2026 Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools in Tennessee
[Critical Care Nursing](/majors/health-care-professions/nursing/critical-care-nursing/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find the best return on investment for critical care nursing students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools in Tennessee
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in critical care nursing, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools
For return on investment in critical care nursing, no school beat University Of Memphis this year. University Of Memphis is a very large public school located in the city of Memphis. Students from in state pay about $10,728 in tuition and fees, compared with $15,384 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for critical care nursing graduates is $27,168. Early-career critical care nursing graduates make about $48,890. That is a strong return on a $27,168 median debt. University Of Memphis admits about 72% of applicants.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Vanderbilt University earned it the #2 place for critical care nursing. Set in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt University is a large private not-for-profit institution. In-state tuition and fees average $67,498. Students borrow a median of $13,975 to complete the critical care nursing program here. Critical Care Nursing graduates of Vanderbilt University earn a median of $125,565 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $13,975 median debt. Roughly 6% of applicants are accepted.
Students looking for strong value in critical care nursing will find it at King College, which ranked #3. Located in the city of Bristol, King College is a small private not-for-profit university. Students from in state pay about $20,397 in tuition and fees. Students borrow a median of $25,000 to complete the critical care nursing program here. Critical Care Nursing graduates of King College earn a median of $49,297 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $25,000 median debt. King College admits about 100% of applicants.
Students looking for strong value in critical care nursing will find it at Southern Adventist University, which ranked #4. Located in the suburb of Collegedale, Southern Adventist University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit university. In-state tuition and fees average $27,300. Typical student debt for critical care nursing graduates is $26,596. Critical Care Nursing graduates of Southern Adventist University earn a median of $77,467 early in their careers. Set against $26,596 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 66%.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
