Best Physics Teacher, Postsecondary programs in Tennessee, ranked by enrollment
Teach courses pertaining to the laws of matter and energy.
17 schools in Tennessee run programs that feed this job, graduating 146 people a year. The job pays a median of $80,630 in Tennessee across about 340 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 40.0801In Tennessee → | 127 | 87.0% | 16 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 2 | CIP 51.2205In Tennessee → | 17 | 11.6% | 3 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 3 | CIP 40.0899In Tennessee → | 2 | 1.4% | 1 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
Top 17 schools in Tennessee
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 17 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN Public · 2 feeder programs | 57 | Physics, General | — | 74% | — | 42% |
| 2 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Physics, General | — | 94% | $14,854 | 6% |
| 3 | Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Physics, General | — | 54% | — | 69% |
| 4 | Rhodes College Memphis, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Physics, General | — | 85% | $19,854 | 50% |
| 5 | East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Physics, General | — | 53% | — | 86% |
| 6 | The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Physics, General | — | 50% | — | 81% |
| 7 | University of Memphis Memphis, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Physics, General | — | 51% | — | 72% |
| 8 | Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Physics, General | — | 40% | — | 96% |
| 9 | Carson - Newman University Jefferson City, TN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 3 | Physics, Other | — | 53% | $19,537 | 90% |
| 10 | Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Physics, General | — | 58% | — | 76% |
| 11 | Belmont University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Health/Medical Physics | — | 71% | $29,246 | 95% |
| 12 | Fisk University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Physics, General | — | 30% | $27,814 | 37% |
| 13 | Lipscomb University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Physics, General | — | 72% | $24,309 | 68% |
| 14 | The University of the South Sewanee, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Physics, General | — | 80% | $21,573 | 57% |
| 15 | Lane College Jackson, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Physics, General | — | 18% | $14,494 | — |
| 16 | Southern Adventist University Collegedale, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Physics, General | — | 49% | $24,187 | 65% |
| 17 | Union University Jackson, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Physics, General | — | 66% | $25,882 | 60% |
All 17 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 - Knoxville | Knoxville | Public | 57 | 2 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 18 | 2 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Rhodes College | Memphis | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| East Tennessee State University | Johnson City | Public | 7 | 1 |
| The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga | Chattanooga | Public | 7 | 1 |
| University of Memphis | Memphis | Public | 5 | 1 |
| Austin Peay State University | Clarksville | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Carson - Newman University | Jefferson City | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 2 |
| Tennessee Technological University | Cookeville | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Belmont University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Fisk University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Lipscomb University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| The University of the South | Sewanee | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Lane College | Jackson | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What physics teachers, postsecondary earn in Tennessee
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $100,310. Tennessee pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Tennessee employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
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 Physics Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a Physics Teacher, Postsecondary
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or 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 16 majors mapped to Physics Teachers, Postsecondary15 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1316Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
- 13.1329Physics Teacher Education
- 40.0299Astronomy and Astrophysics, Other
- 40.0508Chemical Physics
- 40.0801Physics, General
- 40.0802Atomic/Molecular Physics
- 40.0804Elementary Particle Physics
- 40.0805Plasma and High-Temperature Physics(no graduates reported)
- 40.0806Nuclear Physics
- 40.0807Optics/Optical Sciences
- 40.0808Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
- 40.0809Acoustics
- 40.0810Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
- 40.0899Physics, Other
- 40.1101Physics and Astronomy
- 51.2205Health/Medical Physics
Common questions
Answers for people weighing physics teachers, postsecondary programs in Tennessee.
What degree do you need to become a Physics Teacher, Postsecondary?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Physics, General, which awarded 127 degrees in Tennessee in 2024-25, 87.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Physics Teacher, Postsecondary?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Physics, Public Health. Together they graduate about 146 people a year in Tennessee.
How much do physics teachers, postsecondary earn in Tennessee?+
The median is $80,630 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 19.6% below the U.S. median of $100,310. 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 physics teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +2.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Tennessee?+
17 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 physics teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Instructor, Physics Professor, Physics Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1054.
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
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card