“A 200-year-old Presbyterian liberal arts college at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains, where Scots tartan, small classes, and outdoor adventure define the experience.”
Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee, founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson as the Southern and Western Theological Seminary. With roughly 1,100 undergraduates, it is one of the oldest colleges in the South and one of the fifty oldest in the United States. The college sits on a wooded 350-acre campus just 16 miles south of Knoxville and a short drive from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, giving students a college-town setting paired with one of the country's most spectacular natural classrooms. Maryville is known for personal teaching, with a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and more than 60 academic majors and pre-professional programs across the natural sciences, humanities, business, education, and the arts. Every student completes the Maryville Curriculum, a signature general-education core, and a Senior Study capstone in their major. Distinctive programs in environmental studies, outdoor education, biology, music, and educational studies leverage the school's setting and small-college resources, and the Mountain Challenge program turns the surrounding mountains, rivers, and trails into a leadership and wellness laboratory. Life at Maryville revolves around Scots traditions and a tight-knit community: nearly all first-year students live on campus, the tartan is registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans, the Covenant signing welcomes new students, and the late-night Finals Breakfast served by faculty has been a beloved ritual for generations. Fourteen NCAA Division III Scots varsity teams, more than 70 student organizations, a strong international student presence, and a Presbyterian-rooted ethic of service combine with the affordability of a generous merit-aid program to make Maryville an unusually personal pathway into a U.S. liberal arts education.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceEarly Action
Non-binding; admission decision by late October; FAFSA recommended by Nov 1 for preliminary aid by December
Regular Decision
Rolling admission decisions after mid-November; rolling aid notification January-May
Global Scholar Award (international)
International students must complete the MC application AND a separate Global Scholar Award application by this date
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$39,712 – $40,983
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Houses biology, chemistry, biochemistry, environmental science, mathematics, and computer science. Strong pre-health placement and field-based work in the Smokies.
Liberal-arts core in English, history, philosophy & religion, and modern languages. Senior Study capstone projects are required of every student.
Includes psychology, sociology, political science, and the Educator Preparation Program (EPP), which leads to Tennessee teaching licensure.
Music, theatre, art, and design programs centered around the historic Clayton Center for the Arts, a 1,200-seat regional performing-arts venue.
Business administration, accounting, management, and economics with a strong applied internship focus in the Knoxville metro economy.
A flagship program leveraging Mountain Challenge and proximity to Great Smoky Mountains National Park for experiential outdoor leadership and adventure-tourism training.
4 years
Combines field ecology, sustainability, policy, and outdoor leadership using the 350-acre Maryville College Woods and the adjacent Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a living laboratory.
4 years
An NASM-accredited program housed in the Clayton Center for the Arts, with concentrations in performance, composition, music education, and an annual Concert Choir tour tradition.
4 years
Strong placement into medical, dental, PA, and PT schools through small lab classes, individual research with faculty, and a required Senior Study capstone.
4 years
Integrates the Mountain Challenge leadership program with coursework in adventure tourism, wilderness education, and hospitality management.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $39,284
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
