Which Northwestern Michigan College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Liberal Arts and General Studies graduates leave with a median of $11,422 in federal loans, the lowest among 5 Northwestern Michigan College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Northwestern Michigan College cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $5,860 a year, and $13,476 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $6,231 a year.

How many Northwestern Michigan College programs report graduate pay?

One bachelor's program, 6 associate's programs, and 2 certificate programs at Northwestern Michigan College report first-year pay, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

Northwestern Michigan College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Traverse City, MI
2,813 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

6 Northwestern Michigan College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($64,122), and Culinary Arts the least ($26,586). The median program pays $44,068. Northwestern Michigan College also has one bachelor's program and 2 certificate programs that report pay.

In-district tuition and fees$5,860Per year. Out-of-state $13,476

Average net price after aid$6,231Per year

Graduation rate25%Within 6 years

One bachelor's program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Michigan" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Michigan.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Michigan
Marine TransportationAbout 48 graduates a year	$87,281	$133,180	$26,542	1st of 1

All 6 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 61 graduates a year	$64,122	$66,994	$24,228	23rd of 27
2	Criminal JusticeAbout 3 graduates a year	$52,976	$48,384	Not reported	1st of 13
3	Engineering TechnologyAbout 18 graduates a year	$50,148	Not reported	$13,834	1st of 2
4	AviationAbout 29 graduates a year	$37,988	Not reported	$14,803	1st of 1
5	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 243 graduates a year	$28,706	$34,098	$11,422	13th of 27
6	Culinary ArtsAbout 14 graduates a year	$26,586	$38,650	$14,199	5th of 8

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.

Both certificate programs

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.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Michigan
Criminal JusticeAbout 3 graduates a year	$61,054	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 3
Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 13 graduates a year	$34,029	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 7

One more certificate program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$64,122
Criminal Justice$52,976
Engineering Technology$50,148
Aviation$37,988
Liberal Arts and General Studies$28,706

Lowest median debt

Liberal Arts and General Studies$11,422
Engineering Technology$13,834
Culinary Arts$14,199
Aviation$14,803
Nursing$24,228

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 243 graduates a year
NursingAbout 61 graduates a year
AviationAbout 29 graduates a year
Engineering TechnologyAbout 18 graduates a year
Culinary ArtsAbout 14 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $64,122 in their first year, the most of 6 Northwestern Michigan 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