Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

King University

Bristol, Tennessee·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·king.edu
6-yr Graduation
48%
+0.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
1,157
peer median 1,238
Avg net price
$23,508
+$2.0k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
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About

King University is a Presbyterian-affiliated private university in Bristol, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
725
725 candidates competed
Admitted
723
99.7% acceptance rate
Enrolled
147
20.3% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
48%+0.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
45%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
49%
Full-time retention
60%

Pell equity

2.0pp gap
Pell recipients
44%
Non-Pell
42%

Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 51 Title IV programs, 11 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 40 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
51
Passing
11
21.6% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

51programs
  • Passing11 · 21.6%
  • No Data40 · 78.4%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
10
No data
40

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

11
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+23.7%
$40,796 vs $32,989
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+34.0%
$44,219 vs $32,989
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+38.2%
$71,222 vs $51,545
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
+47.9%
$48,784 vs $32,989
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+65.3%
$54,530 vs $32,989
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+78.2%
$58,770 vs $32,989
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+80.6%
$59,591 vs $32,989
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+99.5%
$102,808 vs $51,545

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

9
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
58%
$41,000 debt · $71,222 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
50%
$20,535 debt · $40,796 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
49%
$50,428 debt · $102,808 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
49%
$21,500 debt · $44,219 earn
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
46%
$24,863 debt · $54,530 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
38%
$18,575 debt · $48,784 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
35%
$21,112 debt · $59,591 earn
Computer and Information Sciences General
Bachelor Degree · Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
33%
$24,728 debt · $75,435 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1947Next review Dec 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 10

  1. Dec 2025Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Dec 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Dec 2024Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Apr 2024Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Sep 2022Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$22,300
$30–48k$19,281
$48–75k$21,500
$75–110k$28,318
$110k+$26,331

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$23,508
+$1,966vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $21,542
Federal loans
64.5%
In-state tuition
$34,800
Out-of-state
$34,800

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 566 students received $3.3M in Pell grants, alongside $9.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
566
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.3M
$3,348,182 total
Direct Loans
$9.1M
1,432 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
20
1k
21
1k
22
1k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$2.1M
540 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.6M
572 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$3.1M
223 loan awards
Parent PLUS$929K
65 loan awards
Grad PLUS$330K
32 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 882 borrowers who entered repayment, 19 (2.1%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
2.1%
-0.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
882
Defaulted
19
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
6.7%
2017
6.3%
2018
4.7%
2019
2.1%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at King

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs48
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

411 total completions
01Health Professions
11929.0%
02Business
11127.0%
03Public Admin
6114.8%
04Psychology
338.0%
05Education
215.1%
06Parks/Recreation
204.9%
07Computer Sciences
174.1%
08Biological Sciences
122.9%
09History
92.2%
10Security/Protective
81.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
1,157
12-mo unduplicated
1,632
Undergraduate
1,317
Graduate
315

Gender split

Men
37%600
Women
63%1,032

Race / ethnicity composition

White
73.5%
Hispanic
7.9%
Black
6.6%
Non-resident
4.9%
Two or more
3.8%
Unknown
1.9%
Asian
0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
507
275 M · 232 W
Women athletes
45.8%
Athletic aid
$4.2M
Total student aid
Budget
$7.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$2.0M
$1.9M
Recruiting expense
$15K
$19K
Head-coach salaries
$37K
$35K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 11

Soccer
43 M · 33 W
$722K
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
33 M · 36 W
$445K
Wrestling
37 M · 24 W
$1.1M
Basketball
30 M · 20 W
$1.1M
Baseball
49 M ·
$434K
Volleyball
22 M · 23 W
$495K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.74
1 offenses · 1,357 students

3-year trend

3.442 yrs ago4.831 yr ago0.74Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
15
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons11
Drugs31
Liquor220

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
62

King vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions King selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectKing University
48%1,157$23,508Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Anderson University
66%54.7%4,710$28,183Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Barton College
46%94.2%1,235$23,665Baccalaureate
Belhaven University
49%49.8%4,213$22,078Doctoral/Professional
Campbellsville University
42%79.7%10,836$18,246Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Carson-Newman University
53%90.4%2,669$18,661Doctoral/Professional
Catawba College
47%75.2%1,376$18,210Baccalaureate
Covenant College
69%86.5%1,100$24,832Baccalaureate
Erskine College
45%62.7%912$22,018Doctoral/Professional
Lee University
63%70.5%3,714$20,399Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Lees-McRae College
42%76.8%910$25,765Baccalaureate
Limestone University
34%97.3%1,807$20,415Baccalaureate
Lincoln Memorial University
47%62.6%6,081$17,999Doctoral/Professional
Mars Hill University
45%67.9%1,110$20,313Baccalaureate
Milligan University
63%72.3%1,240$21,131Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Montreat College
48%69.2%962$26,328Baccalaureate
Pfeiffer University
35%96.0%889$21,953Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Southern Wesleyan University
57%99.5%980$19,968Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Tusculum University
25%72.2%1,103$22,874Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
University of Mount Olive
48%75.8%2,109$17,893Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Peer group median48%75.2%1,238$21,542

King Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Phone
423-652-6325

The page provides a navigation list with links to various sections of King University's website, including resources for current students, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, and community engagement. Additionally, it includes links to various university offices and informational resources, but lacks specific details about the Office of Institutional Research or equivalent office.

Visit IR office page
Team
1 member
  • Jason Thead
    Director of Institutional Research and Assessment

Research funding

External research funding from NSF, NIH, HERD, and federal spending sources.

NIH awards
$4,780,614
USA Spending
$4,501,089
All sources
$9,281,703

Reports & documents (1)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni of King (23)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Haley Augello
    Athletics
  • James McDonald Chaney
  • Tywan Claxton
    Athletics
  • Donald S. Coffey
    Science
  • Christian H. Cooper
    Finance
  • Patricia Cornwell
    Literature
  • Rodney D. Fogg
    Military
  • Alexander W. Gregg
    Politics
  • Mike Helton
    Sports
  • Sarah Hildebrandt
    Athletics
  • Anne Kirkpatrick
    Law Enforcement
  • William Laird III
    Politics
Showing 112 of 23
1 / 2

Frequently asked questions about King University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about King.

What is the graduation rate at King University?

King University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 48% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend King University?

King University reports a total enrollment of 1,157 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at King University?

The average net price at King University is $23,508 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at King University?

King University's yield rate is 20.3%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is King University located?

King University is located in Bristol, Tennessee 37620-2699.

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