College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Michigan Technological University

MIMedium public institution · Overall rank #251 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Michigan Technological University in the 83rd composite percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Michigan Technological University is a public university in Houghton, Michigan, built around engineering. The degree mix is overwhelmingly STEM, and return is among the highest we track.

Access is modestly below average, so the financial and earnings pictures pull in different directions. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them.

The model attributes more of that gain to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings figure captures the bulk of the class.

Pell recipients complete within a few points of the overall rate, and mobility is well above average. The lowest income band pays very little against the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

The spread between the two ends is wide, but the lowest band pays far less than the highest. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to this campus should go in knowing that the largest programs are not the highest-earning ones.

Michigan Technological University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
92.4%
Six-year completion[2]
68.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$84,560

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$6,187
Median student debt[4]
$24,990
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$29,300

Michigan Technological University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Michigan Technological University enrolls 5,955 undergraduates at a public university in Houghton, Michigan. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university sits in the upper third of the ranking (83rd percentile).

The admission rate at Michigan Technological University is 92.4%, against a peer median of 85.9% for institutions of the same type and size. Among first-time full-time students, 88.8% return after the first year, compared with a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 68.1%, against a peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 9.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation figure captures only the cohort that started here full time, not the entire student body.

The four are spread across the scale. Return is the strongest, at the 92nd percentile, and access is the weakest, at the 26th percentile.

Mobility sits at the 82nd percentile, with affordability at the 64th percentile. That wide span leaves the profile uneven across dimensions.

Return is the clearest strength for Michigan Technological University, at the 92nd percentile of nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places mobility at the 82nd percentile and affordability at the 64th percentile, while access is the weakest pillar at the 26th percentile.

Strong return and mobility sit alongside a lower access standing, so the pillar picture is uneven rather than uniform.

20.2% of undergraduates at Michigan Technological University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks the university #1,092 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 64.0%, 4.1 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (68.1%). Azimuth ranks the university #260 for mobility. Graduates earn about $15,394 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Michigan Technological University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#251

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 82
Access & reach
National percentile: 26
Affordability
National percentile: 64
Return on investment
National percentile: 92

Top-ranked majors

  1. Materials Engineering#11
  2. Engineering-Related Fields#11
  3. Forestry#17

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Michigan Technological University briefing

Michigan Technological University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Michigan Technological University lists a published cost of attendance of $34,152. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $14,182, with financial aid offsetting $19,970 of that sticker total.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported sticker charges for the 2026-27 academic year: in-state tuition of $20,396 and out-of-state tuition of $46,294. Required fees are $382, and on-campus food and housing is $14,321.

These are published sticker charges rather than what aid recipients necessarily pay. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $14,068; Michigan Technological University’s average is above it by $114.

Azimuth ranks the university #511 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions, placing its price near the peer middle rather than far from it.

At Michigan Technological University, a published cost of attendance of $34,152 sits alongside sharply different average net prices, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, by family income. Families in the lowest family-income band average $2,045; those in the next-lowest band average $3,373; the middle band averages $6,187; the next-highest band averages $12,813; and the highest band averages $23,107.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $21,062. Azimuth ranks the university #511 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 58% of the published cost, an average savings of $19,970. Across first-time full-time Title IV aid recipients, the is $14,182.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068, placing Michigan Technological University $114 above that benchmark. Aid offsets much of the published cost, though the overall net price is close to the peer figure.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $24,990. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, so Michigan Technological University is $3,761 above it; 91.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. For parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $29,300.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$6,187

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Michigan Technological University

Federal borrowing is widespread at Michigan Technological University: 91.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $24,990.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $21,229, making the university's median above by $3,761. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $29,300.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 59% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $35,920 in cumulative borrowing per borrower. The figures include 58% of graduates with federal loans, averaging $21,460. They also include 21% of graduates with private loans, averaging $40,680.

At Michigan Technological University, graduates earn about $15,394 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations means the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students; Azimuth places it in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $84,560. Azimuth places that figure in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings scenarios place the typical case at $84,560, with a downside scenario of $66,808 and an upside scenario of $99,419. Median federal debt at completion is $24,990, above the $21,229 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,761.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. The earnings indicators are strong, though borrowing is higher than at comparable institutions.

Among parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $29,300. For student borrowers, median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$24,990
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$29,300

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$372/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Michigan Technological University briefing

Michigan Technological University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Return for Michigan Technological University sits at the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Among federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled, the median four years after completion is $84,560.

That figure is in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings sit $27,259 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $15,394 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome is in the 92nd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $13,738. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,656. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $11,000.

Michigan Technological University posts median earnings of $84,560 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth puts that earnings measure in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and the earnings cohort contains 1,448 completers.

Graduates earn about $15,394 more than the model expects for similar students. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301; the university’s median is above it by $27,259.

Earnings scenarios from the program mix place the downside at $66,808 and the upside at $99,419, with the typical scenario matching the observed median. An estimated 23.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The peer comparison and modeled range both frame earnings as a central strength.

Michigan Technological University posts median earnings of $84,560 four years after completion, placing it in the 92nd percentile nationally. That is $27,259 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #125 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $15,394 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 92nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $13,738.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,656. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $11,000.

The university awards 76.5% of its degrees in STEM fields, and the earnings advantage is concentrated in those programs. Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $66,808 and the upside scenario is $99,419.

An estimated 23.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings vary by field at Michigan Technological University, with earnings scenarios setting a broad range around the typical outcome. The downside earnings scenario is $66,808, and the upside scenario is $99,419; these are scenarios based on program mix, not observed groups.

Among large programs, Computer Science completers earn $105,428 four years after completion, Electrical Engineering completers earn $99,848, and Chemical Engineering completers earn $94,478. Those field figures help explain why the modeled range extends well beyond a single earnings result.

At Michigan Technological University, graduates earn about $15,394 more than the model expects for similar students, a return signal set against borrowing that sits above the peer level. For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $24,990, above the $21,229 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,761.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, have median borrowing of $29,300.

For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $14,182, above the $14,068 peer median by $114. Above-expected earnings and higher-than-peer borrowing leave a mixed return picture.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$13,738
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$1,656
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$15,394

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Michigan Technological University briefing

Michigan Technological University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Michigan Technological University admitted 92.4% of applicants in the reported entering class, above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 10,359 first-year applicants, 8,853 admitted applicants, and 1,448 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
92.4%
25th percentile
1120
Median
1230
75th percentile
1330

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Michigan Technological University briefing

What are the largest majors at Michigan Technological University?[12]

The program figures show a broad earnings range across these fields four years after completion. Computer Science sits at the higher end, with median earnings of $105,428 from 82 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #103 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Chemical Engineering records $94,478 from 88 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth national rank of #66 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Computer Engineering also posts median earnings of $93,557 four years after completion, with 73 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #108 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

At a lower earnings level, Forestry reports $55,912 from 21 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #17 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The figures show distinct earnings levels across the listed fields.

Michigan Technological University has 15 ranked fields. Azimuth ranks Engineering-Related Fields #11 nationally in its field; it awarded 21 degrees, and median earnings four years after completion were $93,993.

Azimuth ranks Materials Engineering #11 nationally in its field; it awarded 20 degrees and shows $92,070 in median earnings four years after completion.

Michigan Technological University is an engineering school by design. Engineering accounts for 64.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Computer & Information Sciences a distant second at 9.2% and Engineering Technologies third at 5.7%.

Across the university, 15 programs carry an Azimuth national rank and 19 have published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Mechanical Engineering, at 266 degrees awarded, followed by Electrical Engineering at 102 and Chemical Engineering at 88.

The highest-ranked program is Engineering-Related Fields, with 21 degrees awarded, median earnings of $93,993 four years after completion, and a state rank of #2 in Michigan within its field. Materials Engineering ranks #11 nationally and #3 in Michigan within its field.

Forestry ranks #17 nationally and #1 in Michigan within its field, with 21 degrees awarded and earnings of $55,912. The highest-ranked programs span engineering and natural-resource fields, and their sizes and earnings vary.

Mechanical Engineering, the largest program, and Engineering-Related Fields, the highest-ranked, sit close together in earnings. The highest-earning program, Computer Science, pulls ahead at $105,428.

76.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM. A student who arrives without a technical interest will find a smaller set of programs, and the earnings data for those fields is thinner.

For the engineering core, the return picture is consistent: graduates earn near or just below the national median for their fields. The ranks place the programs among their peers nationally.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Mechanical Engineering 266 degrees awarded
$88,860
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering 102 degrees awarded
$99,848
Chemical Engineering 88 degrees awarded
$94,478
Computer Science 82 degrees awarded
$105,428
Civil Engineering 77 degrees awarded
$83,841
Computer Engineering 73 degrees awarded
$93,557

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Michigan Technological University briefing

How does Michigan Technological University serve students from different backgrounds?

Michigan Technological University pairs solid completion with earnings that run higher than the model expects, giving its mobility picture a favorable shape. Among the first-time full-time cohort, Pell recipients have a six-year completion rate of 64.0%, below the overall six-year graduation rate of 68.1% by 4.1 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $15,394 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 92nd percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Access is the less favorable pillar for Michigan Technological University, despite its broad admissions rate. The public university enrolls 5,955 undergraduates and admits 92.4% of applicants.

20.2% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 9.4% enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places its access pillar in the 26th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Michigan Technological University briefing

What colleges are similar to Michigan Technological University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Michigan Technological University.

Admissions peerPennsylvania State University-Main Campus91.2% admitted
Comparison with Michigan Technological University
MeasureMichigan Technological UniversityPennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,560$76,659-$7,901 vs Michigan Technological University
Average annual net price$14,182$19,550+$5,368 vs Michigan Technological University · higher cost
Admission rate92.4%91.2%
Explore Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Michigan-DearbornNearby option · MI
Comparison with Michigan Technological University
MeasureMichigan Technological UniversityUniversity of Michigan-Dearborn
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,560$77,294-$7,266 vs Michigan Technological University
Average annual net price$14,182$9,492-$4,690 vs Michigan Technological University · lower cost
Admission rate92.4%55.6%
Explore University of Michigan-Dearborn →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Florida$4,815 average net price
Comparison with Michigan Technological University
MeasureMichigan Technological UniversityUniversity of Florida
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,560$77,321-$7,239 vs Michigan Technological University
Average annual net price$14,182$4,815-$9,367 vs Michigan Technological University · lower cost
Admission rate92.4%61.3%
Explore University of Florida →
Similar profileUniversity of Michigan-DearbornMatched across several measures
Comparison with Michigan Technological University
MeasureMichigan Technological UniversityUniversity of Michigan-Dearborn
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,560$77,294-$7,266 vs Michigan Technological University
Average annual net price$14,182$9,492-$4,690 vs Michigan Technological University · lower cost
Admission rate92.4%55.6%
Explore University of Michigan-Dearborn →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings