Kettering University is the top-ranked college in Michigan and 41st nationally when it comes to return on investment, according to Payscale.com’s annual rankings. This is the second year in a row that Kettering was ranked as the top college in Michigan.  Kettering improved eight spots from 49th last year in the overall rankings.

“Rankings like these are a strong affirmation that Kettering’s unique experiential and co-op-based education model provides our graduates with the ability to quickly succeed and make an impact in their professional fields upon completing college,” said Kip Darcy, Kettering University vice president of marketing, communication and enrollment. “Kettering’s ability to blend theory learned in the classroom with practice in students’ co-op placements with our more than 500 corporate partners is truly a great formula for ensuring professional success as leaders and agile decision-makers.”

The co-op program, in which students alternate terms on campus in classroom and laboratory settings and in industry working in their field, ensures that every Kettering graduate leaves the University with meaningful experience, giving them a head start on peers entering the workforce.

“Kettering University graduates are uniquely prepared for the workforce because of our co-op program,” said Venetia Petteway, Kettering University cooperative education program director. “From the moment they set foot on campus as accepted seniors in high school participating in our Prep for Success programs, our students are taught interview tips and resume preparation and other valuable skills that they put to use immediately to obtain their co-op jobs. By the time they graduate, our students already have two years of targeted professional work experience in corporate and other professional settings. This makes Kettering graduates highly appealing candidates for the best jobs on the market for recent college graduates in a variety of industries.”

Kettering University has a long history of alumni who have made global impacts in industry, in business, as philanthropists and as entrepreneurs. Notable alumni include Mary Barra, General Motors CEO, Bob Kagle, one of the most successful venture capitalists in the history of Silicon Valley, Matt Borland, crew chief for NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, and David Kenny, CEO of The Weather Company, among many others.

Kettering is one of the country’s top engineering in business schools. It was ranked No. 1 nationally in Industrial Engineering and No. 4 nationally in Mechanical Engineering by U.S. News and World Report’s ‘Best Colleges’ edition in 2013 and received a ‘Best in the Midwest’ distinction from the Princeton Review. Kettering also ranked as the state’s top school and 60th nationally in Payscale’s rankings of the earning power of college graduates in 2013.

Payscale’s ‘return on investment’ rankings are based on total cost and alumni earnings potential. Read more about their methodology and see the full 2014 return on investment rankings.