The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Admission to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville has grown increasingly selective, even as its position in the rankings has remained steady. In the 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, the university is ranked 109, close to its rank of 103 a decade earlier. Gaining admission, however, has become substantially more competitive. For the class entering in 2025, the university admitted 41.6% of applicants, an admit rate higher than just 7% of peer schools among similarly ranked public research universities. This marks the institution as far more selective than typical peers in its category. At the same time, the university draws committed applicants who choose to attend once accepted. Its yield rate reached 27.4% in 2025, which is higher than 83% of peer schools in that same group. For prospective students, these figures indicate that Tennessee commands solid interest from admitted candidates, and applicants face an increasingly rigorous admissions process compared to counterpart public institutions nationwide.

Applicants to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville generally need solid academic profiles that align closely with selective public university standards. For the 2025 entering class, the middle 50% of enrolled students achieved an ACT composite score between 25 and 31, reflecting the testing standard for most undergraduates. Students submitting SAT credentials recorded a median score of 1280, which is higher than 56% of peer public universities. In addition, applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway, which are unofficial data, show an admitted international student profile centered around a median unweighted GPA of 3.62. For families and students planning their applications, these figures indicate that successful admission requires sustained classroom performance and test results that match or exceed these central benchmarks to maintain a competitive profile.

Undergraduate study at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville is broadly dispersed rather than heavily concentrated, with the top three majors accounting for 18.6% of all bachelor's degrees awarded in 2025. The academic profile is highlighted by programs that achieve national recognition while attracting large enrollments. For instance, Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management is one of the largest undergraduate fields on campus and earned a number 3 national ranking from U.S. News in 2027. Graduate strengths include Nuclear Engineering, which was ranked number 3 nationally in 2026. Degree earners in technical disciplines command strong early compensation. According to 2023 earnings data, bachelor's degree recipients in Computer Engineering reported median earnings of $91,465 one year after graduation. International students make up only 0.7% of bachelor's degree recipients, but represent a much larger presence in doctoral programs. For prospective students, the university offers high-caliber specialized training, particularly in supply chain and engineering disciplines.

Total enrollment stood at 38,728 students in 2025, with undergraduates making up the vast majority. The undergraduate population is largely domestic, where Asian students accounted for 4.1% of the entering freshman class. International representation at the undergraduate level remains small, comprising less than one percent of incoming freshmen and continuing undergraduates. In contrast, global enrollment is much more pronounced at the advanced level, where 1,136 international graduate students made up 13.9% of all graduate students. Asian students also comprise a modest presence in graduate degree programs. Overall, the campus demographic is predominantly regional and domestic at the undergraduate level, while graduate programs bring together a noticeably larger contingent of international scholars.

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville has a student body concentrated tightly in traditional age brackets. In 2025, students aged 18 to 19 made up 42.1% of the undergraduate population, and those aged 20 to 21 accounted for 42.9%, leaving only a small share of older undergraduates. The graduate community also leans young, with 32.6% of graduate students between ages 22 and 24, followed by 30.1% aged 25 to 29. For prospective applicants, this profile points to a campus environment structured heavily around young adults progressing straight through their undergraduate years, alongside graduate cohorts who are primarily in their twenties.

International enrollment at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville follows very different trajectories depending on study level. At the undergraduate level, international representation has trended downward, with international students making up just 0.9% of undergraduates in 2025. This share is higher than only 3% of peer institutions in its comparison group, underscoring that international undergraduates remain a small minority on campus. In contrast, international graduate enrollment has expanded over the past decade, reaching 13.9% of all graduate students in 2025. International degree recipients are heavily concentrated in advanced research rather than baccalaureate degrees, ultimately comprising 18.1% of all doctoral graduates in 2025. Among advanced programs, international students gravitate toward technical fields such as computer science at the master's level and industrial engineering at the doctoral level. For prospective international candidates, the university represents an environment where international peers are predominantly found within specialized graduate and research programs.

Applicants exploring colleges in this region have a variety of public and private options within a short driving distance. Located 89.5 kilometers away, Tennessee Technological University is a public national university ranked 299 in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. In neighboring South Carolina, Clemson University is a public national university ranked 80, situated 107.3 kilometers away. Also in South Carolina, Furman University is a private liberal arts college located 109.7 kilometers away, holding the 57th spot among national liberal arts colleges. In nearby Kentucky, Berea College sits 113.8 kilometers away and is ranked 62 among liberal arts colleges.

Campus safety indicators at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville show a noticeable improvement in recent years. Forward Pathway's crime rate per 1,000 students declined over the past decade, dropping to 12.1 in 2025, which represents its lowest level since 2016. An examination of campus incident reports reveals that the vast majority of safety issues are related to substance enforcement rather than violent crimes. Across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations formed by far the largest single category, totaling 1,734 incidents. Liquor law arrests were the second most frequent occurrence, with 327 incidents recorded across those same years. Drug law violations also accounted for several hundred referrals and arrests over that timeframe, while interpersonal offenses like stalking and domestic violence occurred far less frequently. These figures suggest that university safety personnel primarily contend with campus alcohol regulations.