More than 100 years ago, when UT was designated a land-grant university, we made a promise to the people of Tennessee to help better their lives through education and service.
Today, that covenant with the people has only grown stronger, as the university is bringing its land-grant mission into the modern era by making a UT education accessible to more people, supporting students in their studies and preparing them to enter the workforce, conducting high-impact research, and reaching out to help communities and Tennesseans to thrive.
What is a land-grant university?
In the late 1800s colleges and universities around the country received land in exchange for agreeing to teach agriculture, mechanical arts, and military tactics as well as classical studies—making it possible for members of the working class to obtain a well-rounded education.
“We are excelling in all areas of our university—from academics to athletics to research and fundraising, Volunteers are pursuing greatness,” says Chancellor Donde Plowman. “Excellence lends itself to opportunity for our students, our faculty, and our state.”
UT’s momentum is growing every day. And with that momentum comes another promise—to continue pursuing excellence in everything we do for everyone we serve.
Take a look at a few ways UT is fulfilling its land-grant mission today.
93
Tennessee counties represented
in the Class of 2028
50%+
students graduate with no debt
The Tri-Star Scholarship program
helps Tennesseans access the Volunteer experience through the Pledge, Promise, and Flagship Scholarships that pay for tuition and mandatory fees.
$19,040,803
in Flagship Scholarships awarded since 2020
(as of April 2025)
$79M
in scholarships and financial aid offered to students in 2024
11,000+
scholarships awarded for 2023–24
2,395
Flagship Scholarship recipients since 2020
52
Flagship High Schools
Supporting students
Student success outcomes are on the rise at UT thanks to the university’s personalized approach to the student experience. The rate of students returning for their sophomore year hit a record 92 percent this year, and the four-year graduation rate has jumped nearly 10 percentage points. Through programs like Vol Edge, students can get work experiences that help them build skills and confidence and be ready for their career.
Reaching Out with Writing
Since 2021, the College of Arts and Sciences’ Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center has been lending a hand in Knoxville high schools to help more than 1,000 students navigate the essay portion of their college application process.
The Flagship Writing Project, which is staffed by students and faculty in the Department of English, started with Austin-East High School and quickly expanded to Fulton and Central High Schools.
All three schools are part of UT’s Flagship High Schools program, meaning their graduates who are admitted to UT will receive a scholarship to cover tuition and mandatory fees in combination with the HOPE Scholarship.
Austin-East alumnus Darius Jackson was able to take advantage of the Flagship Writing Project, which helped him be admitted to UT and awarded a Flagship Scholarship. He is now a sophomore majoring in marketing in the Haslam College of Business.
“It helped me become a more thoughtful writer,” Jackson says. “Not only did it help with figuring out how I wanted to write my essay, but it also helped me have a better way to plan for essay writing in my college classes.”
The help high school students receive through the Flagship Writing project helps them know that their stories matter and they can take on a college education.
Filling Critical Needs
On a winter Friday, Memphis native Tayla Thomas (’23) walked across the commencement stage in her cap and gown, culminating her undergraduate journey. It was just three short days later that she stepped back inside a classroom—but as a full-time teacher.
After graduating from high school, Thomas enrolled at UT with plans to teach high school algebra, but VolsTeach—an undergraduate pathway program that offers students a range of field-based experiences—opened her eyes to other possibilities.
“VolsTeach really prepared me mentally. The different placements they put us in, getting us to think outside the box—all those experiences built me up as a teacher to know how to deal with different kids, situations, and circumstances.”
While Thomas was completing her internship experience at Gresham Middle School in Knoxville and preparing to graduate in December 2023, a sixth-grade math teacher left Gresham unexpectedly, and Thomas had the opportunity to fill the vacancy.
Knox County Schools officials say the partnership with UT has been invaluable in filling teaching vacancies, which a few years ago were in the double digits but dropped during the 2024–25 school year to just six.
The BSN Scholars Program, a similar partnership with UT Medical Center, has so far produced 40 graduates who are helping reduce the shortage of nurses at the hospital.
Designed to help the college provide the hospital with a steady pipeline of skilled nurses, the new program is a robust academic–practice partnership offering nursing students an opportunity to learn and train at UTMC.
Students enter the program in their junior year and complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in just 15 months. They receive tuition assistance from UTMC with a three-year work commitment upon graduation.
Finding a Path
Nursing and teaching are two critical jobs in our state that often face shortages. UT is filling those workforce pipelines through multiple pathways available for students to become licensed and prepared for this important work.
5 pathways
to becoming a nurse
320 nursing graduates
each year
60%
work in Tennessee
BSN Scholars
is a partnership with UT Medical Center that provides students with scholarships, early clinical exposure, and a direct career pathway.
100 approved
initial teacher licensure pathways
200+ new teachers
each year
90%
earn a Tennessee license and stay in the state to teach
Grow Your Own
allows teacher assistants with a bachelor’s degree to earn their master’s degree and a license while maintaining their full-time job with a teacher’s salary.
Training for Tomorrow
More than 90 percent of UT students are employed full time or in graduate school within six months of earning their degree. And 58 percent of those who go directly into the workforce stay in Tennessee.
With thousands of job vacancies across the state in need of college-educated candidates, UT has created programs that train students and connect them with potential employers in pivotal sectors.
During a recent METAL bootcamp, a unique collaboration between IACMI—the Composites Institute and UT’s School of Art and Tickle College of Engineering, 12 participants received a hands-on introduction to metallurgy, a field integral to a broad range of industries including defense manufacturing.
The participants—some college undergraduate students and some mid-career professionals—gained valuable technical skills in metal properties, heat treatment processes, and advanced manufacturing techniques.
In support of the mission to train workers and grow Tennessee companies, the university has opened Innovation South—an 85,000-square-foot multiuse facility that includes spaces for workforce training for K–12 students, community and technical college students, university students, and workers looking to advance their skills in their fields.
In addition to training on industry-relevant equipment in composites and advanced manufacturing, Tennessee’s current and future workforce can gain experiential learning in areas of critical need to US competitiveness.
And, to meet the state’s deficit of engineers, the Tickle College of Engineering has created a new Department of Applied Engineering spanning the four focus areas of applied manufacturing engineering, applied aerospace engineering, energy storage and conversion, and applied computer science.
Students are learning directly from industry experts and participating in internships or cooperative education experiences to prepare them to directly fill thousands of job vacancies across the state.
A Hub for Nuclear Energy
With nearly 150 nuclear-related companies in East Tennessee, UT is positioned and prepared to support the state’s growing industry. Nuclear energy is the largest domestic source of sustainable electricity, and UT’s faculty experts are helping to harness that source to provide affordable, reliable energy for Tennesseans.
Faculty in the Institute of National Security are working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex to improve radiation detectors, while the Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing is developing materials to build nuclear reactors.
UT’s nuclear engineering program, ranked second among public universities, is preparing students with the specialized skills required to immediately fill the nearly 40,000 open nuclear-related jobs across the state. To help close the job gap, UT is working with high schools and technical colleges to boost the workforce pipeline and supply companies with qualified graduates at a faster rate.
For the Good of Tennessee
Five ways UT research is making life and lives better
Professor and plant geneticist Vince Pantalone discovered a new soybean gene to develop disease-resistant plants. With support from this year’s Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, he will conduct testing on soybean variants throughout the summer with the best selections moving forward in the commercialization process, providing a stronger strand of plants for farmers in Tennessee and beyond.
For over 100 years, UT’s Extension offices have held a presence in all 95 Tennessee counties. Agents provide their communities with agricultural resources and support to increase economic prosperity, improve environmental sustainability, and enhance well-being for Tennesseans. Annual field days held at research centers across the state demonstrate best farming practices like no-till methods that improve soil conditions and decrease labor costs.
At the UT–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, faculty from UT are collaborating with doctors from UTMC and scientists from ORNL on radiopharmaceutical therapies, a groundbreaking cancer treatment to both diagnose and deliver therapies in a precise manner with minimal side effects.
The Appalachian Justice Research Center combines the expertise of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Law to conduct transformative research on community issues while advocating for a more equitable region. The research center works to provide solutions for community safety, land justice, housing stability, and health justice. Students and researchers work closely with the communities they serve to preserve and understand archives, oral histories, and media platforms as part of their research.
The Forensic Anthropology Center houses one of eight anthropology research facilities in the country. Since its founding in 1987, the center has established itself as a leader in forensic anthropology research and training. For the past 20 years the Body Farm has conducted research on human decomposition and modern human variation, helping law enforcement agencies in Tennessee and around the country solve crimes. It also helps train law enforcement agents through specialty courses and access to the country’s largest donated skeletal collection.
Working Together
By partnering with industry-leading corporations like Volkswagen, Eastman Chemical, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and AT&T, UT is expanding research opportunities and creating economic opportunities for the state, positioning East Tennessee as the country’s next destination for innovation.
UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm brings together industry, academia, government agencies, and startups to collaborate on new ideas and discoveries. UT researchers are working with Volkswagen to create more sustainable cars by advancing vehicle electrification, while Eastman contributed to the development of cup holders made of recycled materials.
Students are also earning valuable job experience through internships and cooperative education opportunities with partners at Cherokee Farm. James Andes, director of national security research initiatives for UT, noted how the university has played an important workforce development role for partner Lockheed Martin by providing quality students for co-ops and well-prepared graduates for employment.
By Cassandra J. Sproles (’22) & Makayla Puckett