Union University is a four year institution in Jackson, Tennessee, with an additional campus in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and relates to the Southern Baptist Convention.

Union University is the heir of some of the oldest universities in the country and is notable in the sports world as the place where Bear Bryant began his football coaching career. The school is a union of several different schools: West Tennessee College formerly known as Jackson Male Academy, Union University of Murfreesboro, Southwestern Baptist University, and Hall-Moody Junior College of Martin, Tennessee.

Union is one of the top tier institutions in the South, listed for each of the past eleven years by U.S. News and World Report. In 2008, U.S. News ranked Union in the top 10 in five subcategories and 20th of 574 in the “Southern Universities-Master’s: Top Schools” category. It has been recognized by Peterson’s Competitive College Guide, the Time/Princeton Review, and Templeton’s Colleges that Encourage Character Development. Union is a recipient of the President's Higher Education Community Service Award and has been listed among America's Colleges of Distinction and as one of America's Top 100 College Buys.

The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and it is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).