Higher Education Options Abound in Blount County
Students in East Tennessee have choices when it comes to studying close to home.
Blount County students interested in continuing their education don’t have to travel far, as the area is home to top-notch higher education institutions – Maryville College, a satellite campus of Pellissippi State Community College and The University of Tennessee.
Maryville College is a four-year liberal arts institution with an enrollment of about 1,100 students who can choose from 60+ majors and seven pre-professional programs. Areas of study include elementary and secondary education, music, languages, engineering, ministry and church leadership, health care/nursing, biopharmaceutical science, veterinary science and more.
The college has received its fair share of academic recognition. For example, in its 2021 Best Regional College South list, U.S. News & World Report ranked the college No. 3 overall as well as the No. 1 in Best College for Veterans and No. 2 in Best Undergraduate Teaching.
Find In-Demand Career Programs in Friendsville, TN
Blount County has operated a Pellissippi State Community College satellite campus in Friendsville since 2010, and the campus is growing. The school is adding a new building that is scheduled to open in August 2022.
“That building will house the college’s advanced manufacturing program, and our culinary arts program will move out there, as well,” says Leigh Anne Touzeau, Pellissippi State Community College assistant vice president for enrollment services.
“A lot of our two-year career programs have so much demand in Blount and Knox counties that employers are trying to hire students before they even finish their degree.”
Leigh Anne Touzeau, Pellissippi State Community College
Touzeau says that besides advanced manufacturing and culinary arts, popular areas of study at the Blount County campus include business majors, a cyber defense curriculum and nursing programs.
“A lot of our two-year career programs have so much demand in Blount and Knox counties that employers are trying to hire students before they even finish their degree,” she says. “Every career program we offer has an internship required before the student can get their degree, and many times, the internship turns into full-time employment once the student graduates.”
