RN to BSN Programs

Tennessee

Best RN to BSN Programs in Tennessee, Ranked (2026)

Written and edited by , Editor B.A. Psychology, University of Washington Seattle · B.S. Computer Science, Oregon State University

Last updated

Tennessee Has 5 Ranked Programs, and Only 2 of Them Are Public

That ratio is the whole shape of this decision. In a state with dozens of options you pick a shortlist and ignore the rest; with 5 you can read all of them in an afternoon, and the differences between them are almost entirely about price.

2 of the 5 ranked programs sit at public institutions, and they are the two cheapest: Austin Peay State University at $7,272 and Tennessee Technological University at $9,990. Every other program on the page starts at $16,450 and runs to $26,000. The median is $16,450.

The catch worth reading twice: that public discount is a residency discount, and it is the only place in this ranking where your address changes the number. The 3 private programs charge one price to everyone. Out of state, Austin Peay State University costs $13,032 and Tennessee Technological University costs $14,190, which puts Austin Peay State University at $13,032 ahead of both. If you are a Tennessee resident the top of this list is genuinely cheap. If you are not, the list reorders itself.

Price sets most of this list, and completion decides the top of it. Tennessee Technological University finishes first at $9,990 , $2,718 dearer than Austin Peay State University, because its 58% graduation rate is 18 points higher. At the other end Southern Adventist University finishes 5th because it charges $26,000 — 4 times Austin Peay State University — and its 49% graduation rate cannot make that back. Cost is 55% of the score and graduation rate 45%, so a program cannot buy its way past a 4x price difference on completion alone. If the money is coming from an employer benefit rather than your own account, weigh those two factors differently than we do.

Volume is concentrated too. South College in Knoxville confers 262 nursing bachelor's degrees a year, roughly 41% of the 646 conferred across all 5 ranked programs, and it is one of only 3 of the 5 whose own program page states the track is fully online. The other schools may run theirs online as well — most completion tracks do — but they have not said so on the pages we hold, so ask before you rule one in or out.

One thing none of this changes: a BSN is not a licensing requirement in Tennessee. You can practice here on an ADN indefinitely. What the degree opens is the next door — charge and management tracks, case management, public health, Magnet employers that prefer it, and the MSN — which is the frame to hold while you look at these prices.

All 5 RN to BSN Programs in Tennessee, Ranked

Scored on in-state tuition (55%) and institutional graduation rate (45%). How we rank.

  1. 1st in Tennessee

    Tennessee Technological University

    Cookeville, TN · Public Fully online $9,990 annual in-state tuition 58% institutional graduation rate 152 degrees a year 69.9 score
    Through the Tennessee Mobility Act, Tennessee Tech awards credit for more than half of the upper-division nursing coursework to qualifying RN-to-BSN students, then builds each admitted nurse an individualized curricular plan from their own transcript.

    Tennessee Tech's Whitson-Hester School of Nursing runs its RN-to-BSN program fully online, with no campus visits required. It is built for registered nurses holding an ADN, ASN, or AAS in nursing, or enrolled in good standing in an accredited program at that level. Through the Tennessee Mobility Act, the school awards credit for more than half of the upper-division nursing coursework to qualifying students. ASN or AASN coursework typically covers most general education requirements as well, though a few may remain depending on when and where the earlier degree was earned. Students may also be eligible for experiential learning credit in the community health and leadership/management nursing courses. Because every registered nurse arrives with a different transcript, the school reviews each application individually and builds an individualized curricular plan to the BSN.

    Admission calls for current RN licensure, a 2.5 nursing GPA, and official transcripts so the school can determine remaining general education requirements. Applications are accepted year-round, and courses run in Fall, Spring, and Summer on a fixed rotation: the NURS 3465 Transition/Bridge course and both community health courses in Fall, management and leadership plus pharmacology in Spring, pathophysiology and health assessment in Summer, and NURS 4300 Research in Healthcare in all three. Nurses with a master's in their plans can use the Fast Track, which lets designated graduate courses count toward both the BSN and the MSN with a 3.25 nursing GPA, but the sequencing only works if the advisor is told before the first semester's registration. A registered nurse who already holds a bachelor's degree in another field is pointed to the school's RN-to-MSN bridge instead.

    • Fully online, no campus visits
    • Current RN license required
    • 2.5 nursing GPA minimum
    • Credit for over half of upper-division nursing courses
    • Applications accepted year-round
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Tennessee Technological University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  2. 2nd in Tennessee

    Austin Peay State University

    Clarksville, TN · Public Fully online, asynchronous $7,272 annual in-state tuition 40% institutional graduation rate 143 degrees a year 64.1 score
    A "Pathways to Certification" elective lets students point their one elective slot at a specific credential — holistic nursing through AHNCC, wound management as a Wound Treatment Associate through the WOCNCB, or emergency nursing through the BCEN.

    Austin Peay State University offers the RN to BSN as a concentration for registered nurses who already hold an active, unencumbered license, and for new graduates of an ADN or AAS program who are eligible for licensure. Coursework is 100% online and asynchronous, and students are not required to come to campus. Courses run as seven-week accelerated terms with five start dates a year, beginning mid-January, mid-March, end of May, mid-August, and mid-October, and following the Fort Campbell Campus academic calendar. The sample plan of study totals 30 credits across five terms, and the page states the program can be finished in as few as 12 months. Every student is on an individualized plan and can take one to three courses per term; most take two, which counts as full-time, and students may switch between full-time and part-time status.

    The curriculum covers pathophysiology, nursing assessment, research, community nursing, trends and issues, and leadership, with clinical components attached to the community nursing and leadership courses. It says students acquire clinical hours where they work and where they live under approved clinical contracts, working with the RN to BSN Advisor and Program Facilitator to secure sites; preceptors are used in the leadership clinical course, where students spend time with a nurse leader. Out-of-state and military-affiliated applicants are welcome, though the program states it cannot guarantee clinical practicum placement in all 50 states. Admission requires an unrestricted RN license, graduation from an accredited associate degree or diploma nursing program, a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, and a minimum grade of C in all nursing courses in the pre-licensure program; there is no entrance exam. Applicants who did not graduate from an accredited program must pass the NLN Nursing Acceleration Challenge Exams (NACE) II. The BSN program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

    • 100% online and asynchronous
    • 30-credit plan of study
    • Five start dates per year
    • Seven-week accelerated courses
    • Unrestricted RN license required
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Austin Peay State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  3. 3rd in Tennessee

    South College

    Knoxville, TN · Private for-profit Fully online $16,450 annual in-state tuition 42% institutional graduation rate 262 degrees a year 55.1 score
    South College opens admission not only to nurses who already hold an unencumbered RN license but also to applicants in the process of becoming licensed, and handles the clinical component through a mix of virtual laboratory work and in-person experiences in community-based facilities near the student.

    South College delivers its RN-BSN with 100% online classes and says the degree can be earned in as little as one year, depending on a student's prior academic background. Admission is open to registered nurses who show proof of a current unencumbered RN license, or who are in the process of becoming licensed as a registered nurse, and who hold an associate degree or diploma in nursing. Applicants must also meet South College's general admission requirements, and the college is explicit that general admission does not by itself guarantee admission to the nursing program. One or more major cohorts begin each year depending on enrollment, and application deadlines are held by the School of Nursing and the Admissions Department.

    Coursework builds on a working nurse's existing experience, deepening critical thinking, evidence-based care, research and leadership skills, with instruction in specialized fields including informatics and community nursing. The clinical component combines virtual laboratory work with in-person clinical experiences in community-based facilities convenient to the student's location; South College is an approved SARA institution, and SARA covers interstate clinical and practical placements among member states. After meeting with an admissions representative, each student is scheduled with a Student Success Advisor who determines eligibility, decides which previously completed college courses count toward program requirements, and identifies what still must be taken. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

    • 100% online classes
    • As little as 1 year to complete
    • Unencumbered RN license or licensure in progress
    • Associate degree or nursing diploma required
    • CCNE-accredited BSN
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about South College's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  4. 4th in Tennessee

    Bethel University

    McKenzie, TN · Private nonprofit $17,376 annual in-state tuition 35% institutional graduation rate 12 degrees a year 50.7 score
    Bethel’s RN-to-BSN admissions policy organizes study into 10-week modules, with pace depending on remaining prerequisites.

    The nursing courses can be completed in 50 weeks when general education prerequisites are already finished. The RN-entry policy calls for an active, unencumbered license and an associate degree or diploma from an accredited nursing program. Students apply to both Bethel University and its Department of Nursing and submit official college transcripts.

    • 10-week course modules
    • 50-week nursing sequence after prerequisites
    • Associate-degree or diploma entry
    • Active, unencumbered RN license
    • Separate university and nursing applications
    Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Bethel University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)
  5. 5th in Tennessee

    Southern Adventist University

    Collegedale, TN · Private nonprofit Online $26,000 annual in-state tuition 49% institutional graduation rate 77 degrees a year 48.1 score
    Southern Adventist’s online nursing sequence spans four semesters, with additional general education or cognate courses depending on transfer credit.

    Southern Adventist's online nursing sequence runs four semesters and includes 27 senior-level nursing credits. The full bachelor's degree requires 124 credits, so remaining general education and cognate courses belong in the same planning conversation. Some of those courses may need to be completed outside Southern's online offerings.

    Health assessment, population and community health, and leadership include clinical, project or practical experiences. Southern says students do not have to find their own clinical placements. That support is a concrete point to compare with programs that assign the search to students, while still allowing time for the practice itself. Review both the placement schedule and remaining non-nursing coursework before assuming the four-semester nursing plan covers your entire path to graduation.

    • Four-semester nursing sequence
    • 27 senior-level nursing credits
    • Online RN-to-BSN nursing courses
    • Practice experiences in three courses
    • No independent clinical-placement search
    Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Southern Adventist University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)

What Tennessee Charges, and Where Residency Changes It

$7,272 at Austin Peay State University to $26,000 at Southern Adventist University is a factor of 4, and unlike the public-heavy states the median of $16,450 sits nearer the middle of that range than the bottom, because 3 of the 5 programs are private.

Residency moves one number and only one. Austin Peay State University charges $5,760 more a year to a non-resident, and Tennessee Technological University charges $4,200 more. The private programs do not have two prices. If you hold a license in another state and are looking at Tennessee because a program here fits your schedule, run the comparison on the out-of-state column, not the headline one — and check state authorisation, because an online program is not offered in every state.

These are annual published tuition figures from IPEDS, not the total price of the completion track. Most RN-to-BSN programs run 30 or so upper-level credits, so what you actually pay depends on how many of your ADN credits transfer and how many terms you spread them across. Ask each school for a total-to-degree figure and how it counts your existing general education, because per-credit pricing is how this field hides the number.

What Tennessee RNs Earn, and Where the Ceiling Sits

BLS reports a median of $81,500 — $39.18 an hour — for Tennessee's 72,200 registered nurses, running from $63,970 at the 10th percentile to $104,920 at the 90th. That median is $16,050 below the national figure of $97,550, and Tennessee ranks 41st of 51 states.

The shape matters as much as the middle. Tennessee's 90th percentile is $104,920, which is only a little above the $97,550 national median — the top of the distribution here is close to the middle of the distribution nationally. That is a real constraint on what any credential can do for you inside the state, and it is worth naming before you sign for $26,000 a year.

One caveat that applies to every salary figure on this site: BLS reports all registered nurses as a single occupation and does not separate pay by degree. There is no federal number for what a Tennessee BSN earns against what a Tennessee ADN earns. Anyone quoting one has made it up. What the BSN is associated with is access to roles paying above the RN median rather than a raise in the same job.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release.

Questions About Tennessee RN to BSN Programs

Which Tennessee RN to BSN program is cheapest if I am not a Tennessee resident?
Austin Peay State University at $13,032. The 2 public programs charge a residency premium — Austin Peay State University goes from $7,272 to $13,032, and Tennessee Technological University from $9,990 to $14,190 — while the 3 private programs charge one price regardless of where you live. That narrows the gap without closing it: the publics are still the two cheapest options out of state, ahead of South College at $16,450.
Why does Southern Adventist University rank last in Tennessee?
Because the score is 55% cost and 45% institutional graduation rate, and Southern Adventist University charges $26,000 a year — 4 times what Austin Peay State University charges. Its 49% institutional graduation rate is not the weakest here, and that is worth something, but not enough to outrun the price under these weights. Worth knowing about that graduation figure either way: IPEDS measures it for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates, and an RN-to-BSN student is none of those three. It describes the institution, not the completion cohort.
Where do most Tennessee RN to BSN graduates come from?
South College in Knoxville, which confers 262 nursing bachelor's degrees a year — about 41% of the 646 across the 5 ranked programs. It is a private for-profit institution and it is the one program here whose own page states the completion track is fully online, which is a plausible reason for the volume. Ask it the same questions you would ask any program at that price: total cost to finish, not per credit, and how many of your ADN credits and general education transfer.
Does Tennessee require a BSN to keep an RN license?
No. Tennessee licenses registered nurses on the NCLEX-RN, which you can sit with an ADN or a hospital diploma, and no Tennessee law requires you to move up to a bachelor's degree. New York is the only state that has passed anything of the kind, and even there it applies only to nurses licensed after the 2017 law took effect and gives them ten years. In Tennessee the BSN buys access — charge and management tracks, case management, public health roles, Magnet hospitals that prefer it, and admission to an MSN — rather than permission to keep working.

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