2026 Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools in Michigan
[Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer](/majors/transportation-materials-handling/marine-transportation/marine-science-merchant-marine-officer/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for marine science/merchant marine officer students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools in Michigan
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in marine science/merchant marine officer, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer Schools
Northwestern Michigan College earned the #1 spot for value among marine science/merchant marine officer schools in Michigan. Northwestern Michigan College is a mid-sized public school located in the city of Traverse City. In-state tuition and fees average $5,860, compared with $13,476 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for marine science/merchant marine officer graduates is $26,542. Soon after graduation, marine science/merchant marine officer degree recipients from Northwestern Michigan College generally make around $87,281. Set against $26,542 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
