Which Michigan writing and rhetoric program has the lowest debt?

University of Michigan reports the lowest median federal debt, $13,999, with first-year pay of $31,239.

How much do writing and rhetoric graduates earn in Michigan?

The median across 11 Michigan writing and rhetoric bachelor's programs is $24,195 in the first year after graduating and $38,930 five years after.

How many writing and rhetoric bachelor's programs are in Michigan?

11 Michigan programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

Writing and Rhetoric (Bachelor's) Programs in Michigan, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

11 programs report first-year pay
10 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Michigan writing and rhetoric bachelor's program pays its graduates $24,195 in their first year, $4,235 less than the national median. Oakland University reports the highest first-year pay ($34,464), and University of Michigan the lowest median debt ($13,999).

Median first-year pay$24,195National $28,430

Median pay after 5 years$38,930National $47,988

Median federal debt$25,625National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings102%National 82%

All 11 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Oakland UniversityRochester Hills · public	$34,464	$32,718	$25,500	74%
2	Michigan StateEast Lansing · public	$33,401	$62,048	$25,750	77%
3	University of MichiganAnn Arbor · public	$31,239	$50,559	$13,999	45%
4	Grand Valley StateAllendale · public	$31,016	$38,930	$25,000	81%
5	Calvin UniversityGrand Rapids · private nonprofit	$26,637	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	UM-FlintFlint · public	$24,195	$52,556	$27,875	115%
7	Ferris StateBig Rapids · public	$23,508	$45,012	$21,500	91%
8	Saginaw Valley StateUniversity Center · public	$23,298	$38,608	$30,432	131%
9	Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette · public	$21,696	$33,425	$24,250	112%
10	Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo · public	$21,468	$38,111	$27,000	126%
11	Aquinas CollegeGrand Rapids · private nonprofit	$17,827	Not reported	$26,844	151%

Calvin University reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan writing and rhetoric 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 the 10 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Oakland University$34,464
Michigan State$33,401
University of Michigan$31,239
Grand Valley State$31,016
Calvin University$26,637

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to writing and rhetoric, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Editors

$63,090

Median pay in Michigan. 1,690 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $33,230Top 10%: $99,980

Writers and Authors

$76,910

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Technical Writers

$85,270

Median pay in Michigan. 970 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $57,600Top 10%: $127,070

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$35,530

Median pay in Michigan. 140 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $32,180Top 10%: $63,090

Common questions

Oakland University in Rochester Hills reports the highest median first-year pay, $34,464. Its median federal debt is $25,500.

Writing and Rhetoric (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked110 programs by pay and debt

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.
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.
Medians are across the writing and rhetoric bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024