Best Commercial programs in Michigan, ranked by enrollment
Design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys.
13 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 260 people a year. The job pays a median of $102,160 in Michigan across about 2,930 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Michigan that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Michigan that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Michigan (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Michigan page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 15.1503In Michigan → | 145 | 55.8% | 1 | $68,912 | $25,236 |
| 2 | CIP 15.1701In Michigan → | 50 | 19.2% | 5 | $63,554 | $17,750 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0404In Michigan → | 38 | 14.6% | 4 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0401In Michigan → | 17 | 6.5% | 4 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 5 | CIP 50.0402In Michigan → | 10 | 3.8% | 2 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
Top 13 schools in Michigan
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 13 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 145 | Packaging Science | $76,563 | 81% | — | 85% |
| 2 | Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 46 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | $67,764 | 47% | — | 91% |
| 3 | Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Industrial and Product Design | $39,077 | 58% | — | 85% |
| 4 | Lawrence Technological University Southfield, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Industrial and Product Design | — | 61% | $32,679 | 56% |
| 5 | College for Creative Studies Detroit, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $32,665 | 71% | $32,153 | 92% |
| 6 | Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 17% | — | — |
| 7 | University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $18,339 | 40% | — | 70% |
| 8 | Cranbrook Academy of Art Bloomfield Hills, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Industrial and Product Design | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | West Shore Community College Scottville, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 27% | — | — |
| 10 | Lansing Community College Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 25% | — | — |
| 11 | Alpena Community College Alpena, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 52% | — | — |
| 12 | Macomb Community College Warren, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $17,057 | 18% | — | — |
| 13 | Muskegon Community College Muskegon, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 28% | — | — |
All 13 schools in Michigan
Every school in Michigan with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Public | 145 | 1 |
| Ferris State University | Big Rapids | Public | 46 | 3 |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Lawrence Technological University | Southfield | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 2 |
| College for Creative Studies | Detroit | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
| Henry Ford College | Dearborn | Public | 8 | 1 |
| University of Michigan - Flint | Flint | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Cranbrook Academy of Art | Bloomfield Hills | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| West Shore Community College | Scottville | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Lansing Community College | Lansing | Public | 2 | 1 |
| Alpena Community College | Alpena | Public | 1 | 1 |
| Macomb Community College | Warren | Public | 1 | 1 |
| Muskegon Community College | Muskegon | Public | 1 | 1 |
What commercial and industrial designers earn in Michigan
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $83,910. Michigan pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Michigan employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Michigan
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Commercial and Industrial Designers page.
How to become a Commercial
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Michigan
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Commercial and Industrial Designers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.1503Packaging Science
- 15.1701Energy Systems Technology/Technician
- 50.0401Design and Visual Communications, General
- 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
- 50.0404Industrial and Product Design
Common questions
Answers for people weighing commercial and industrial designers programs in Michigan.
What degree do you need to become a Commercial?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Packaging Science, which awarded 145 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 55.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Commercial?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Engineering-Related Fields, Design and Applied Arts, Energy Systems Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 260 people a year in Michigan.
How much do commercial and industrial designers earn in Michigan?+
The median is $102,160 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.7% above the U.S. median of $83,910. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for commercial and industrial designers growing?+
BLS projects a +3.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Michigan?+
13 institutions in Michigan reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do commercial and industrial designers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Designer, Design Engineer, Product Designer, Industrial Designer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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