Technical & Certificate Pathways in Utah
Completion and earnings for Utah’s technical and certificate providers, including USHE technical colleges, trade schools, and for-profit certificate programs.
- 40 Utah institutions award certificates or associate degrees as their highest credential1, including 8 USHE technical colleges and 32 private and for-profit certificate providers.
- Median completion2 across all certificate/technical providers: 83.8%; median earnings six years after entry3: $25K.
- Outcomes vary widely, from USHE technical colleges to beauty and trade schools, so families should compare specific programs, not sector labels alone.
Short-cycle credentials are Utah's fastest throughput pathways. Utah has 40 institutions whose highest credential is a certificate or associate degree1, from USHE technical colleges to for-profit trade and beauty schools. Medians below compare those providers to community college and four-year benchmarks.
USHE technical colleges cluster at the top; for-profit certificate schools show wider dispersion in earnings (Part 3).
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Utah subset, 63 institutions)
Cert/tech = all HIGHDEG ≤ 1 institutions. Earnings are institution-level medians.
All certificate & technical providers
| Institution | Type | Completion | Earn. (6 yr) | Net price $0–30k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esteem Academy of Beauty | For-profit certificate | 100.0% | N/A | $10K |
| Myotherapy Massage College | For-profit certificate | 100.0% | $29K | $19K |
| Southwest Technical College | USHE technical | 94.9% | $38K | N/A |
| Top Nails & Hair Beauty School | For-profit certificate | 92.4% | $28K | N/A |
| Medspa Academies | For-profit certificate | 92.2% | $30K | $18K |
| Healing Mountain Massage School | For-profit certificate | 92.1% | $25K | $17K |
| Zion Massage College | For-profit certificate | 91.5% | N/A | $21K |
| Collectiv Academy | For-profit certificate | 90.7% | $24K | $19K |
| Mandalyn Academy | For-profit certificate | 90.0% | $22K | $13K |
| Evans Hairstyling College-St George | For-profit certificate | 88.0% | N/A | $9K |
| Taylor Andrews Academy-St George | For-profit certificate | 87.9% | $17K | $15K |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Salt Lake City | For-profit certificate | 87.5% | $23K | $22K |
| Uintah Basin Technical College | USHE technical | 86.4% | $39K | N/A |
| Avalon Institute-Layton | For-profit certificate | 85.7% | $30K | $17K |
| Cameo College of Essential Beauty | For-profit certificate | 85.2% | $27K | N/A |
| Renaissance Academie | For-profit certificate | 85.2% | N/A | $22K |
| Mountainland Technical College | USHE technical | 84.0% | $35K | N/A |
| Aveda Institute-Provo | For-profit certificate | 83.8% | $25K | $16K |
| Taylor Andrews Academy of Hair Design-Provo | For-profit certificate | 83.3% | $25K | $23K |
| Tooele Technical College | USHE technical | 81.2% | N/A | N/A |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Logan | For-profit certificate | 78.4% | $21K | $20K |
| Dixie Technical College | USHE technical | 76.9% | $41K | N/A |
| Bridgerland Technical College | USHE technical | 75.3% | $38K | $2K |
| Skinworks School of Advanced Skincare | For-profit certificate | 73.2% | N/A | $23K |
| Paul Mitchell the School-St. George | For-profit certificate | 72.5% | N/A | $15K |
| Taylor Andrews Academy of Hair Design-West Jordan | For-profit certificate | 71.7% | $25K | $17K |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Provo | For-profit certificate | 71.4% | $23K | $21K |
| Skin Science Institute | For-profit certificate | 70.4% | $22K | N/A |
| Acaydia School of Aesthetics | For-profit certificate | 68.1% | $17K | $16K |
| The Barber School | For-profit certificate | 58.7% | $27K | $18K |
| Davis Technical College | USHE technical | 56.7% | $42K | N/A |
| Ogden-Weber Technical College | USHE technical | 53.1% | $37K | $3K |
| Evans Hairstyling College-Cedar City | For-profit certificate | 35.3% | $20K | $3K |
| American Beauty Academy | For-profit certificate | 30.0% | $18K | $12K |
| American Beauty Academy-West Valley Campus | For-profit certificate | 23.1% | $18K | $14K |
| Bonnie Joseph Academy of Cosmetology & Barbering | For-profit certificate | N/A | $22K | N/A |
| Galen Health Institutes-Salt Lake City | For-profit certificate | N/A | $59K | $34K |
| Rocky Vista University - Southern Utah | For-profit certificate | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Snow College-Richfield Campus | Public certificate | N/A | $35K | N/A |
| Utah County Campus | For-profit certificate | N/A | $22K | N/A |
This table excludes bachelor's-granting universities and community colleges whose highest degree is above associate. Apprenticeship pathways are covered in Part 6; they are not in College Scorecard.
Sources & methodology
- College Scorecard HIGHDEG, C150_L4, MD_EARN_WNE_P6, NPT41
- Utah institution registry · 40 certificate/technical providers
- USHE technical college outcomes (cross-check)
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