Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology

The Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) is a public technical college system operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. It has 24 campuses located throughout the US state of Tennessee.^[1] It was previously named the Tennessee Technology Centers.

Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology

Former name	State Area Vocational-Technical School (1967–1994) Tennessee Technology Centers (1994–2013)
Type	Public technical college system
Established	1967 (1967)
Students	34,486
Location	Tennessee , United States
Campus	26 campuses

As of March 2025^[update], the TCAT campuses have a combined enrollment of 34,486 students, with the most popular programs being truck driving, welding, automotive technology, practical nursing, and cosmetology.^[2]

History

TCAT was founded as the State Area Vocational-Technical Schools. Construction began on the first three urban locations, Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville, in July 1966.^[3] The Knoxville campus opened in January 1968.^[4] In 1994, State Area Vocational-Technical Schools were rebranded as Tennessee Technology Centers.^[5] Tennessee Technology Centers received praise from Complete College America in a 2011 report for their high degree completion rate of 75 percent.^[6]

In July 2013, Tennessee Technology Centers was rebranded as Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology to clearly communicate the post-secondary training offered.^[7]

Campuses

TCAT Morrison in 2022

TCAT has 26 campuses and several branches from other campuses:

Athens

Chattanooga

Crump

Dickson

Elizabethton

Harriman

Hartsville

Henry/Carroll

Hohenwald

Jacksboro

Jackson

Knoxville

Livingston

McKenzie

McMinnville

Memphis

Morristown

Murfreesboro

Nashville

Northwest

Oneida/Huntsville

Pulaski

Shelbyville

Upper Cumberland

Tennessee Colloges of Applied Technology locations, 2025.

• Athens
• Brownsville
• Chattanooga
• Covington
• Clarksville - Branch of Dickson Campus
• Crossville
• Crump
• Dickson
• Elizabethton
• Fayetteville—Branch of Shelbyville Campus
• Greeneville —Branch of Morristown Campus
• Harriman
• Hartsville-Trousdale^[8]
• Hohenwald^[9]
• Huntsville
• Jacksboro
• Kingsport—Branch of Elizabethton Campus^[10]
• Knoxville
• Lewisburg—Branch of Shelbyville Campus
• Livingston
• McKenzie
• McMinnville
• Memphis
• Morristown
• Murfreesboro
• Nashville
• Newbern
• Oneida—Branch of Huntsville Campus^[11]
• Paris
• Pulaski
• Ripley
• Surgoinsville—Branch of Morristown Campus^[12]
• Tazewell—Branch of Morristown campus
• Shelbyville
• Whiteville
• Winchester—Branch of Shelbyville Campus
• Union City—Branch of Newbern Campus

Academics

TCAT offers numerous programs and has partnerships with businesses. The Memphis campus offers a welding apprenticeship program with Morgan Steel company.^[13]

See also

• List of colleges and universities in Tennessee
• Tennessee Board of Regents