The Chattanooga area is home to a number of colleges, universities, and trade schools – each offering a diverse array of degrees and certifications to suit any student’s education and career goals. Pursuing higher education in the Scenic City gives students access to award-winning campuses, first rate education, and immersion in a rapidly growing city with plenty of exciting career opportunities.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) was founded in 1886, making it a key institute in Chattanooga’s education sector. With over 150 degree programs and concentrations at both the undergraduate and graduate level, opportunities abound for students to explore a variety of interests.

UTC is currently working to expand their school of nursing with a brand new teaching facility. The school of nursing was recently voted top nursing school in the country in the student choice awards by Nurse.org. With plans to break ground in 2024, the 90,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art school of nursing is projected to be ready for students in 2026.

Chattanooga State Community College is home to another of Tennessee’s top nursing programs and boasts the only fully embedded technical college on a community college campus in the state. In a testament to the school’s dedication to student success, they were one of only three schools in the country to be named a Leader College of Distinction in 2023. Achieving the Dream, a national nonprofit, presents this title to schools that have successfully demonstrated sustained, proactive efforts to improve student success and equity. As a result of these efforts, over 900 students were named to the dean’s list in fall of 2023.

The Chattanooga area also has a number of options for private, faith-based education. Cleveland’s Lee University, a liberal arts college, ranked No. 23 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 list of “Best Regional Universities in the South.” Covenant College is another Christian liberal arts school, and is located on Lookout Mountain. Known for its small classroom size, Covenant College boasts a 12:1 student ratio and a close-knit community with 85% of students living on campus.   

Dayton’s Bryan College offers more than 50 unique fields of study and 14 post-graduate degrees. Southern Adventist University in Collegedale is College Factual’s No. 5 Seventh-day Adventist school in the nation with a 13:1 student-faculty ratio, 75 baccalaureate majors, 20 associate majors, and a variety of minors and certificate programs. 

Tennessee prioritizes higher education with programs like former Governor Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55 alliance, which is on track to get 55% of Tennessee residents equipped with a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2025. Programs like Advise TN provide services to high school juniors and seniors to help them enroll in the postsecondary institution where they are most likely to succeed, and SCORE (State Collaborative on Reforming Education) works to close opportunity gaps and support students from kindergarten to career. In 2015, Tennessee was the first state in the country to offer high school graduates two years of community or technical college tuition-free with the Tennessee Promise scholarship program, and the Tennessee Reconnect Grant was launched in 2018 to extend the same opportunity to adult learners. Since these programs began, Tennessee has seen an increase in application, enrollment, and retention rates.