WELDING SCHOOLS IN MICHIGAN — Federal Data, September 2026
Welding Schools in Michigan, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
3 accredited institutions in Michigan report enough federal data on this program to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 3 ranked programs in Michigan, the median graduate needs 3.7 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $11,790, against median earnings of $34,042 one year after completion.
That is slower than the national median of 3.0 months for this field, measured across the 208 institutions in our national welding schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, at 1.6 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Michigan institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about welding schools in Michigan
The Ranking
3 welding schools in Michigan, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Rapids Community CollegeGrand Rapids, MI | Public | Certificate | 1.6 | $4,540 | $34,042 | 21% |
| 2 | Ferris State UniversityBig Rapids, MI | Public | Associate | 3.7 | $17,500 | $56,811 | 47% |
| 3 | Universal Technical Institute-CantonCanton, MI | for-profit | Certificate | 4.2 | $11,790 | $33,636 | 64% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in Michigan, one by one
Grand Rapids Community College
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids Community College is a public institution in Grand Rapids. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $4,540 and report median earnings of $34,042 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.6 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 2.1 months faster than the Michigan state median of 3.7. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 21% completion rate.
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI
Ferris State University is a public institution in Big Rapids. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $17,500 and report median earnings of $56,811 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and right on the Michigan state median of 3.7. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 47% completion rate.
Universal Technical Institute-Canton
Canton, MI
Universal Technical Institute-Canton is a private for-profit institution in Canton. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $11,790 and report median earnings of $33,636 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.2 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.5 months slower than the Michigan state median of 3.7. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 64% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
With only 3 institutions publishable here, this page is a short list by construction. It is not a directory of every school in Michigan: many programs, especially at institutions that do not take federal student aid, never appear in this data at all.
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other Programs in Michigan
Comparing a different trade in Michigan
For MICHIGAN School Operators
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