Ferris State Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
- Public university
- Big Rapids, MI
- About 51 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Ferris State diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn about what diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn nationally, $51,971 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $24,970 in federal loans, more than at 84% of diagnostic and treatment professions programs in the country. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Ferris State graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan diagnostic and treatment professions program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 5% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $1,640 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $265 a month, or 6.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $22,800.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
89% of graduates (93 of 105) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Michigan outside metro areas are about 11% below the national average, so a $51,971 salary here buys what about $58,413 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to diagnostic and treatment professions, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
$76,420Median pay in Michigan. 7,220 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Emergency Medical Technicians
$39,870Median pay in Michigan. 4,230 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Physician Assistants
$131,510Median pay in Michigan. 6,310 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Respiratory Therapists
$79,850Median pay in Michigan. 4,520 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Ferris State
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ranks 4th of 11 associate's programs at Ferris State by first-year earnings. The top three are Mechanical Engineering Technology ($56,819), Welding and Machining ($56,811), and Heavy Equipment Maintenance ($55,532).
Other diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs near Big Rapids
Common questions
The median graduate earns $51,971 one year after graduating and $54,524 five years after. The median across diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs in Michigan is $53,532.
The median federal loan balance is $24,970, which ranks 14th lowest of 16 diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 48% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 89% (93 of 105) were working in Michigan one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- 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 comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the diagnostic and treatment professions program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024