University of Tennessee

By James A. Barham, PhD

In brief

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became a state. It has nearly 30,000 students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #111 in the United States and #335 in the world. It admitted 41.6% of applicants for fall 2024; admitted students had a median SAT score of 1285 and a median ACT score of 28.

Its affiliated research centers include the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, the UT Anthropological Research Facility, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, of Manhattan Project fame.

Where Tennessee’s influence is strongest

Tennessee’s influence is led by anthropology, where it ranks in the US top 50. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:

• Anthropology: #43 in the US (#120 in the world)
• Mathematics: #60
• Criminal justice and earth sciences: #65 each
• History: #68

Within those fields, Tennessee is a national leader in several specialties:

• #1 in the US: sport psychology
• #4: forensic anthropology
• #5: supply chain management
• #9: big data

By comparison, Tennessee sits further back in philosophy (#149), communications (#156), and religious studies (#220).

How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.

Notable people

Tennessee is associated with two Nobel laureates, the immunologist Peter C. Doherty and the economist James M. Buchanan. Other UT-connected figures include the novelists Cormac McCarthy and Alex Haley, the biologist E.O. Wilson, the economist Frank Knight, the computer scientist Jack Dongarra, the actor Dixie Carter, and Senators Howard Baker, Estes Kefauver, and Lamar Alexander. Our full lists of Tennessee’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.

Frequently asked questions

Is Tennessee hard to get into? Moderately. It admitted 41.6% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 600–680 on the SAT reading section and 600–690 on math.

What does Tennessee cost after financial aid? Tuition is $13,812 for Tennessee residents and $33,256 for out-of-state students in 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $17,499 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $9,626 for incomes below $30,000 to $26,651 for incomes above $110,000.

How do Tennessee graduates do? 74.5% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 92% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $65,090.

What is Tennessee best known for academically? By our influence data: anthropology, mathematics, and criminal justice, plus sport psychology, where it ranks first in the country.