Michigan State University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a rural site not far from an urban area.

Overview

Michigan State University is a coeducational public research university in East Lansing, Michigan.

Founded in 1855, MSU was the prototype for 69 land-grant schools established under the Morrill Act of 1862. It was also the first institution of higher learning in the United States to teach scientific agriculture.

Classes began in 1857 with three buildings, five faculty members and 63 male students. Today, MSU's campus sits on more 5,200 acres.

Originally, MSU was called the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan. It underwent several name changes before acquiring its present name in 1964.

MSU offers more than 200 academic programs through the following colleges:

• College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• College of Arts and Letters
• College of Communication Arts and Sciences
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Human Medicine
• College of Law
• College of Music
• College of Natural Science
• College of Nursing
• College of Osteopathic Medicine
• College of Social Science
• College of Veterinary Medicine
• Honors College
• James Madison College
• Lyman Briggs College
• Residential College in the Arts and Humanities
• The Eli Broad College of Business The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management

MSU has more than 170 active linkage agreements for research and outreach with international organizations in more than 50 countries. Michigan State University also has had more Rhodes scholars in the past 25 years than any other Big Ten school.

MSU is a member of the Association of American Universities, a group of 60 U.S. and two Canadian universities regarded as the top research-intensive institutions in North America. It was recently ranked 30th among the nation's public universities by U.S. News & World Report.

For four consecutive years, MSU was the leader in study abroad among U.S. public universities.

MSU is the only university in the country with three on-campus medical schools, graduating allopathic and osteopathic physicians and veterinarians.

The student population at MSU represents all 50 states in the United States and about 125 other countries. MSU has an active Greek system with more than 3,000 members--one of the largest in the nation.

MSU offers varsity squads in 12 intercollegiate sports for men and 13 for women in the Big Ten Conference.

Among MSU's notable alumni are Byron Halstead, botany educator; Barbara Ross-Lee, first African-American woman dean of a U.S. medical school; James H. Kimball, meteorologist who pioneered oceanic weather mapping, facilitating early transatlantic aviation; Rollo May, Father of American Existential Psychology; Julie Aigner-Clark, founder, The Baby Einstein Company; Beverly Jenkins, historical romances novelist; Noel Paul Stookey, the "Paul" of the '60s singing group Peter, Paul and Mary; and Tom Bissell, author and journalist. Actor James Caan and Ervin "Magic" Johnson, LA Lakers basketball player and entrepreneur, attended but did not graduate.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in media, hospitality, music, nutrition and exercise therapy, landscaping and horticulture, and science.
• Large number of students.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• High faculty salary.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Extensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• Weekend study is an option.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Michigan State:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 46,510 in 2009-2010 (44,584 full-time equivalent).

About 47% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 53% of the class.

Undergrads are 75% of enrolled students, graduate students are 21%, and those seeking first-professional graduate degrees represent 4%.

Students under 25 years old represent 81% of the student body. About 3% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 98% are full-time and 2% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Michigan State provides on-campus housing for 17,163 of its 44,584 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Big Ten Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 254 male students received the aid (men were 54% of those receiving aid) and 215 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 46% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Michigan State offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship & Professional Practice).

Graduate offerings include medical degrees.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Comprehensive Doctoral With Medical/Veterinary.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT (101 awarded)

• Agricultural Business and Management
• Agricultural Communication/Journalism
• Agricultural Economics
• Food Science

ANIMAL SCIENCE AND CARE (137 awarded)

• Animal Sciences
• Animal/Livestock Husbandry and Production
• Dairy Science
• Horse Husbandry/Equine Science and Management

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING (76 awarded)

• City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
• Environmental Design/Architecture
• Landscape Architecture (BS, BSLA, BLA, MSLA, MLA, PhD)

ART STUDIES (51 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (1,703 awarded)

• Accounting
• Business Administration and Management
• Business/Commerce
• Finance
• Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration
• Information Resources Management/CIO Training
• Labor Studies
• Labor and Industrial Relations
• Logistics and Materials Management
• Marketing/Marketing Management
• Merchandising and Buying Operations
• Operations Management and Supervision

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (113 awarded)

• Computer Engineering
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Science/Studies

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (116 awarded)

• Environmental Science
• Environmental Studies
• Forestry
• Natural Resource Economics
• Natural Resources Management and Policy
• Natural Resources/Conservation
• Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management

CONSTRUCTION TRADES (18 awarded)

• Apparel and Textiles
• Electrician

DESIGN (81 awarded)

• Fashion/Apparel Design
• Interior Design

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (34 awarded)

• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (804 awarded)

• Agricultural Teacher Education
• Art Teacher Education
• Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Education
• Education/Teaching Individuals - Hearing Impairments
• Education/Teaching Individuals - Specific Learning Disabilities
• Educational Evaluation and Research
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Educational/Instructional Media Design
• English/Language Arts Teacher Education
• Higher Education/Higher Education Administration
• History Teacher Education
• Mathematics Teacher Education
• Reading Teacher Education
• Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
• Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
• Special Education and Teaching
• Teaching English as Second/Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor

ENGINEERING (649 awarded)

• Agricultural/Biological Engineering and Bioengineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Engineering Mechanics
• Engineering
• Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (71 awarded)

• Construction Engineering Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (223 awarded)

• Child Development
• Consumer Merchandising/Retailing Management
• Family Systems
• Family and Community Services
• Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
• Housing and Human Environments
• Human Nutrition
• Public Administration
• Public Policy Analysis
• Social Work

FINE ARTS (13 awarded)

• Art History, Criticism and Conservation

HOSPITALITY (274 awarded)

• Hospitality Administration/Management
• Restaurant/Food Services Management

LANDSCAPING AND HORTICULTURE (135 awarded)

• Horticultural Science
• Landscaping and Groundskeeping
• Plant Sciences
• Soil Science and Agronomy
• Soil Sciences
• Turf and Turfgrass Management

LAW (108 awarded)

• Pre-Law Studies

LIBERAL ARTS (1,610 awarded)

• African-American/Black Studies
• American/United States Studies/Civilization
• Anthropology
• Classical/Ancient Mediterranean/Near Eastern Studies & Archaeology
• East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• Geography
• German Language and Literature
• Hispanic-American,Puerto Rican & Mexican-American/Chicano Studies
• History
• Humanities/Humanistic Studies
• International Relations and Affairs
• International/Global Studies
• Linguistics
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Russian Language and Literature
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Speech and Rhetorical Studies
• Technical and Business Writing
• Urban Studies/Affairs

MATHEMATICS (129 awarded)

• Applied Mathematics
• Computational Mathematics
• Mathematics
• Statistics

MEDIA (1,089 awarded)

• Advertising
• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Communications Technology/Technician
• Health Communication
• Journalism
• Mass Communication/Media Studies
• Public Relations/Image Management
• Radio and Television

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (214 awarded)

• Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist
• Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist
• Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician/Veterinary Assistant

MEDICINE (409 awarded)

• Large Animal/Food Animal & Equine Surgery/Medicine (Cert,MS,PhD)
• Medicine (MD)
• Neuroscience
• Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (DO)
• Pre-Veterinary Studies
• Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine (Cert, MS, PhD)
• Veterinary Medicine (DVM)

MUSIC (156 awarded)

• Conducting
• Jazz/Jazz Studies
• Music Pedagogy
• Music Performance
• Music Theory and Composition
• Music
• Musicology and Ethnomusicology
• Piano and Organ

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (169 awarded)

• Family Practice Nurse/Nurse Practitioner
• Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (451 awarded)

• Athletic Training/Trainer
• Dietetics/Dietitian (RD)
• Kinesiology and Exercise Science
• Nutrition Sciences
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
• Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling/Counselor

REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT (1 awarded)

• Construction Management

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (23 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (1,013 awarded)

• Astrophysics
• Biochemistry
• Biochemistry/Biophysics and Molecular Biology
• Biological and Physical Sciences
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Biomedical Sciences
• Botany/Plant Biology
• Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Chemical Physics
• Chemistry
• Entomology
• Environmental Biology
• Environmental Toxicology
• Epidemiology
• Genetics
• Geology/Earth Science
• Microbiology
• Molecular Genetics
• Pathology/Experimental Pathology
• Pharmacology and Toxicology
• Physical Sciences
• Physics
• Physiology
• Plant Genetics
• Plant Pathology/Phytopathology
• Science, Technology and Society
• Zoology/Animal Biology

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (198 awarded)

• Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration
• Forensic Science and Technology
• Security and Protective Services

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (569 awarded)

• Clinical/Medical Social Work
• Educational Psychology
• Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling
• Music Therapy/Therapist
• Psychology
• School Psychology