Between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River lies the state of Tennessee.
Here, the rich history of Civil War battlefields gives way to the serene natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains. The well-known Southern warmth of small towns spills over into major centers of commerce, arts, and culture in Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville.
The economy of Tennessee was once primarily agrarian, but starting in the 20th century, federal investments in the Tennessee Valley Authority spurred diversification. Today, agricultural products like poultry, soybeans, and cattle remain an important part of the Tennessee economy, while manufacturing and tourism are rapidly growing sectors.
Perhaps more than anywhere else in the nation, Tennessee is linked with music. Nashville has the Country Music Hall of Fame and flagship offices for the Big Three record labels (Sony, Warner, and Universal) on its iconic Music Row. Memphis has Beale Street, a national historic landmark and the birthplace of the Memphis blues, and the legendary Sun Studio, where Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis made their first records. It's also home to Graceland, the mansion that once belonged to the King himself. Country, rock, gospel, and the blues all have deep roots in Tennessee.
The Volunteer State is so known because of the number of volunteer soldiers the state supplied for the Mexican-American War, but many locals feel that the same bold spirit and fearless attitude is still an essential part of Tennessee tradition.
The unique heritage and culture of Tennessee make this state an exciting launchpad for any number of careers. These days, students have more options than ever when it comes to pursuing their professional goals through higher education. Many people are choosing to earn a degree through online learning programs.
These online degree tracks, which often don't require any on-campus classroom attendance, are at the cutting edge of education. They integrate all of the rigorous academic standards and expansive resources of Tennessee's thriving colleges and universities, while still allowing students to keep up with the responsibilities of a family or full-time job. The state of Tennessee has an impressive roster of colleges offering online programs to undergraduate, graduate, and even doctoral students.
Accredited Online College Programs
Explore our featured online programs and find the right match for you today.
What are the best online colleges in Tennessee?
While compiling this list, we wanted to be sure that we accounted for not just one but all of the important factors that affect student experience at each school. To that end, we take into consideration data points such as graduation rate, test scores for incoming students, endowment size, institutional reputation, and student-faculty ratio. All of these points become part of our institutional excellence assessment.
We also consider average financial aid packages, return on investment based on tuition costs, student indebtedness after graduation, and expected early career salary for graduates, all of which become part of our student success assessment. Information for these assessments comes from sources such as individual college websites, U.S. News & World Report, Payscale, and the IPEDS database. All of these critical metrics have been used to build the following ranking for best online colleges in Tennessee.
Rankings
See our rankings methodology page.
