State Hub

Colleges in Michigan

CampusPin tracks 85 colleges in Michigan, 59 universities and 26 community colleges. Compare tuition, acceptance, size, and setting to build a shortlist that fits.

Colleges tracked

85

Universities

59

Community colleges

26

Avg. in-state tuition

$18k

About college search in Michigan

How Michigan's higher-education landscape shapes a search

Michigan operates one of the deeper public higher-education sectors in the Midwest. The state has 15 public universities, governed individually by their own boards rather than under a single statewide system, plus 28 community colleges coordinated by the Michigan Community College Association. The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) is the state’s flagship and one of the more selective public research universities in the U.S. Michigan State University (East Lansing) is the state’s land-grant institution. Wayne State (Detroit) anchors the urban research sector. Other publics include Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Northern Michigan, Oakland University, Grand Valley State, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, and Saginaw Valley State.

Three major research universities

The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Michigan State (East Lansing), and Wayne State (Detroit) are the state’s three major public research universities.

15 public universities, independently governed

Michigan is unusual in not running a single statewide university system, each of its 15 public universities has its own constitutionally autonomous board.

28 community colleges

Michigan operates 28 community colleges with the Michigan Transfer Agreement formalizing general-education credit transfer to public four-year institutions.

Michigan Achievement Scholarship

The Michigan Achievement Scholarship provides state-funded tuition support for eligible in-state students. Verify current details with the institution.

Public university system

Constitutionally autonomous public universities (15 institutions)

Michigan’s 15 public universities are individually governed by their own boards under the Michigan Constitution; there is no statewide university system in the conventional sense.

Community college network

Michigan community colleges (28 institutions)

Michigan operates 28 community colleges. The Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) guarantees general-education credit transfer to Michigan public universities for students who complete the agreement’s required courses.

In-state vs. out-of-state tuition

Michigan in-state public tuition at the University of Michigan and Michigan State is in the upper range of U.S. publics; out-of-state rates at UM are among the highest. Regional and community colleges post lower rates. The Michigan Achievement Scholarship can offset costs for eligible in-state students.

Top metros for college search

Where Michigan's higher-education density concentrates

  • Detroit metro

    Detroit hosts Wayne State, the University of Detroit Mercy (private), Marygrove (in transition), and several community-college campuses including Wayne County Community College District.

  • Ann Arbor

    Ann Arbor is built around the University of Michigan, the state’s primary public flagship.

  • East Lansing / Lansing

    East Lansing is the home of Michigan State University; Lansing (the state capital, adjacent) hosts Lansing Community College.

  • Grand Rapids

    Grand Rapids hosts Grand Valley State University’s downtown campus, Calvin University (private), Aquinas (private), and Grand Rapids Community College.

  • Kalamazoo

    Kalamazoo is the home of Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College (private), and Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

  • Upper Peninsula (Marquette / Houghton / Sault Ste. Marie)

    The UP hosts Northern Michigan University (Marquette), Michigan Tech (Houghton), and Lake Superior State (Sault Ste. Marie).

What Michigan actually costs

Median net price after grants
$9,228 for families under $30,000
$19,586 at $110,000 or more
Across 67 Michigan colleges reporting the full series. All five income bands
Median federal debt at graduation
$20,960 with 39.1% borrowing
Debt without the borrower share is misleading, so CampusPin never shows one alone. Debt by college
Studying entirely online
19% of Michigan students
Federal enrolment collection, weighted by students rather than campuses. Where they study

Every college we track

Colleges and universities in Michigan

Filter all Michigan schools

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Midwest region overview

What students weigh when searching colleges in Michigan

Across Michigan (MI), CampusPin currently indexes 85 institutions: 46 public and 39 private, split between 59 universities and 26 community colleges. Students often balance affordability, campus culture, public systems, and the tradeoff between local value and out-of-state reach.

Use size and setting filters after your first pass to separate flagship, regional, and smaller-campus experiences.
Look closely at support services and career pathways when several schools seem similar on cost.
Keep community-college transfer routes in the mix when price discipline matters from day one.

Browse by major

Michigan colleges by program

Jump straight to Michigan colleges and universities that offer a specific major. Each page compares tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment for that program across Michigan.

Fields with a distinct set of Michigan colleges

128 fields where the colleges that awarded credentials in Michigan are a materially different set from those of any closely related field, based on federal completions data. Showing the 36 with the most colleges. The number is how many colleges awarded credentials.

How to use the Michigan hub

Start with CampusPin results filtered to Michigan so your first pass stays geographically focused.
Use school profiles to compare tuition, admissions, program format, and campus fit before building a shortlist.
If you are looking for lower-cost or transfer-first options, compare community colleges and four-year destinations separately.
Use blog guides and help-center content when you need stronger decision frameworks, not just more schools.

Next actions for Michigan

Explore all colleges in MichiganView community colleges in MichiganView online programs in MichiganRead planning guides before you compare

Frequently asked questions

Questions families ask about colleges in Michigan

Which is the public flagship university in Michigan?
The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is the state’s primary public flagship and one of the more selective public research universities in the U.S. Michigan State University in East Lansing is the state’s land-grant institution.
Does Michigan have a statewide university system?
No, Michigan is unusual in having 15 public universities individually governed under the Michigan Constitution. Each university has its own constitutionally autonomous board; there is no overarching statewide system like SUNY, UC, or the UNC System.
How does the Michigan Transfer Agreement work?
The Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) guarantees that students who complete an approved 30-credit general-education block at a Michigan community college can transfer those credits to any participating Michigan public university with general-education requirements met. Specific majors may have additional requirements.
How many HBCUs are in Michigan?
Michigan has no federally designated HBCUs.
How does the Michigan Achievement Scholarship work?
The Michigan Achievement Scholarship provides state-funded tuition support for eligible Michigan high school graduates at participating Michigan colleges, with award amounts varying by institution type. Verify current eligibility with the Michigan Department of Treasury and the institution.
How many Michigan colleges are flagged for lower earnings on the FAFSA?
42 schools in the Department of Education's March 2026 release, the list the 2027-28 FAFSA uses, out of 135 Michigan schools with an earnings figure. The December 2025 release flagged 58: 18 came off and 2 were added. Every one is named in the Michigan section of CampusPin's FAFSA lower earnings list. The notice is informational and does not affect financial aid, and it describes a whole school, not a program.
How many Michigan colleges cost more than a family can borrow from the federal government?
For families earning under $30,000, 3 of the 67 Michigan colleges reporting the complete federal net-price series charge more after grants than the $25,500 a first-year dependent student and their parents can borrow federally from 1 July 2026; the median college there charges $9,228. For families earning $48,001–$75,000 it is 4 (median $13,554). Net prices are averages for students who received federal aid in a prior cohort, not a quote for any family, and Parent PLUS requires no adverse credit history.

Related blog clusters

Guides that pair well with a Michigan search

Cost and Financial Aid

College affordability, net price, aid interpretation, borrowing decisions, and budgeting guidance for students and families using CampusPin to compare higher-ed options with more discipline.

Community College

Community-college strategy, affordability, transfer readiness, and credential pathway content for students exploring two-year options through CampusPin.

College Search Strategy

Filter-first search strategy, shortlist building, and planning content for students and parents using CampusPin to discover best-fit colleges and universities.

Help Center

Workflow guides for students searching in Michigan

Getting Started With CampusPin

A fast orientation to the CampusPin workflow, from your first search through profile review, pins, and next-step planning.

How to Use Filters to Narrow Your College List

A practical help article on how to use CampusPin filters without over-filtering or locking yourself into the wrong criteria too early.

How to Read a CampusPin School Profile

A guide to the major sections inside a CampusPin institution profile and how to interpret them effectively. Each page connects to clearer next steps, related guides, and the CampusPin tools that help you decide.

CampusPin research

National analyses with Michigan in the data

Each report is built from a checksum-verified snapshot, with full methodology and a downloadable CSV that includes Michigan.

Comparing schools on price? See our national analysis of how college cost relates to graduation and earnings, an association driven by selectivity and sector, not evidence that a pricier college pays off.

Explore Michigan

More ways to explore Michigan colleges

By city

Colleges in Michigan cities

CampusPin publishes a directory for 2 cities in Michigan, every one where federal data reports at least five colleges.

Browse colleges by city nationwide

What this count of 85 includes

Other sites publish very different totals for Michigan, and most do not say what they are counting. Here is exactly what this one counts, so you can check it against anyone else's.

By level
59 listed as universities and 26 as community colleges. CampusPin records this as an institution type, and uses it as an approximation of four-year versus two-year; it is not a separately reported degree-level field.
By control
46 public and 39 private. CampusPin records control as public or private only, so private nonprofit and private for-profit institutions are not separated here.
  • Every institution counted has its own CampusPin profile listing the figures behind it and where each one came from, so the total can be checked against its parts rather than taken on trust.
  • This is CampusPin's directory of 3,798 institutions nationwide, not the full federal universe. NCES counted 5,829 Title IV institutions, administrative offices, and U.S. service academies nationwide for 2024-25. That figure includes entities a student would never apply to, which is one reason published totals differ so widely.
  • Figures come from federal sources on a reporting lag, so a very new or very recently closed institution may not be reflected yet. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.
Full data methodologyCoverage and data quality

Data sources & methodology

College listings for Michigan are compiled from federal datasets and each institution's own published information.

Sources used across this page

Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.

  • IPEDS / NCES College Navigator

    Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.

  • U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

    Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.

  • Institutional websites

    Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.

Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.

Methodology Data dictionary Report a correction

Suggested citation

CampusPin. Colleges in Michigan. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/colleges-by-state/michigan