“Public research university in Murfreesboro offering 300+ degree programs across eight undergraduate colleges.”
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is a public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 35 miles southeast of downtown Nashville. Founded in 1911 as a teacher-training normal school, MTSU has grown into one of the state's largest undergraduate universities, enrolling roughly 19,900 students across 11 colleges and 300-plus undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. MTSU is best known nationally for two signature programs: its Department of Aerospace — one of the largest collegiate flight schools in the country with its own fleet and practice airfield — and its Department of Recording Industry, which is routinely ranked by Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter among the top music-business programs in the world thanks to its proximity to Nashville's studios, labels, and publishing houses. Beyond those two spotlight programs, MTSU is broadly strong in business, nursing, concrete industry management (a nationally rare specialty), media and entertainment, data science, and education. The Jennings A. Jones College of Business is AACSB-accredited, the Honors College is a residential thesis-based program, and the Scholars Academy attracts strong out-of-state and international students. US News 2026 ranks MTSU tied at No. 257 among National Universities and highlights the university for Social Mobility performance. About two-thirds of applicants are admitted, making MTSU an accessible option with big-program infrastructure. MTSU's campus culture mixes working-student pragmatism with SEC-adjacent spirit: Blue Raiders NCAA Division I athletics (Conference USA), 300-plus student organizations, an active Greek community, and traditions like Homecoming Week and the Hazlewood Lecture. Murfreesboro itself is one of the fastest-growing cities in the US with a vibrant downtown square, affordable cost of living, and easy highway and commuter-rail access to Nashville's job market. For international students, MTSU hosts about 634 degree-seekers from 73 countries — led by Saudi Arabia, China, India, and Nepal — supported by a long-standing Office of International Affairs, merit scholarships up to $16,000/year, CPT/OPT advising, and STEM OPT eligibility for aerospace, computer science, engineering technology, and data-science majors.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
National Universities
US News 2026
Top Public Schools
US News 2026
International Student Enrollment (F-1)
DHS SEVIS by the Numbers (2024)
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourcePriority Deadline (Fall)
Priority for housing and scholarships
Regular Deadline (Fall)
Standard application deadline for fall semester
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$10,266
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$31,574
/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.
Home to Aerospace, Computer Science, Concrete Industry Management, Engineering Technology, Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry.
Houses the nationally ranked Department of Recording Industry, the School of Journalism & Strategic Media, and the School of Music.
AACSB-accredited with undergraduate majors in management, marketing, finance, information systems, and the MBA with a Music Business concentration.
Nursing, psychology, social work, health and human performance, and criminal justice programs.
MTSU's original founding college; Pre-K-12 teacher education, educational leadership, and doctoral programs.
English, history, philosophy, political science, and the foreign languages.
4 years
One of the largest collegiate flight-training programs in the US, operating its own fleet of Diamond aircraft at Murfreesboro Airport with tracks for airline and charter careers.
4 years
Consistently ranked among the world's top music-business programs; students intern at Nashville labels, studios, publishing houses, and live-music companies.
4 years
One of only five programs in the US; industry-backed curriculum with near-100% placement into the concrete and construction-materials sector.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $31,574
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.
