With all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a grad degree. College Factual has developed its Best Doctor's Degree Colleges in Michigan ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 19 grad schools in Michigan to determine which ones have the best doctorate degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best grad schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
Higher Than Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving a doctorate degree from the school. While doctorate degree recipients from schools in Michigan earn an average starting salary of $71,142, those from the top 12 school on this list made an average of $76,493.
Starting Salary ( 56843 to 84765 )
Taking Out Student Loans
Graduate students may also take on a lot of debt while working on their doctorate so we factor that into our rankings as well.
The average amount taken out in student loans for graduates at a particular school may be crippling for those who earn less than average wages after graduation.
More Ranking Factors That Are Important
We also analyze a number of other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt when coming up with our yearly Best Doctorate Degree Schools ranking.
On a broad level, other factors that go into our rankings include such things as the demand of the school, the student body caliber, if the school has online options, and the educational resources provided by the school.
If you'd rather work on your doctorate degree in a specific area of the country, you might be interested in our rankings by place. Also, you may want to check out our other college rankings.
Still not sure what graduate degree you wish to pursue? You may want to visit our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Top Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named University of Michigan - Ann Arbor the best grad school in Michigan in terms of overall quality for students working on their doctorate degree. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 1,562 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $91,977 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #2 on our Best Doctorate Degrees in Michigan list means Michigan State University is a great place for students working on their degree. Michigan State University is a large public school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 1,402 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Michigan State make an average of $62,542 per year during the early years of their career.
Out of the 19 doctorate degree schools in Michigan that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan Technological University landed the #3 spot on the list. Michigan Tech is a public institution located in Houghton, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 84 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The excellent doctorate degree programs at Andrews University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Michigan. Andrews is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Berrien Springs, Michigan. It awarded 110 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,415 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 19 doctorate degree schools in Michigan that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Michigan University landed the #5 spot on the list. This fairly large public school is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it awarded 124 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from WMU make an average of $69,346 a year.
Grand Valley State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan list. GVSU is located in Allendale, Michigan and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 77 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $80,504 during the early years of their career.
Wayne State University landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking. Located in Detroit, Michigan, the large public school awarded 756 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Wayne State make an average of $72,144 a year.
University of Michigan - Dearborn ranked #8 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan list. UM Dearborn is a public institution located in Dearborn, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Madonna University landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking. Madonna is located in Livonia, Michigan and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
With a ranking of #10, Ferris State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan list. Located in Big Rapids, Michigan, the fairly large public school handed out 204 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Ferris make an average of $102,230 a year.
University of Detroit Mercy did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Detroit, Michigan, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 343 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Detroit Mercy make an average of $91,164 per year during the early years of their career.
Oakland University landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and it awarded 229 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from Oakland go into careers with an average salary of $68,070 during the early years of their career.
Central Michigan University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and it awarded 238 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Central Michigan make an average of $68,066 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #14, University of Michigan - Flint did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan list. UM Flint is a medium-sized public school situated in Flint, Michigan. It awarded 114 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $87,000 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #15, Eastern Michigan University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan list. Eastern Michigan University is a fairly large public school located in Ypsilanti, Michigan that handed out 32 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Saginaw Valley State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking, coming in at #17. Saginaw Valley State University is a medium-sized public school located in University Center, Michigan that handed out 1 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Northern Michigan University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking, coming in at #18. Northern Michigan University is a medium-sized public school located in Marquette, Michigan that handed out 1 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Baker College landed the #19 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Michigan ranking. Located in Owosso, Michigan, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 5 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Baker College make an average of $69,465 a year.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
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