Over the past decade, MTSU has aggressively transitioned from a primarily undergraduate institution to a doctoral research university with significant research activity.

MTSU’s College of Graduate Studies is one of the fastest-growing graduate schools in Tennessee. We offer 100-plus diverse graduate programs at the certificate, master’s, specialist, and doctoral levels so that almost anyone can find their right fit. Our programs are designed to help students develop skills and knowledge to be successful in their careers.

Meanwhile, buoyed by graduate students’ working hand in hand with top faculty, MTSU is producing relevant, measurable research on a daily basis on the campus.

Graduate Studies:

MTSU Board of Trustees recently gave the green light to three new master’s programs: Biomedical Sciences, Digital Media, and Legal Studies. Final approval is needed from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the University’s accrediting body. Enrollment is anticipated for fall 2025.

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs:

MTSU is designated an R2 doctoral university with high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This elite status places us among a select group of only 3% of institutions nationwide.

Faculty, staff, and students at MTSU are involved in countless research and public service initiatives that help Tennesseans in key areas of health and wellness, history and heritage, agriculture and agribusiness, and commerce and industry, to name a few.

By the Numbers

Fiscal year 2023–24

• $22 million in sponsored project funding

• 75% increase from 2022–23

First six months of fiscal year 2024–25 (July through Dec.19)

• 85 proposals submitted

• 61 unique investigators

• 59 awards

• $15,239,646 total

First quarter of fiscal year 2024–25

• CBAS alone received new external research grants totaling $8.4 million.

• That compares to $4.4 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.