Best Community programs in Tennessee, ranked by enrollment
All community and social service specialists not listed.
16 schools in Tennessee run programs that feed this job, graduating 144 people a year. The job pays a median of $53,850 in Tennessee across about 1,940 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Tennessee that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Tennessee that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Tennessee (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Tennessee page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 44.0000In Tennessee → | 62 | 43.1% | 6 | $35,168 | $29,279 |
| 2 | CIP 39.0701In Tennessee → | 34 | 23.6% | 5 | $32,226 | $26,000 |
| 3 | CIP 30.1701In Tennessee → | 20 | 13.9% | 2 | $36,206 | $29,240 |
| 4 | CIP 39.0799In Tennessee → | 12 | 8.3% | 3 | $32,226 | $26,000 |
| 5 | CIP 44.0201In Tennessee → | 12 | 8.3% | 2 | $39,102 | $27,000 |
| 6 | CIP 19.0711In Tennessee → | 4 | 2.8% | 2 | $31,642 | $23,092 |
Top 16 schools in Tennessee
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 16 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Human Services, General | $32,437 | 53% | — | 86% |
| 2 | Lee University Cleveland, TN Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 34 | Pastoral Studies/Counseling | $35,189 | 63% | $18,918 | 71% |
| 3 | The University of Tennessee Southern Pulaski, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Behavioral Sciences | — | 37% | — | 87% |
| 4 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Community Organization and Advocacy | — | 94% | $14,854 | 6% |
| 5 | American Baptist College Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Human Services, General | — | 39% | $19,454 | — |
| 6 | Carson - Newman University Jefferson City, TN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Human Services, General | — | 53% | $19,537 | 90% |
| 7 | Milligan University Milligan, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Other | — | 63% | $19,143 | 72% |
| 8 | Bryan College - Dayton Dayton, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Human Services, General | — | 50% | $16,130 | — |
| 9 | Dyersburg State Community College Dyersburg, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Early Childhood and Family Studies | — | 34% | — | — |
| 10 | Southern Adventist University Collegedale, TN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 3 | Pastoral Studies/Counseling | — | 49% | $24,187 | 65% |
| 11 | Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Behavioral Sciences | — | 53% | $14,286 | 69% |
| 12 | Johnson University Knoxville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Pastoral Studies/Counseling | $30,006 | 57% | $19,333 | 65% |
| 13 | Pentecostal Theological Seminary Cleveland, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Pastoral Studies/Counseling | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Welch College Gallatin, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Pastoral Studies/Counseling | — | 53% | $19,634 | — |
| 15 | Belmont University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Community Organization and Advocacy | — | 71% | $29,246 | 95% |
| 16 | Bethel University McKenzie, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Human Services, General | — | 35% | $21,324 | 60% |
All 16 schools in Tennessee
Every school in Tennessee with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State University | Johnson City | Public | 43 | 1 |
| Lee University | Cleveland | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 3 |
| The University of Tennessee Southern | Pulaski | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| American Baptist College | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Carson - Newman University | Jefferson City | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Milligan University | Milligan | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Bryan College - Dayton | Dayton | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Dyersburg State Community College | Dyersburg | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Southern Adventist University | Collegedale | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 2 |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Johnson University | Knoxville | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Pentecostal Theological Seminary | Cleveland | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Welch College | Gallatin | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Belmont University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What community and social service specialists, all other earn in Tennessee
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $56,730. Tennessee pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Tennessee
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other page.
How to become a Community
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Tennessee
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 19.0710Developmental Services Worker
- 19.0711Early Childhood and Family Studies
- 19.0712Parent Education Services
- 30.1701Behavioral Sciences
- 30.2502Contemplative Studies/Inquiry
- 39.0701Pastoral Studies/Counseling
- 39.0799Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Other
- 44.0000Human Services, General
- 44.0201Community Organization and Advocacy
Common questions
Answers for people weighing community and social service specialists, all other programs in Tennessee.
What degree do you need to become a Community?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Human Services, General, which awarded 62 degrees in Tennessee in 2024-25, 43.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Community?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Services, Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Behavioral Sciences, Community Organization and Advocacy, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 144 people a year in Tennessee.
How much do community and social service specialists, all other earn in Tennessee?+
The median is $53,850 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.1% below the U.S. median of $56,730. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for community and social service specialists, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +4.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 13,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Tennessee?+
16 institutions in Tennessee reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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