Health and Medical Administrative Services at Ferris State University

Ferris State's health administration certificate commands roughly 2.5 times the typical graduate debt for this program—but the extraordinary earnings outcome tells you why. At $68,630 just one year out, graduates earn more than double both the Michigan median ($24,779) and the national median ($27,783) for this credential. This places Ferris in the 95th percentile among all health administration certificate programs nationwide and across Michigan, where even the top-performing programs rarely crack $30,000 in first-year earnings.

The $27,024 in debt represents a different calculation than the typical community college certificate, but the 0.39 debt-to-earnings ratio reveals strong financial logic: graduates earn back their total debt in under five months. Compare this to the state's median program, where the same debt payback would take nearly four months despite much lower borrowing. The higher cost appears tied to Ferris operating as a four-year institution rather than a community college, but the earnings premium more than justifies it.

For families weighing this investment, the numbers are remarkably straightforward. Your child would enter the healthcare administration field earning more than twice what peers from other Michigan programs make, with debt that's manageable given those earnings. This is one of those rare cases where paying more upfront delivers measurably better career outcomes.