BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Forensic Science Schools Near Nashville, TN (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Nashville, Tennessee has 1 accredited school offering forensic science programs. Nashville has a population of about 1,065,078. In the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area, the top-earning forensic science-related role is Forensic Science Technician at a median $78,480 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Forensic Science Schools to Nashville
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer forensic science programs near Nashville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Nashville city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Nashville.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Nashville is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area (BLS area code 34980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Tennessee statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Forensic Science Technician
$78,480
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$81,495
Detective and Criminal Investigator
$78,460
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$81,475
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer
$68,780
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$71,423
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Nashville at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
96.3 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Nashville-Area Cities With Forensic Science Programs
How many accredited forensic science schools are near Nashville, TN?
Our directory has 1 accredited schools offering forensic science programs near Nashville. The closest is Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN (32.6 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Middle Tennessee State University (32.6 miles). 1 of the highlighted schools is flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying forensic science roles near Nashville?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying forensic science-related roles near Nashville are: Forensic Science Technician ($78,480), Detective and Criminal Investigator ($78,460), Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer ($68,780). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Tennessee statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Brentwood instead of Nashville?
Brentwood, TN is 12.4 miles from Nashville and has its own set of local forensic science programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
