Middle Tennessee State University

Public · Moderately Selective · TN

Photo: MTSUGoRaidersGo (CC BY 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationTN · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads16,301

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate35.9%

6-yr grad rate53.7%

Drop-out rate20.5%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$10k

Out-of-state tuition$32k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity37%

Gender diversity51.9%

International1.8%

Identity—

Overview

MTSU sits in Murfreesboro, just southeast of Nashville, and has built a national reputation around two specific pipelines: recording industry programs feeding directly into Music City's industry, and an aerospace program training professional pilots and air traffic controllers. It is a large, accessible public university with a substantial commuter and transfer population, the kind of school where a student can build a genuinely specialized career path without needing to leave the state.

Academics

The recording industry and audio production programs, housed in the College of Media and Entertainment, are the clearest signature, with close ties to Nashville's music business, studios, and labels that give students real industry access while still enrolled. Aerospace is a genuine second strength, with actual flight training out of Murfreesboro's airport and air traffic control preparation built into the curriculum rather than classroom theory alone. MTSU also runs one of the few Concrete Industry Management programs in the country, a small but telling example of how specific and applied some of its programs get.

Campus & student life

Murfreesboro offers a college-town feel with Nashville close enough for regular access to its music and entertainment scene without students needing to live in the city itself. A large share of students commute or transfer in, which shapes a campus culture less centered on residential traditions than at smaller four-year schools, though Blue Raiders athletics and campus events still give it a real identity.

Getting in

Admission is accessible and grade-focused rather than essay-driven, consistent with MTSU's role as a large, welcoming regional public university. The recording industry and aerospace programs sometimes involve additional program-specific steps or auditions given their applied, resource-intensive, and space-limited nature. Transfer students are a genuine priority for MTSU, with established articulation agreements with Tennessee's community colleges making the path from associate to bachelor's degree unusually smooth.

After graduation

Recording industry graduates place into Nashville's music business — labels, studios, publishing, touring — at a rate few other universities can match given the direct pipeline. Aerospace graduates move directly into professional piloting and air traffic control careers, fields where MTSU's program has real name recognition with regional employers.

Worth knowing

The Albert Gore Research Center on campus holds a substantial political history archive, an unusual resource for a school this size. Students drawn by the recording industry or aerospace programs specifically should know these are competitive, space-limited tracks within an otherwise broadly accessible university.

mtsu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate69.1%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1010–1230 · ACT 20–26

Test policyrequired

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying