MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University was recently recognized among the top universities for bachelor’s and master’s degree programs offered for 2024 by several higher education ranking websites.

According to University Headquarters, an online higher education resource for students pursuing online degrees, MTSU ranked within the top 10 in three categories for best college for 2024, including:

• No. 5 for Best Online Colleges in Tennessee.
• No. 9 for Best Master’s Colleges in Tennessee.
• No. 10 for Best Bachelor’s Degree in Tennessee.

MTSU Online’s programs rank among best

The same site ranked MTSU among the top colleges/universities in Tennessee for several online programs, including Accounting, Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Business, to name a few.

“This is a tribute to our outstanding faculty who are committed to offering a high-quality education to the people of Tennessee and beyond,” said Trey Martindale, professor and associate vice provost for Online Learning.

“Our team of instructional designers and our support staff work closely with faculty and departments to make sure our online courses are interactive and highly engaging. As our faculty and departments continue to innovate, MTSU Online will be here to support them to expand the resources of MTSU to the broader region,” Martindale said.

MTSU Online offers fully online and hybrid undergraduate and graduate programs and concentrations. The university has 58 fully online degrees, concentrations, and certificate programs, with more online programs in development.  

“Our goal is for our online courses to be even better than our already exceptional in-person experience at MTSU,” stated Martindale.

Other higher education websites recognized MTSU’s online programs at the master’s level.

According to Online Master’s Degrees, or OMD, a site for students seeking the latest information and trends about advanced degrees, MTSU ranked amongst the following categories for online master’s degrees:

• Best Online Accelerated MBA Degrees.
• Best Online Master’s Degrees in Criminal Justice.
• Best Online Master’s Degrees in Library Science.
• Most Affordable Online Master’s Degrees in Criminal Justice.

To be eligible for the OMD recognition, a college or university must hold active regional accreditation and have at least one partially online master’s program in the ranking subject. Just 9% of U.S. postsecondary institutions earned a ranking position.

“I am pleased that MTSU has been recognized by several agencies for having outstanding online programs,” added Martindale. “We ensure online students have a wide variety of key MTSU services such as online orientation, advising, mental health counseling, special library services, 24/7 tutoring, career advising and technical support.”

MTSU now has over 2,700 fully online students, representing 13% of MTSU’s total enrollment. More than half of all MTSU students took at least one online course during fall 2023, with more than 25% of all the credit hours at MTSU being from online course enrollment. Over 60% of summer enrollment and 100% of the winter session courses are online.

MTSU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, also known as SACSCOC, to award baccalaureate, master, specialist, and doctorate degrees.

Digital Marketing Concentration ranks among best

MTSU was recognized as one of the best digital marketing degrees by TechGuide, an online resource for students looking for the latest information about higher education and careers.

According to the site, MTSU ranked No. 8 out of 33 colleges/universities offering in-person or hybrid digital marketing degrees.

Housed in the Jones College of Business, the Digital Marketing Concentration offers students a strong foundation of experiential learning in a growing industry. Businesses across all sectors utilize digital technologies to attract and retain customers and well-prepared graduates are in demand. Students in MTSU’s program learn best practices to solve real-world challenges and drive return on investment within an organization.

“The Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing-Digital Marketing Concentration has grown quickly to almost 100 students in the last couple of years,” said Robert Blair, professor and chair of the MTSU Department of Marketing. “We are proud to have been ranked in TechGuide because it demonstrates that the program meets industry demands and gives our majors a competitive edge in the marketplace.”

“We’re excited about the recent recognition and ranking,” added Michael Peasley, marketing professor and director of the Office of Consumer Research. “The program is a success for our students because it is intentionally designed to provide each student with the skill set employers seek. Recognition, such as the TechGuide ranking, will further expand our reach and ability to help students gain necessary digital marketing skills and jobs.”

— Johari Hamilton (Johari.HamiltonGA@mtsu.edu)