Bryan College-Dayton

Private · TN

Photo: Harrison Keely (CC BY 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationTN · South

SettingRural

Undergrads814

Student:faculty14:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate45.4%

6-yr grad rate49.7%

Drop-out rate29%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$20k

Out-of-state tuition$20k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity32.7%

Gender diversity49.1%

International2.7%

IdentityInterdenominational

Overview

Bryan College is a Christian liberal arts college in Dayton, Tennessee, named for William Jennings Bryan, who argued the prosecution's side in the town's famous Scopes trial. It teaches from an explicitly conservative evangelical worldview, on a hilltop campus overlooking the Tennessee River valley.

Academics

Ministry, education, business, and the sciences are Bryan's core program areas, with coursework across departments framed within its evangelical statement of faith, including in how the sciences are taught. Small class sizes give students direct faculty access throughout.

Campus & student life

The hilltop Dayton campus is rural and scenic, set in a small East Tennessee town rather than a college city, and much of student life is self-contained on campus given the surrounding area's small size. Chapel and religious life programming are a regular, expected part of the weekly rhythm.

Getting in

Bryan reviews applicants holistically, with a statement of faith and alignment with its evangelical mission a real part of what the college looks for alongside academic preparation.

Worth knowing

The college's name and founding are directly tied to the Scopes 'Monkey Trial,' and Bryan teaches a young-earth creationist perspective within its science curriculum as an explicit institutional position — a defining fact prospective students, particularly those interested in the sciences, should know going in.

bryan.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate—

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot reported

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Applying