+19%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Vanderbilt University rose 18% between 2021 and 2024 ($57.0k → $67.5k).
Tennessee · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Vanderbilt
Nashville, Tennessee. 7,143 undergraduate students. 178 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Vanderbilt
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Vanderbilt University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.5% → 0.0%).
+19%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Vanderbilt University rose 18% between 2021 and 2024 ($57.0k → $67.5k).
+88%
Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at Vanderbilt University are 88% above the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($91.6k vs $48.8k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Vanderbilt earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Tennessee median
Each tile compares this institution to the Tennessee median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$91,565+24% · 6→10y
Tennessee median $38,880$73,909
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry92.7%+15% · '97→'24
Tennessee median 57.6%$12,913-3% · '97→'20
At program completion7,143+25% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS96.4%+1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time6.3%-87% · '01→'24
latest cohort$63,946+180% · '00→'24
out-of-state $63,946SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Vanderbilt earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at Vanderbilt
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
1.9%Median federal debt $12,913 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $91,565 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Vanderbilt enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+25%
Vanderbilt · undergrad enrollment rose
5,780 → 7,208
+180%
Vanderbilt · in-state tuition rose
$24,080 → $67,498
+180%
Vanderbilt · out-of-state tuition rose
$24,080 → $67,498
-100%
Vanderbilt · cohort default rate fell
2.1% → 0.0%
+73%
Vanderbilt · pell share rose
11.7% → 20.2%
+46%
Vanderbilt · earnings_median_10yr rose
$62,600 → $91,565
+52%
Vanderbilt · earnings_median_8yr rose
$55,500 → $84,542
+64%
Vanderbilt · earnings_median_6yr rose
$45,000 → $73,909
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Vanderbilt programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Public Health$228,535Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies$223,080Health and Medical Administrative Services$177,317Business Administration, Management and Operations$176,932Finance and Financial Management Services$172,725Law$172,684Mathematics$140,068Human Resources Management and Services$131,905Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$130,684Educational Administration and Supervision$130,527Economics$128,449Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$122,896Accounting and Related Services$122,891Medicine$112,986Engineering Science$109,116Civil Engineering$107,563Philosophy$107,157Chemical Engineering$105,943Biomedical/Medical Engineering$105,677Mechanical Engineering$101,152Political Science and Government$92,330Social Sciences, General$90,203History$88,187Religion/Religious Studies$85,038
Showing top 24 of 40 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
40 Vanderbilt programs with earnings, grouped by field
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
EDUCATION · CIP 13
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES · CIP 38
THEOLOGY & RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS · CIP 39
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$122,896Medicine$112,986Public Health$228,535Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$130,684Health and Medical Administrative Services$177,317Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies$223,080
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Vanderbilt
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$1,378,677
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $6,211
- HS-only baseline · TN
- $34,600
- Years to complete
- 6
- CIP family
- 51
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Vanderbilt in Tennessee
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Vanderbilt graduates earn $X” — not “Vanderbilt makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Vanderbilt caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.