Best Compliance Officer programs in Tennessee, ranked by enrollment
Examine, evaluate, and investigate eligibility for or conformity with laws and regulations governing contract compliance of licenses and permits, and perform other compliance and enforcement inspection and analysis activities not.
16 schools in Tennessee run programs that feed this job, graduating 310 people a year. The job pays a median of $63,960 in Tennessee across about 7,990 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.
3 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 52.1001In Tennessee → | 178 | 57.4% | 11 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 2 | CIP 03.0104In Tennessee → | 112 | 36.1% | 6 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 3 | CIP 03.0103In Tennessee → | 20 | 6.5% | 3 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
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 | The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN Public · 2 feeder programs | 96 | Environmental Science | $28,188 | 50% | — | 81% |
| 2 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 88 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | $49,956 | 74% | — | 42% |
| 3 | Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | — | 40% | — | 96% |
| 4 | Miller - Motte College - Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | — | 60% | $26,425 | — |
| 5 | Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN Public · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Environmental Studies | — | 58% | — | 76% |
| 6 | University of Memphis Memphis, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | — | 51% | — | 72% |
| 7 | Rhodes College Memphis, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Environmental Science | — | 85% | $19,854 | 50% |
| 8 | Belmont University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Environmental Science | — | 71% | $29,246 | 95% |
| 9 | Tennessee State University Nashville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Environmental Science | — | 34% | — | 70% |
| 10 | Maryville College Maryville, TN Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 6 | Environmental Science | — | 50% | $20,489 | 61% |
| 11 | Strayer University - Tennessee Nashville, TN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | — | 0% | $18,466 | — |
| 12 | The University of the South Sewanee, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Environmental Studies | $35,204 | 80% | $21,573 | 57% |
| 13 | South College Knoxville, TN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | — | 42% | $20,346 | — |
| 14 | Tusculum University Greeneville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Environmental Science | — | 25% | $22,577 | 72% |
| 15 | Southern Adventist University Collegedale, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | — | 49% | $24,187 | 65% |
| 16 | Tennessee Wesleyan University Athens, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | — | 48% | $14,614 | 69% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga | Chattanooga | Public | 96 | 2 |
| The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville | Public | 88 | 1 |
| Austin Peay State University | Clarksville | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Miller - Motte College - Chattanooga | Chattanooga | Private for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| Tennessee Technological University | Cookeville | Public | 17 | 2 |
| University of Memphis | Memphis | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Rhodes College | Memphis | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| Belmont University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Tennessee State University | Nashville | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Maryville College | Maryville | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 3 |
| Strayer University - Tennessee | Nashville | Private for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| The University of the South | Sewanee | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| South College | Knoxville | Private for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Tusculum University | Greeneville | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Southern Adventist University | Collegedale | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What compliance officers earn in Tennessee
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $80,730. 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 Compliance Officers page.
How to become a Compliance Officer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
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 11 majors mapped to Compliance Officers10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0103Environmental Studies
- 03.0104Environmental Science
- 03.0208Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services
- 03.0209Energy and Environmental Policy
- 30.4101Environmental Geosciences
- 43.0121Suspension and Debarment Investigation(no graduates reported)
- 51.0717Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician
- 51.0720Regulatory Science/Affairs
- 51.2213Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality
- 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
- 52.1002Labor and Industrial Relations
Common questions
Answers for people weighing compliance officers programs in Tennessee.
What degree do you need to become a Compliance Officer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General, which awarded 178 degrees in Tennessee in 2024-25, 57.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Compliance Officer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Resources Management and Services, Natural Resources Conservation and Research. Together they graduate about 310 people a year in Tennessee.
How much do compliance officers earn in Tennessee?+
The median is $63,960 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.8% below the U.S. median of $80,730. 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 compliance officers growing?+
BLS projects a +3.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 33,300 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 3 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.
What other job titles do compliance officers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Coroner, Customs Broker, License Examiner, Medical Examiner, Housing Inspector, Enforcement Officer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1041.
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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