Fortis College-Baton Rouge Medical Laboratory Science (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
- Private for-profit college
- Baton Rouge, LA
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Fortis College-Baton Rouge medical laboratory science graduates earn about what medical laboratory science graduates earn nationally, $29,714 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $10,522 in federal loans, close to the national median of $11,084. It is one of the higher-paying medical laboratory science programs in Louisiana.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Louisiana and national columns are the medians across all medical laboratory science certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Fortis College-Baton Rouge graduates earn more than the national figure and about $9,049 more than the Louisiana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana medical laboratory science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Louisiana 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 29% 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 $112 a month, or 4.5% 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
93% of graduates (26 of 28) were working in Louisiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Baton Rouge area are about 9% below the national average, so a $29,714 salary here buys what about $32,732 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
$54,460Median pay in Louisiana. 3,790 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$36,120Median pay in Louisiana. 3,410 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$57,370Median pay in Louisiana. 2,230 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$35,960Median pay in Louisiana. 620 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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 Fortis College-Baton Rouge
Medical Laboratory Science ranks 4th of 6 certificate programs at Fortis College-Baton Rouge by first-year earnings. The top three are Practical Nursing ($45,996), HVAC ($36,485), and Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($31,554).
Other medical laboratory science certificate programs near Baton Rouge
Common questions
The median graduate earns $29,714 one year after graduating and $38,398 five years after. The median across medical laboratory science certificate programs in Louisiana is $18,674.
The median federal loan balance is $10,522, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 medical laboratory science certificate programs in Louisiana. That works out to about $112 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 35% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.
Most do. 93% (26 of 28) were working in Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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