According to College Navigator, Michigan is home to 12 public universities, 27 private non-profit colleges, and five private for-profit institutions.
According to College Board, the average undergraduate student in Michigan paid $14,340 in tuition and school fees at public colleges during the 2021-22 school year.
Full-time undergraduate students received an average of $14,800 in financial aid during the 2020-21 school year.
This list features some of the best brick-and-mortar schools in Michigan. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. We included liberal arts colleges and research universities as well as small, midsize, and large institutions. Next, we compared this comprehensive list to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
The colleges on our list are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a reputable organization that examines the objectives, quality, and overall effectiveness of education programs in the central United States.
We evaluated each school on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for on-campus students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
The job market in your chosen industry should be an important factor when considering where you’d like to go to school. As of October 2021, the top industries in Michigan were trade, transportation, and utilities; goods-producing; professional and business services; education and health services; and government.
For many, the potential for career growth is vital when entering the job market. In Michigan, many of the fastest-growing careers are in the technology industry; however, opportunities abound across several sectors. As of 2022, Michigan’s fastest-growing careers for those with bachelor’s degrees were medical and health services managers, film and video editors, logisticians, data scientists, and agents and talent managers.
There are plenty of industries in Michigan that feature vast opportunities for those with a bachelor’s degree, which is clear to see when reviewing the state’s top employers. This list includes companies such as General Motors, Spectrum Health Hospitals, and Henry Ford Hospital.
When researching where to go to school in Michigan, you may be considering financial aid. There are plenty of resources available for those who need it, and to help, we’ve put together a list of several federal and state resources that can connect you with grants, scholarships, and other financial aid opportunities if you’re attending school in the state.