Which Delta College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Criminal Justice graduates leave with a median of $9,784 in federal loans, the lowest among 7 Delta College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Delta College cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $4,820 a year, and $7,880 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $4,547 a year.

How many Delta College programs report graduate pay?

10 associate's programs and 3 certificate programs at Delta College report first-year pay, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Delta College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
University Center, MI
6,573 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

10 Delta College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($67,922), and Human Development and Family Studies the least ($21,881). The median program pays $34,591. Delta College also has 3 certificate programs that report pay.

In-district tuition and fees$4,820Per year. Out-of-state $7,880

Average net price after aid$4,547Per year

Graduation rate27%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 10 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Michigan" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Michigan. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Michigan
1	NursingAbout 113 graduates a year	$67,922	$71,328	$19,955	15th of 27
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 52 graduates a year	$52,791	$49,670	$14,601	10th of 17
3	Criminal JusticeAbout 25 graduates a year	$44,637	$47,258	$9,784	6th of 13
4	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 25 graduates a year	$36,828	$44,502	$17,800	8th of 8
5	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 12 graduates a year	$35,224	$44,927	Not reported	4th of 10
6	Business AdministrationAbout 60 graduates a year	$33,957	$49,808	$11,195	9th of 14
7	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 414 graduates a year	$28,721	$45,784	$10,750	12th of 27
8	EntrepreneurshipAbout 16 graduates a year	$26,707	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
9	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 7 graduates a year	$23,757	$29,771	Not reported	5th of 5
10	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 19 graduates a year	$21,881	$26,632	$14,478	4th of 4

Program names link to the program's own page, and Michigan ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Michigan programs in the field do too.

All 3 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Michigan" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Michigan. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Michigan
1	Practical NursingAbout 20 graduates a year	$54,108	$58,950	$14,038	5th of 12
2	Welding and MachiningAbout 98 graduates a year	$34,112	$39,721	Not reported	2nd of 4
3	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 21 graduates a year	$24,800	$29,236	Not reported	6th of 8

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$67,922
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$52,791
Criminal Justice$44,637
Dental Hygiene and Assisting$36,828
Allied Health and Medical Assisting$35,224

Lowest median debt

Criminal Justice$9,784
Liberal Arts and General Studies$10,750
Business Administration$11,195
Human Development and Family Studies$14,478
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$14,601

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 414 graduates a year
NursingAbout 113 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 60 graduates a year
Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 52 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 25 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $67,922 in their first year, the most of 10 Delta College associate's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Michigan rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels