
• #5 Best Master's Programs in Tennessee
• #6 Best Colleges in Tennessee
• #7 Best Biology Colleges in Tennessee

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Middle Tennessee State University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a public institution in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State University offers a realistic path to admission, with roughly 69% of applicants receiving an offer. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,121. The graduation rate is roughly 54%.

Acceptance Rate

69%

Retention Rate

80%

SAT Average

1121

ACT Midpoint

23

SAT Range

1010–1230

ACT Range

20–26

Full-Time Faculty

81%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$9,739

Student–Faculty Ratio

16:1

Diversity Index

0.57

First-Gen Students

36%

Applicants

12,868

Admitted

9,335

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Middle Tennessee State University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 30% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school many admits weigh against other offers.

Yield Rate

30%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

6%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

93%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Middle Tennessee State University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Middle Tennessee State University is $31,574, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $13,359. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $9,289 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $20,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$10,266

Out-of-State

$31,574

Avg Net Price

$13,359

Median Debt

$20,000

Pell Grant Rate

32%

Federal Loan Rate

28%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Middle Tennessee State University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Middle Tennessee State University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Middle Tennessee State University earn a median of $48,541, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$39,941

8 Years

$44,447

10 Years

$48,541

Debt-to-Earnings

0.41x

Earning > $25K

62%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Middle Tennessee State University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Middle Tennessee State University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.10%, in line with strong performers nationally. About 6.5% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 17.1% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $89,100, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.10%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

17.1%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

6.5%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$121,056

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Middle Tennessee State University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Middle Tennessee State University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.42, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (0.01), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 7% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.42

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

0.01

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

6.6%

Support Ratio

0.98

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Middle Tennessee State University produces inventors at a measurable rate, with 13 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

0.13%

Top 92% nationally

Patents Produced

13

Linked to graduates

Patent Citations

9

Downstream influence

Inventors From Low-Income

0.10%

Bottom-20% families

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$762,114

Top Programs

The fields Middle Tennessee State University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 19% $79,063 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 12% $41,658 early-career
• Psychology 7% $41,658 early-career
• Transportation 6% $51,377 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 5% $39,882 early-career
• Communications 5% $33,881 early-career
• Criminal Justice 4% $41,303 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 3% $64,390 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.