Creative Arts Programs in Tennessee

Reviewed by Maya Thompson Director of Music and Creative Industries, ArtDegree.org · Last reviewed August 2026

What is the creative economy like in Tennessee?

Nashville's music industry is complete: labels, publishers, studios, management, touring, live venues, and one of the deepest session musician communities anywhere. It is also the most accessible of the major music cities, with lower costs than Los Angeles or New York and a working culture that is unusually open to newcomers who can play.

Memphis carries the legacy of Stax and Sun with working studios and a strong live scene, along with the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Middle Tennessee State University's recording industry program is one of the largest in the country and feeds directly into the Nashville industry.

Who employs creative graduates in Tennessee?

These are the institutions and sectors that hire creative arts graduates in the state. They are also the places to look for internships, seasonal work, and the first professional contacts that lead to everything else.

• Record labels, publishers, and studios across Nashville
• Live music venues, touring companies, and production services
• Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
• Frist Art Museum, Nashville
• Stax Museum and Memphis recording studios

How do you get an internship in Tennessee?

Nashville music industry internships in publishing, labels, management, and touring are the most accessible in the country relative to other major music cities, and they convert to employment regularly.

This matters more here than students expect, because music is the field with the deepest documented provision in Tennessee. In our 2026 survey, 74 percent of music respondents called hands on performance or practicum experience critical to their career, and across all five fields hands on experience was the strongest single consensus in the entire study. Placement is not a supplement to the degree in these disciplines. It is the part employers actually ask about.

Creative arts programs in Tennessee, scored

All 7 records we hold for Tennessee, ordered by Creative Arts Program Quality Index score. Every card links to the institution's own program page, which is the authority on curriculum, cost, and accreditation. The factor breakdown is printed on each card so you can see how the score was reached.

What do creative graduates earn, and where do they end up?

Music is the strongest documented field in Tennessee and it also posts one of the highest employment rates in our survey at 86 percent within six months, which is the most encouraging number on this page. These are national figures rather than Tennessee specific ones: we do not hold state level salary data for creative arts graduates and we will not manufacture it. Adjust for local cost of living, which in Tennessee moves the real value of these numbers substantially.

Source: Creative Arts Career Outcomes Survey 2026, ArtDegree.org, 1,247 creative arts graduates fielded January to March 2026, margin of error ±3.2 percent at 95 percent confidence. Respondents opted in, so employment figures are a ceiling rather than a population estimate.

Which disciplines is Tennessee actually strong in?

Provision in Tennessee is focused rather than broad. The documented depth is in music, art and design, music business, across 7 records at 5 institutions, which is enough to compare options seriously within the state while leaving some specialisations thin. Treat the strong subjects as genuine choices and the thin ones as a reason to look at neighbouring states or accredited online provision.

What does it cost to study creative arts in Tennessee?

4 of the 7 records in Tennessee are at public institutions, which gives residents a real in state option alongside private alternatives. Use that as leverage: apply to both, then take competing aid offers back to the private institutions. Published tuition at private art, design, and culinary schools is a starting number far more often than applicants realise.

Price any program here against a realistic first year salary in your own discipline rather than against national tuition averages. Our 2026 survey puts the median bachelor level first position salary at $58,000 in music, which is the field with the most documented provision in Tennessee. If total borrowing for a program here would exceed that figure, change something: the institution, the credential length, or the funding plan.

How does teacher licensure work in Tennessee?

Our database holds no dedicated education track records for Tennessee, which usually reflects how institutions publish their programs rather than an absence of licensure routes. It does mean that if you want to teach in a Tennessee public school, you should start with the state education agency rather than with a program website, and get the list of currently approved providers directly from them.

The alternative route is well established: complete a studio, music, or performance degree, then add licensure through a master of arts in teaching or a post baccalaureate certification program in one to two years. In shortage areas, districts sponsor alternative certification that lets you teach while completing requirements. Contact districts in Nashville directly, because they frequently know the local route better than a university advisor does.

What this means for you in Tennessee

For music business, production, and session work, Nashville is the best combination of industry depth and cost in the country. Belmont and MTSU both feed the local industry directly, which makes them unusually practical choices.

Practical next steps: visit two or three of the programs on this page during a working week, and ask each one for the names of employers that took their students on placement in the last two years. In a market this size, the difference between programs is usually the strength of their local relationships rather than their curriculum. Tennessee also has associate or certificate level provision in our records, which is worth taking seriously: starting at a two year institution and transferring is the single most effective way to cut the cost of a creative degree without changing the diploma you end up with. Graduate provision is not documented here in our records, so plan on relocating or studying remotely if you eventually need a terminal degree.

One more thing specific to Tennessee: creative employment here is spread across 4 metropolitan areas rather than concentrated in one, which means the city you choose within the state matters almost as much as the program. Look at where Nashville and Memphis employers actually recruit from before you commit to a campus at the other end of the state. 1 of the programs listed above document an online option, which is worth considering if you are already working or cannot relocate within the state. See the affordability ranking for the national cost picture, accredited online options if distance is a constraint, and other state guides if you are considering relocating.

Reviewed by Maya Thompson Director of Music and Creative Industries, ArtDegree.org · Last reviewed August 2026

Verify before you decide: program availability, accreditation, tuition, and delivery mode change. Every program above links to the institution's own page, which is the authoritative source. Our database covers 456 records at 278 institutions nationally and is not exhaustive, so the absence of a program here is not evidence that it does not exist. Local industry descriptions reflect publicly documented organisations and conditions as of August 2026.