Tennessee Tech University has once again been ranked as a best national university by U.S. News & World Report, marking 11 consecutive years atop the charts.
The news publication’s 2026 rankings show that Tech climbed 31 spots over last year’s finish to tie for a place among the top two public universities in the state – the largest year-to-year gain across all public and private institutions in the state.
Altogether, U.S. News recognized Tech across eight categories, including the top schools for social mobility, business, computer science, engineering, nursing and psychology.
Tech ranked in the top 50 institutions nationwide for lowest median debt among graduates and, as with previous years, maintains the lowest graduate debt of all public universities in the state. Tech additionally ranks in the top two public universities in the state for graduation rates, alumni earnings and incoming student ACT scores.
“When we say that Tennessee Tech puts students first, you don’t have to take our word for it,” said Tech President Phil Oldham. “For more than a decade, we have earned top honors from U.S. News because we continue to deliver an unmatched value for students that equips our graduates for success in their careers and in life.”
Oldham continued, “I’m especially proud of how our faculty, staff and students managed to build on already impressive rankings and ascend 31 spots over last year’s finish – evidence of how Tennessee Tech continues to set a higher bar for itself, just as we challenge our students to do every day.”
Tech’s placement on U.S. News’ rankings comes as the university is celebrating its largest total enrollment in a decade, fueled by the fourth largest freshman class in university history and the highest freshman retention rate on record.
Earlier this year, Money.com named Tech the top public university in Tennessee, while Forbes named Tech to its “America’s Top Colleges” list and SmartAsset ranked Tech as the number-one “best value” public university in the state.
U.S. News’ 2026 rankings were calculated using 17 key measures of academic quality for national universities. Learn more at https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges.
Jonathan Frank
