Tennessee Tech has been named the top public university in the state of Tennessee for the third time by Money Magazine.
News and Public Relations Director Jonathan Frank said the repeat recognition establishes a clear pattern of success for the institution. Frank said the ranking reflects a standard that the university has maintained the past few years as a result of their aesthetic campus, talented student body and high quality faculty.
“It’s exciting because at this point, this is a pattern,” Frank said. “We’ve now been named the top public university in Tennessee three times by Money. So students and their parents can see how we’ve held on to that number one spot over time and feel really good about knowing that we have a tradition of excellence here at Tennessee Tech.”
Frank said the university attracts high-achieving students, including valedictorians and National Merit Finalists, who enter with some of the highest ACT scores among locally governed institutions in the state. Frank said the school currently offers more than 225 fields of study and is expanding its academic catalog with new programs in architecture, integrated biology, and social work.
“You can see how the university’s been really intentional about keeping our programs on the cutting edge and aligning them with workforce needs because at the end of the day, we want students to not only graduate but use that degree to launch meaningful careers,” Frank said.
Frank said the university maintains their student body is its highest priority, an ethic that contributed to the highest freshman retention rate in the history of Tennessee Tech last fall.
“We invest in our students,” Frank said. “And students first is not just a marketing slogan here at Tennessee Tech. I mean, that is who we are. That is our ethic, that defines what we do.”
Frank said the university remains focused on affordability, noting that more than 80 percent of the student body receives some form of federal, state, or institutional financial aid. Frank said the school is also investing in physical campus improvements, including stadium renovations, a new residence hall and the engineering building.
“This is a message that we’re really proud of because as President (Phil) Oldham said, yes, students are savvy consumers, they want the best value, the best return on their investment, they want to know that they’re going to go somewhere where they can have a really vibrant student experience and get a degree that will help them get ahead,” Frank said. “And this is further confirmation that that is exactly who we are and what we offer at Tennessee Tech.”
© Copyright 2026 Stonecom Cookeville.
All Rights Reserved.
UC MOre
UC PArtners
Tools
UC NOW To Your Email
Subscribe To Our Daily News
Never wait for the news again! We deliver NEW news to your inbox daily. News as it happens – when and where you want it. No subscription required.
You have successfully joined our subscriber list.
Leave a Reply