Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions at Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud State graduates in this Allied Health program earn significantly below what they should expect. With first-year earnings of $42,002, graduates make about $15,000 less than the Minnesota median for this field and fall into the bottom quarter of both state and national programs. St. Catherine University graduates in the same field earn $72,000—that's a $30,000 gap that compounds over a career.

The debt load looks manageable on paper at $26,752, slightly below state and national norms, and earnings do improve to $47,000 by year four. However, the core issue remains: Allied Health professionals typically command strong salaries (the national median is over $60,000), making this program's outcomes puzzling given the field's earning potential. Whether this reflects curriculum gaps, clinical placement networks, or local job market constraints isn't clear, but the result is the same—graduates significantly underperform their peers.

For Minnesota families, this matters because the state has multiple Allied Health programs that place graduates into much stronger financial positions. Unless there are compelling geographic or personal reasons to attend Saint Cloud State specifically, exploring alternatives would be prudent. At these earnings levels, even the relatively modest debt takes longer to justify than it should in a typically well-compensated healthcare field.