Best Probation Officer programs in Michigan, ranked by enrollment
Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole.
30 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,446 people a year. The job pays a median of $79,760 in Michigan across about 2,190 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.
1 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 44.0701In Michigan → | 2,446 | 100.0% | 30 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
Top 25 schools in Michigan
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 15 of the 30 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 507 | Social Work | $51,416 | 93% | — | 16% |
| 2 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 354 | Social Work | $39,774 | 58% | — | 81% |
| 3 | Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 240 | Social Work | $37,233 | 67% | — | 83% |
| 4 | Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 204 | Social Work | $39,071 | 64% | $19,806 | 52% |
| 5 | Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 150 | Social Work | $38,446 | 58% | — | 88% |
| 6 | Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 149 | Social Work | $38,517 | 46% | — | 80% |
| 7 | Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 121 | Social Work | $38,503 | 48% | — | 72% |
| 8 | Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 114 | Social Work | $38,870 | 47% | — | 91% |
| 9 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 81 | Social Work | $34,089 | 81% | — | 85% |
| 10 | Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 77 | Social Work | $37,205 | 58% | — | 85% |
| 11 | Oakland Community College Auburn Hills, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Social Work | — | 21% | — | — |
| 12 | Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 67 | Social Work | $36,513 | 52% | — | 84% |
| 13 | Madonna University Livonia, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Social Work | — | 60% | $16,904 | 63% |
| 14 | University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Social Work | $40,371 | 40% | — | 70% |
| 15 | Andrews University Berrien Springs, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Social Work | — | 72% | $17,800 | 82% |
| 16 | Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Social Work | $35,800 | 59% | — | 90% |
| 17 | Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Social Work | — | 17% | — | — |
| 18 | Macomb Community College Warren, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Social Work | — | 18% | — | — |
| 19 | Hope College Holland, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Social Work | $37,270 | 80% | $21,746 | 79% |
| 20 | Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Social Work | $31,584 | 74% | $22,391 | 71% |
| 21 | Cornerstone University Grand Rapids, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Social Work | — | 62% | $21,132 | 78% |
| 22 | Adrian College Adrian, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Social Work | — | 48% | $20,357 | 73% |
| 23 | Concordia University Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Social Work | — | 48% | $25,071 | 69% |
| 24 | Bay de Noc Community College Escanaba, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Social Work | — | 30% | — | — |
| 25 | Gogebic Community College Ironwood, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Social Work | — | 36% | — | — |
All 30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Public | 507 | 1 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit | Public | 354 | 1 |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale | Public | 240 | 1 |
| Spring Arbor University | Spring Arbor | Private not-for-profit | 204 | 1 |
| Oakland University | Rochester Hills | Public | 150 | 1 |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti | Public | 149 | 1 |
| Saginaw Valley State University | University Center | Public | 121 | 1 |
| Ferris State University | Big Rapids | Public | 114 | 1 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Public | 81 | 1 |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Public | 77 | 1 |
| Oakland Community College | Auburn Hills | Public | 71 | 1 |
| Northern Michigan University | Marquette | Public | 67 | 1 |
| Madonna University | Livonia | Private not-for-profit | 44 | 1 |
| University of Michigan - Flint | Flint | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Andrews University | Berrien Springs | Private not-for-profit | 36 | 1 |
What probation officers and correctional treatment specialists earn in Michigan
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,270. Michigan pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
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 Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists page.
How to become a Probation Officer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
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 1 majors mapped to Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 44.0701Social Work
Common questions
Answers for people weighing probation officers and correctional treatment specialists programs in Michigan.
What degree do you need to become a Probation Officer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 2,446 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Probation Officer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work. Together they graduate about 2,446 people a year in Michigan.
How much do probation officers and correctional treatment specialists earn in Michigan?+
The median is $79,760 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.4% above the U.S. median of $66,270. 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 probation officers and correctional treatment specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +2.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Michigan?+
30 institutions in Michigan reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 probation officers and correctional treatment specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Probation Officer, Parole Officer (PO), Correctional Counselor, Juvenile Probation Officer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1092.
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
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card