Management Information Systems and Services at Ferrum College

Similar programs in Virginia suggest first-year earnings around $55,000 for this MIS bachelor's degree, which falls about $4,000 below the national median for the field. Combined with estimated debt of $26,500, this creates a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.48—meaning graduates would owe roughly half their first-year salary. That's a workable starting point, though not exceptional for a tech-adjacent credential.

What complicates the picture is that we're working entirely with estimates here. Virginia has only four comparable MIS programs with reported data, and Ferrum's small graduate cohort means the Department of Education suppresses actual outcomes. The peer programs we can see—ECPI, Liberty, and Old Dominion—cluster in the mid-$50,000 range, lending some credibility to the estimate. But Bridgewater College's $44,000 median shows there's real variation within the state, and Ferrum's 100% admission rate and 990 average SAT suggest it may serve a different student population than the universities dominating Virginia's tech sector.

The debt estimate comes from national peer institutions rather than Virginia schools, where median debt runs higher at $31,000. If Ferrum's actual outcomes align more closely with state patterns, the financial picture becomes tighter. For a family considering this program, the key question is whether Ferrum's specific career services, employer connections, and curriculum justify choosing it over the state's larger tech programs where outcomes are documented and competitive.