Ferris State Medical Laboratory Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
- Public university
- Big Rapids, MI
- About 13 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Ferris State medical laboratory science graduates earn about what medical laboratory science graduates earn nationally, $65,935 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,503 in federal loans, more than at 77% of medical laboratory science programs in the country. Two other 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 medical laboratory science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Ferris State graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan medical laboratory science 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 6% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $313 a month, or 5.7% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (35 of 42) 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 $65,935 salary here buys what about $74,108 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 medical laboratory science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
$61,260Median pay in Michigan. 10,000 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 20,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Phlebotomists
$39,860Median pay in Michigan. 3,540 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Surgical Technologists
$63,320Median pay in Michigan. 3,840 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Medical Equipment Preparers
$45,670Median pay in Michigan. 2,420 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About Ferris State
Medical Laboratory Science ranks 10th of 37 bachelor's programs at Ferris State by first-year earnings. The top three are Industrial Technology ($78,820), Nursing ($74,851), and Construction Management ($73,292).
Other medical laboratory science bachelor's programs near Big Rapids
Common questions
The median graduate earns $65,935 one year after graduating and $69,970 five years after. The median across medical laboratory science bachelor's programs in Michigan is $63,038.
The median federal loan balance is $29,503, which ranks 5th lowest of 8 medical laboratory science bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $313 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 39%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 83% (35 of 42) 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 medical laboratory science 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