Prairie State College Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
- Public college
- Chicago Heights, IL
- About 57 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Prairie State College diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn less than graduates of most diagnostic and treatment professions programs nationally, $35,362 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $13,209 in federal loans, close to the national median of $13,230. Several Illinois programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois diagnostic and treatment professions program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $140 a month, or 4.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
96% of graduates (23 of 24) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $35,362 salary here buys what about $34,135 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
$79,930Median pay in Illinois. 7,650 people work in this job in Illinois. 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
$42,260Median pay in Illinois. 7,840 people work in this job in Illinois. 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
$131,950Median pay in Illinois. 3,790 people work in this job in Illinois. 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
$84,090Median pay in Illinois. 4,880 people work in this job in Illinois. 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 Prairie State College
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ranks 1st of 2 certificate programs at Prairie State College by first-year earnings. The other is Practical Nursing ($30,067).
Other diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs near Chicago Heights
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,362 one year after graduating. The median across diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs in Illinois is $48,283.
The median federal loan balance is $13,209, which ranks 4th lowest of 6 diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs in Illinois. That works out to about $140 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 37% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 28%. Compare the cost with other Illinois programs before deciding.
Most do. 96% (23 of 24) were working in Illinois 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 Illinois 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