Bachelor's · Knoxville, Tennessee
Is Civil Engineering at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.5 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $75,128
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $86,959
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $19,280
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $78k (likely $78k – $100k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $49k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TN
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 2.5 years (likely 2.1–3.3)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $240k (likely $136k – $334k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $826k (likely $612k – $1.06M)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 74%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Civil Engineering at other schools
🏗️ Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward engineering & architecture majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP Calculus AB or BC
- AP Physics 1
- AP Physics C: Mechanics
- AP Chemistry
IB Higher Level
- Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HL
- Physics HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
- Industrial Engineering (Master's)$150,903
- Computer Science (Master's)$135,764
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$132,036
- Veterinary Medicine (First professional)$123,713
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's)$123,330
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's)$120,482
- Chemistry (Doctoral)$114,312
- Engineering, Other (Doctoral)$113,720
- Mechanical Engineering (Master's)$112,342
- Accounting and Related Services (Master's)$112,249
- Psychology, General (Doctoral)$108,390
- Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's)$107,093