Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public research university located in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the country. In 1863, after the Morrill Act was passed in 1862, the college became a land-grant institution, making it the first land-grant college in the United States. The college allowed both men and women to attend starting in 1870. Michigan State has buildings and programs across the state, and more than 550,500 people have graduated from the university.
The university has six professional schools, including the College of Law (founded in Detroit in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law and moved to East Lansing in 1997), the Eli Broad College of Business, the College of Nursing, the College of Osteopathic Medicine (the first state-funded osteopathic college in the world), the College of Human Medicine, and the College of Veterinary Medicine. The university was among the first to offer studies in music therapy, packaging, hospitality business, supply chain management, and communication sciences.
Michigan State is part of the Association of American Universities and is classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" institution. It is also considered a Public Ivy university. According to Time magazine, the university ranks among the top 100 universities in the world. The campus includes the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden, the Abrams Planetarium, the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, and one of the largest residence hall systems in the country.
Faculty, alumni, and university affiliates include 1 Nobel laureate, 20 Rhodes Scholars, 20 Marshall Scholars, and 8 Pulitzer Prize winners. The Michigan State Spartans compete in the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference. Spartan teams have won national championships in sports such as football, men’s basketball, ice hockey, and women’s cross country.
History
The College owes more to John Clough Holmes than to any other person.
— Theophilus C. Abbot, third president of the State Agricultural College
In early 1855, John Clough Holmes, who worked for the agricultural society, persuaded the Michigan legislature to pass a law creating "a State Agricultural School." The school was to be built on land chosen by the Michigan State Agricultural Society within ten miles of Lansing. On February 12, 1855, Governor Kinsley S. Bingham signed the law, establishing the nation’s first agriculture college, the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan. William J. Beal called Holmes "the most important agent" of the college. Holmes Hall, the home of the Lyman Briggs College, is named in his honor.
The State Board of Education was responsible for managing the college. The same board also oversaw the Michigan State Normal School in Ypsilanti, which had opened in 1852. Classes began on May 13, 1857, with three buildings, five teachers, and 63 male students.
Joseph R. Williams, the first president and a strong supporter of education in many subjects, encouraged a curriculum that included more than just farming. He stated that the college would teach subjects such as English, science, natural philosophy, chemistry, botany, geology, and political economy, along with skills like bookkeeping and mechanics connected to agriculture. From the start, the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan offered education that matched the goals of land-grant colleges after the Morrill Act of 1862. The college aimed to teach students to be informed citizens and skilled farmers.
However, after two years, Williams had disagreements with the State Board of Education. The board believed the college was not focused enough on agriculture, as its founder, John Clough Holmes, had intended. Some farmers criticized the college’s curriculum as unpractical and even called for its closure. Williams resigned in 1859. The board then changed the curriculum to a two-year program focused on farming jobs, which led to a sharp drop in students. Many people wanted a broader education based on the liberal arts, but the board ignored this. Without enough money, the college faced financial problems and risked closing.
In 1860, Williams became acting lieutenant governor and helped pass the Reorganization Act of 1861. This law restored the college’s four-year curriculum and allowed it to award master’s degrees. A new group, the State Board of Agriculture, took over from the State Board of Education. The college changed its name to State Agricultural College, and its first class graduated in the same year.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, which provided federal support for similar colleges across the country. Soon after, on March 18, 1863, the state made the college its land-grant institution, making Michigan State University the first land-grant college in the nation. Federal funding saved the college from closing.
Although the college’s remote location limited student housing and enrollment during the 19th century, it gained a good reputation because of its graduates, many of whom became leaders or teachers at other land-grant colleges. While the college focused on scientific agriculture, its graduates worked in many different fields.
The college first admitted women in 1870, though there were no dormitories for female students. A few women lived with faculty families or traveled by stagecoach from Lansing. Female students took the same rigorous science and agriculture courses as male students. In 1896, the faculty created a "Women Course" that combined home economics with liberal arts and sciences. That same year, the Abbot Hall dormitory, originally for men, became a women’s dormitory.
The State Agricultural College admitted its first African American student, William O. Thompson, in 1899. After graduating, he taught at what is now Tuskegee University. A few years later, Myrtle Craig became the first African American woman to enroll at the college. Two years later, the college changed its name to Michigan Agricultural College.
During the early 20th century, Michigan Agricultural College expanded its programs beyond agriculture. By 1925, it had grown enough to change its name to Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science (MSC), or "Michigan State" for short. In 1941, John A. Hannah, the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, became president of the college.
After World War II, Hannah led the college’s largest expansion in its history, helped by the 1945 G.I. Bill, which provided education for veterans. One of his strategies was to build a new dormitory, fill it with students, and use the income to build another dormitory. Under his plan, enrollment grew from 15,000 in 1950 to 38,000 in 1965.
Six years later, during the college’s centennial year of 1955, the State of Michigan officially named the school a university, even though Hannah and others believed it had been one for decades. The college then became Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science. In the 1950s, Michigan State University was a leading example of former agricultural colleges that had become research universities. In 1957, Hannah helped start Michigan State University–Oakland, now Oakland University, with Matilda Dodge Wilson. After the 1964 Michigan Constitution was passed, the university’s governing body changed its name to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees.
MSU was connected to Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan, from its founding in 1957 (as Michigan State University–Oakland) until 1970, when Oakland University became independent.
In September 2005, President Lou Anna Simon called for Michigan State to become the global leader among land-grant institutions by 2012. Her plans included creating a new residential college and increasing grants from the National Institutes of Health to over $100 million. While there are more than 100 land-grant universities in the United States, she aimed for Michigan State University to lead them.
Campus
The campus of Michigan State University is located in East Lansing, Michigan, on the banks of the Red Cedar River. Development of the campus began in 1856 with three buildings: a multipurpose College Hall, a dormitory later named "Saints' Rest," and a barn. Today, the university's connected campus covers 5,200 acres (2,100 hectares), of which 2,000 acres (810 hectares) are developed. There are 563 buildings: 107 for academics, 131 for agriculture, 166 for housing and food service, and 42 for athletics. The university has 22,763,025 square feet (2,114,754.2 square meters) of indoor space. The campus is connected by 60 miles (97 kilometers) of roads and 120 miles (190 kilometers) of sidewalks. The university manages land holdings totaling more than 26,000 acres across Michigan.
In early 2017, construction of a $22.5 million solar project began at five parking lots on campus. The solar carport array covers five of the university's largest commuter parking lots and provides space for 5,000 vehicles. The solar carports are designed to produce a peak power of 10.5 Megawatts and generate 15 million kilowatt-hours of energy annually, enough to power about 1,800 homes in Michigan. The project won the Onsite Renewable Energy award at the Smart Energy Decisions Innovation Summit 2018 for being "The Largest Carport Solar Array in North America."
Some land owned by MSU is located in Lansing, Lansing Charter Township, Alaiedon Township, Delhi Charter Township, and Meridian Charter Township.
The oldest part of the campus lies on the north bank of the Red Cedar River. This area includes Collegiate Gothic architecture, many trees, and curved roads with few straight lines. The university built its first three buildings here, but none of them remain today. Other historic buildings north of the river include the president's official residence, Cowles House, and Beaumont Tower, a carillon clock tower marking the site of College Hall, the original classroom building. To the east is Eustace–Cole Hall, America's first freestanding horticulture laboratory. Other landmarks include a bronze statue of former president John A. Hannah, the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden, and "The Rock," a painted boulder popular for theater, tailgating, and candlelight vigils. On the northwest corner of campus is the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. The university also has two museums: the MSU Museum, established in 1857 and one of the Midwest's oldest museums, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, which opened in 2012 and features artwork from local, national, and international artists.
In recent years, the university has focused on repurposing previously developed sites for new construction while protecting green spaces. The STEM Teaching and Learning Facility (completed in 2021) replaced a former coal plant and used parts of the original structure. The Multicultural Center (2025) was built on a former parking lot, and the Student Recreation and Wellness Center is being built on the site of the former Cherry Lane Apartments. Other projects include the Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation, which will replace several existing buildings. These efforts reflect the university’s strategy of redevelopment and long-term sustainability in its master plan.
The campus south of the river mostly includes buildings constructed after World War II, which have a different style called International Style. These areas have fewer trees, straighter roads, and many parking lots. The "2020 Vision" Master Plan suggests replacing some parking lots with parking ramps and green space, but these changes will take many years. As part of the plan, the university placed a new bronze statue of The Spartan at the intersection of Chestnut and Kalamazoo, just south of the Red Cedar River. This statue replaced an older terra cotta version, which is now inside Spartan Stadium. Notable academic and research buildings on the South Campus include the Cyclotron, the College of Law, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building, and the Broad College of Business.
This part of campus is home to the MSU Horticulture Gardens and the 4-H Children's Garden. South of the gardens are the Canadian National and CSX railroads, which separate the main campus from thousands of acres of university-owned farmland. The university's agricultural facilities include teaching and research farms for horses, dairy cattle, beef cattle, swine, sheep, and poultry, as well as the Air Quality Control Lab and the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
The Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center is a full-service hotel and a business-friendly conference center located on the northwest corner of the campus, across from the Brody Complex on Harrison Road, just south of Michigan Avenue. The hotel has 160 rooms and suites that can accommodate visitors attending business conferences, sporting events, or campus visits. In addition to providing lodging, the hotel serves as a "learning laboratory" for students in the School of Hospitality Business and other programs. The hotel hosts conferences and seminars to support education.
MSU operated a small campus in Dubai Knowledge Village, United Arab Emirates. It initially offered one master's program in human resources and labor relations. In 2011, it added a master's program in Public Health. Before this, MSU had an education center in Dubai offering six undergraduate programs, making it the first American university in Dubai International Academic City. The program attracted 100 students in its first year but could not reach the required number of new students, so it closed in 2010.
MSU has a strong presence in downtown Detroit. This campus includes programs with the College of Education, Detroit Outreach Admissions, the MSU Community Music School of Detroit, and the Study of Active Neighborhoods in Detroit (StAND). In 2022, MSU partnered with Apple to create the Apple Developer Academy, which trains students in app development and business skills. In 2025, the
Admissions
Michigan State University uses a rolling admissions system, which means applications are reviewed as they are received. The early application deadline is in October, and the university does not offer an early decision plan. In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked MSU as "more selective." For students starting in fall 2024, the university received 62,138 applications and accepted 52,690 (84.8%). Of those accepted, 9,625 students chose to attend, which is a yield rate of 18.3%. The freshman retention rate at MSU is 91.4%, and 82.52% of students graduate within six years.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan State began a test-optional admissions policy for the fall 2021 incoming class. This policy is now in place through fall 2025. Of the 51% of freshmen in 2023 who submitted SAT scores, the middle 50% of scores ranged from 1110 to 1320. Of the 14% of freshmen who submitted ACT scores, the middle 50% of scores ranged from 26 to 31.
The number of applications to Michigan State has grown steadily over recent years. Since the class of 2007 received 24,436 applications, the total number of applications has more than doubled. Michigan state law does not require public universities to reserve spots for students who live in Michigan.
Michigan State is one of seven college sponsors of the National Merit Scholarship Program in the state, along with Michigan Technological University, Wayne State University, Kalamazoo College, Hillsdale College, Calvin University, and Hope College. In 2020, the university awarded 30 Merit Scholarships. During the 2020–2021 academic year, 38 first-year students were National Merit Scholars.
For fall 2024, the College of Law at Michigan State University received 1,359 applications and accepted 433 students (31.86%). Of those accepted, 139 students enrolled, which is a yield rate of 32.1%. The middle-50% LSAT range for the 2024 first-year law class was 157–162.
Academics
In 2025, Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed Michigan State University (MSU) at 105th globally. For 2022, Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked MSU 151st worldwide. Washington Monthly ranked MSU 43rd nationally in 2024. The 2025 QS World University Rankings listed MSU at 161st internationally. In its 2025–2026 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked MSU tied for 29th best public university in the U.S., tied for 64th nationally, and tied for 37th among best universities for veterans.
In 2020, U.S. News & World Report ranked several MSU graduate programs as number one in the U.S.: elementary teacher education and secondary teacher education (number one for 26 years straight), African history (tied), curriculum and instruction (tied), industrial and organizational psychology, nuclear physics, rehabilitation counseling (tied), and supply chain management/logistics.
The Eli Broad College of Business was ranked 39th nationally in 2019–20 by Bloomberg Businessweek. Ninety-two percent of its graduates received job offers in 2019. The latest U.S. News rankings placed MSU’s undergraduate and graduate supply chain management/logistics programs in the Eli Broad College of Business first in the nation. According to the 2018 Public Accounting Report’s Annual Survey of Accounting Professors, the Eli Broad College of Business undergraduate accounting program is ranked 22nd, the master’s accounting program is ranked 15th, and the doctoral program is ranked 18th. Forbes magazine ranked the MBA program 27th in the U.S.
The College of Communication Arts and Sciences was established in 1955 and was the first of its kind in the U.S. In 2007, The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked its Media and Information Studies doctoral program number two in the mass communication category. In 2005, the same publication ranked its communication doctoral program number four in the communication category.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum is the university’s contemporary art museum. The MSU Museum, founded in 1857, is Michigan’s first Smithsonian Affiliate. It holds collections in anthropology, folklife, cultural heritage and history, mammalogy, ornithology, herpetology, ichthyology, and vertebrate paleontology.
Michigan State University Libraries are North America’s 29th largest academic library system, with over 4.9 million volumes and 6.7 million microforms.
MSU has a long history of academic research and innovation. In 1877, botany professor William J. Beal performed the first documented genetic crosses to produce hybrid corn, which increased crop yields. In the 1930s, dairy professor G. Malcolm Trout improved the process for homogenizing milk, making it more commercially viable. In the 1960s, MSU scientists developed cisplatin, a drug used to treat cancer, and later created carboplatin, a related drug. In 2007, Albert Fert, an adjunct professor at MSU, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Peter Grünberg.
MSU continues research through facilities like the U.S. Department of Energy–sponsored MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory and the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science named MSU the site for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Construction began in 2014 and was completed in 2022. The $730 million facility aims to attract researchers worldwide to study basic nuclear science, astrophysics, and isotope applications.
In 2004, scientists at the cyclotron produced and observed a new isotope of germanium called Ge-60. That same year, MSU, along with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the government of Brazil, started construction on the 4.1-meter Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR) in Chile. The telescope allows the Physics & Astronomy department to study galaxy formation and origins. Since 1999, MSU has been part of the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor, a consortium focused on biotechnology research in Michigan. The Quello Center in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences studies issues related to information and communication management.
In 2006, MSU, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University formed the University Research Corridor. This alliance aims to strengthen Michigan’s economy by connecting businesses, policymakers, innovators, and the public to promote technology transfer, resource access, and job growth.
MSU’s (private, non-Morrill Act) endowment began in 1916 after the Engineering Building burned down. Automobile magnate Ransom E. Olds helped the program continue with a $100,000 donation, equivalent to $2.96 million in 2025.
In the early 1990s, MSU had the smallest endowment among Big Ten schools, with barely over $100 million. This changed in the 2000s when the university launched a campaign to grow its endowment. By the end of fiscal year 2004–2005, the endowment reached $1.325 billion, placing MSU sixth among Big Ten schools. As of June 30, 2021, MSU’s endowment had a market value of $4.4 billion.
Colleges
Michigan State University (MSU) offers more than 200 academic programs through 17 colleges that grant degrees.
MSU’s first residential college, Justin Morrill College, began in 1965 with a curriculum that combined different subjects. MSU closed Morrill College in 1979, but now the university has three residential colleges. One of these is the Residential College in Arts & Humanities (RCAH), which opened recently in Snyder and Phillips halls.
James Madison College, established in 1967, is a smaller residential college that offers programs in the social sciences. It is based on a model of liberal education, which focuses on a broad range of subjects. The college is located in Case Hall. Classes are small, with an average of 25 students, and most teachers have long-term positions. James Madison College has about 1,150 students total, with each incoming freshman class having about 320 students. The college offers four majors: Social Relations and Policy, International Relations, Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy, and Comparative Cultures and Politics. Each major requires two years of foreign language study and one semester of "field experience," such as an internship or study abroad program. Although James Madison students make up about 4% of MSU graduates, they represent around 35% of MSU’s Phi Beta Kappa members.
Lyman Briggs College, also established in 1967, teaches math and science within social, historical, and philosophical contexts. Many Lyman Briggs students plan to become doctors, but the college supports over 30 other majors, such as human biology and computer science. Lyman Briggs is one of the few colleges that allows undergraduates to teach as "Learning Assistants."
MSU’s newest residential college is the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH). Founded on October 21, 2005, RCAH provides around 600 undergraduate students with a personalized curriculum in the liberal, visual, and performing arts. All students in the college will graduate with the same degree, but MSU encourages students to earn a second degree or specialization. The college is located in Snyder-Phillips Hall, which was the site of MSU’s first residential college, Justin Morrill College.
The law school at MSU was founded in Detroit in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law. It moved to East Lansing in 1995 and became the Michigan State University College of Law. Students from 42 states and 13 countries attend the law school. The school publishes several law journals, including the Michigan State Law Review and the Journal of Business & Securities Law. The College of Law is home to the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute, the first of its kind in the United States. In October 2018, MSU’s board of trustees voted to fully integrate the College of Law into the university, making it a public law school. By August 2020, the College of Law had completed its integration into the university.
The Eli Broad College of Business offers programs in accounting, information systems, finance, general management, human resource management, marketing, supply chain management, and hospitality business. The college has 2,066 undergraduate students and 817 graduate students. The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management was ranked 35th in the nation and 14th among public institutions in 2012 by Businessweek magazine. It offers three MBA programs and joint degrees with the College of Law. The opening of the Eugene C. Eppley Center for Graduate Studies in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management brought the first program in the United States to offer a Master of Business Administration degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management to MSU.
The Michigan State University College of Nursing grants B.S.N., M.S.N., Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and PhD degrees, as well as post-graduate certificates. Founded in 1950, the college has trained more than 6,000 nurses. Its mission focuses on research, education, and practice. The college is located in the Life Sciences Building and Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research on the southeastern part of campus. The dean of the college, Randolph Rasch, was appointed to a statewide task force in 2020 by the governor to help establish an implicit bias training initiative for all health care workers in the state.
The Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine was the first publicly funded college of osteopathic medicine in the world. More than two-thirds of its graduates remain in Michigan to practice. In 2008, the university approved a plan to expand the college to two sites in southeast Michigan. This expansion is expected to improve medical education and address a projected shortage of doctors in the state. According to U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 rankings, the College of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O. degree) was tied for 12th among U.S. medical schools for primary care, and the College of Human Medicine (M.D. degree) was ranked 70th for primary care.
The College of Human Medicine graduates students with a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree and operates seven campuses in East Lansing, Kalamazoo, Flint, Saginaw, Marquette, Traverse City, and Grand Rapids. Each campus is connected to local hospitals and medical facilities. For example, the Lansing campus includes Sparrow Hospital and McLaren–Greater Lansing Hospital. The college recently expanded into the Grand Rapids area with the completion of the Secchia Center in 2010, which is expected to support the growing medical industry in that region.
Though MSU has offered courses in veterinary science since its founding, the College of Veterinary Medicine was officially established as a four-year degree program in 1910. In 2011, the college was ranked No. 9 in the nation. The college has over 170,000 square feet of office, teaching, and research space, as well as a veterinary teaching hospital.
In recent years, MSU’s music program has grown significantly. Music major enrollment increased more than 97% between 1991 and 2004. In 2007, the university created the MSU College of Music as a separate unit. The new college faces challenges, such as limited space and funding, but plans to continue its success by placing an average of 25 graduate students in university teaching positions each year.
The College of Education at MSU offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in counseling, educational psychology, special education, teacher education, and kinesiology. Several of its programs were ranked in the top five in the United States in 2016
Athletics
Michigan State's NCAA Division I-A program offers 11 varsity sports for men and 12 for women. Their teams are called the Spartans, they use the school's colors of green and white, and their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty. The university participates in the Big Ten Conference for all varsity sports. The current athletic director is J Batt, who previously served as the vice president and director of athletics at Georgia Tech and began his tenure on June 2, 2025.
Michigan State has a long tradition of athletic success, including multiple national championships in football, men’s basketball, ice hockey, and cross country. The football team has won several Big Ten titles and appeared in the College Football Playoff in 2015. The men’s basketball program, led for decades by head coach Tom Izzo, has won multiple Big Ten championships and has made 28 straight NCAA tournament appearances, including numerous Final Fours and two NCAA national titles (1979, 2000).
Spartan women’s athletics have achieved significant success in multiple sports. The women’s basketball team has won multiple Big Ten championships and made several deep NCAA Tournament runs, including a Final Four appearance in 2005. In 2014, women’s cross country was named national champions. Other programs, such as women’s soccer, gymnastics, and volleyball, have also earned conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances.
In 1888, Michigan State University (then known as Michigan State Agricultural College) along with Olivet, Albion, and Hillsdale Colleges was a founding member of the nation's oldest athletic conference, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). MAC left the conference in 1907.
Football has a long tradition at Michigan State. Starting as a club sport in 1884, football gained varsity status in 1896. The Spartans won the Rose Bowl in 1954, 1956, 1988, and 2014. They won national championships in 1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965, and 1966. The Spartans accounted for four of the top eight selections in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft, the only time a college football program has accomplished such a feat. As of 2020, MSU was one of only four schools to have at least one player selected in every NFL draft in the common draft era, starting in 1967. The 2021 NFL Draft marked the first time since 1941 that no Michigan State players were selected.
MSU's men's basketball team has won the National Championship twice: in 1979 and again in 2000. The team has made 28 straight NCAA tournament appearances under head coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans play at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center.
The Michigan State University men's ice hockey team started in 1924, though it has been a varsity sport only since 1950. The team has since won national titles in 1966, 1986, and 2007. The Spartans came close to repeating the national title in 1987, but lost the championship game to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. They play at MSU's Munn Ice Arena. Former head coach Ron Mason is college hockey's winningest coach with 924 wins total and 635 at MSU. The current head coach is Adam Nightingale. The men's ice hockey team competes in the Big Ten conference. They formerly competed in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Michigan State leads the CCHA in all-time wins, is second in CCHA Conference championships with 7, and is first in CCHA Tournament Championships with 11. As with other sports, the hockey rivalry between the Spartans and the Michigan Wolverines is a fierce one, and on October 6, 2001, the Spartans faced the Michigan Wolverines in the Cold War, during which a world record crowd of 74,554 packed Spartan Stadium to watch the game end in a 3–3 tie. In the 2006–2007 season, the Men's Ice Hockey team defeated Boston College for its third NCAA hockey championship.
Between World War I and World War II, Michigan State College competed in the Central Collegiate Conference, winning titles in 1926–1929, 1932, 1933, and 1935. Michigan State also experienced success in the IC4A, at New York's Van Cortlandt Park, winning 15 team titles (1933–1937, 1949, 1953, 1956–1960, 1962, 1963, and 1968). Since entering the Big Ten in 1950, Michigan State has won 14 men's team titles (1951–1953, 1955–1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1970, and 1971). Michigan State hosted the inaugural NCAA cross country championships in 1938 and every year thereafter through 1
Student life
East Lansing is a city where many college students live. About 63.5% of the people living there are between the ages of 15 and 24. In the 1950s and 1960s, President John A. Hannah worked to expand the university, which led to the largest student housing system in the United States. Around 16,000 students live in 23 undergraduate residence halls, one graduate residence hall, and three apartment villages at Michigan State University (MSU). Each residence hall has its own student government, with representatives in the Residence Halls Association. Even though there are many on-campus housing options, many students live off-campus. About 58% of students live in areas near the university, in apartments, former homes, fraternity and sorority houses, or co-ops.
In 2014, there were about 50,085 students at MSU, including 38,786 undergraduate students and 11,299 graduate and professional students. These students come from all 50 states and 130 countries around the world. In 2018, MSU tied for tenth place among U.S. universities with the largest student enrollment. During the 2018–2019 school year, 12,354 degrees were awarded. The student body is 52% female and 48% male. About 75.1% of students are from Michigan, and the rest come from all 50 U.S. states and 138 other countries.
In fall 2019, 5,660 international students were enrolled at MSU. The top five countries outside North America were China (2,965), India (506), South Korea (331), Saudi Arabia (222), and Taiwan (144). In the 2017–2018 academic year, 2,805 students participated in MSU’s study abroad program, with 2,755 of them being MSU students. These students studied in over 60 countries, including Antarctica.
A report from the Brookings Institution showed that MSU once had the most Chinese international students in the United States, with about 4,700 enrolled between 2008 and 2012. Later, Chinese enrollment decreased, which some officials said was due to changes in U.S. policies and conditions in China. During the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, MSU saw a 25% drop in international student enrollment. By 2021, numbers began to increase again, and officials expected a full recovery by 2022–2023.
In August 2021, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, MSU and U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin helped evacuate over 70 people connected to an MSU-USAID program in Afghanistan. Twelve of these evacuees were students in MSU’s GRAIN project at Kabul University. MSU paid $250,000 from a university credit card to charter a plane to help reunite evacuees in Albania. MSU then helped move the students to the Agricultural University of Tirana and later assisted them in entering the United States through humanitarian parole in early 2022.
In February 2023, the Chinese Consulate-General in Chicago reported that two Chinese MSU students were injured in the 2023 Michigan State University shooting. At the time of the shooting, China was likely the largest source of international students at MSU, based on 2021 enrollment data.
MSU’s Greek community has over 3,000 members and is one of the largest in the United States. The Greek system was started in 1872 and re-established in 1922 by Lambda Chi Alpha, Alpha Gamma Rho, and Alpha Phi. Today, it includes 55 student organizations. These groups are managed by four councils: National Panhellenic Conference, North American Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and Independent Greek Council. The National Pan-Hellenic Council includes nine organizations, five fraternities, and four sororities. The Interfraternity Council and Women’s Panhellenic Council manage their own budgets, allowing them to host fundraising and recruitment events. MSU’s Greek groups often support community causes. For example, in 2011, the Greek community raised over $260,000 for the American Cancer Society and $5,000 for other charities like Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
The Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU) is the undergraduate student government at MSU. It used to have a structure with two separate parts, but now it has a single General Assembly. ASMSU representatives are nonpartisan and often run in noncompetitive elections. Services provided include free textbooks, low-cost printing, free yearbooks, interest-free loans, funding for student groups, free legal help, and rentals for iClicker devices and calculators.
Students pay $21 per semester to support ASMSU, which funds officer stipends and activities. Some students have criticized ASMSU for low voter turnout in elections, which has been between 3% and 17% since 2001.
Student-run groups also play an important role in the East Lansing community. Over 800 student organizations are registered through the Department of Student Life. The Eli Broad College of Business has 27 student groups, with the largest being the Finance Association, Accounting Student Association, and Supply Chain Management Association. The Supply Chain Management Association hosts the university’s largest career fair, which brings in over 100 companies and 400 students each year.
Students and activists have influenced MSU’s history. During the Vietnam War, protests helped create co-ed residence halls and blocked the construction of Interstate 496 through campus. In the 1980s, students pushed the university to remove investments in companies involved in apartheid South Africa, such as Coca-Cola. In 2011, students protested to move the university to 100% clean energy. In 2019, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined the Lansing Women’s March to support victims of sexual assault. After the 2023 campus shooting, students organized a protest at the Michigan State Capitol, which led to new gun control laws in Michigan.
MSU has many student groups focused on political change. Graduate students have groups like the Graduate Employees Union.
Investment office
The Michigan State University Investment Office manages the university's endowment. Its strategy helps the university grow money over time while reducing risks caused by changes in the market. The office was formed in 2016 to combine all investment activities under one group. In 2024, Philip Zecher led the office and was responsible for choosing outside investment managers. He also made sure they followed the university's investment rules. The office is located on campus at 426 Auditorium Road, Room 412.
People
Michigan State University (MSU) has approximately 5,703 faculty members and 7,365 staff members.
Important leaders in the 19th century included John C. Holmes, the founder; Joseph R. Williams, the first president; and Theophilus C. Abbot, the third president, who helped the college recover after the Civil War. These leaders played key roles in creating and keeping a balanced curriculum that included both liberal and practical subjects. William J. Beal, a botany professor, was an early researcher in plant science and promoted laboratory teaching methods. Liberty Hyde Bailey, a professor and alumnus, was the first to make horticulture a scientific field, earning him the title "Father of American Horticulture." William L. Carpenter was a jurist who served in the Michigan Supreme Court. Other notable 19th-century alumni include Ray Stannard Baker, a journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize; Minakata Kumagusu, an environmental scientist; and William Chandler Bagley, an education reformer.
As of the fall of 2018, about 634,300 MSU alumni were still alive worldwide. Notable politicians and public servants from MSU include Gretchen Whitmer, the current governor of Michigan; former governors James Blanchard and John Engler; U.S. senators Debbie Stabenow, Tim Johnson, and Spencer Abraham (who also worked as the Secretary of Energy); U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Donna Hrinak; former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo; Richard Cordray, who led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; former Jordan Prime Minister Adnan Badran; and Wallace B. Jefferson, the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Billionaire philanthropists Tom Gores, Andrew Beal, and Eli Broad; Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Ford; labor leader James P. Hoffa; and Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, who also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, are also MSU alumni.
MSU alumni in Hollywood include actors such as James Caan, Anthony Heald, Robert Urich, and William Fawcett; voice actor SungWon Cho; comedian Jackie Martling; film directors Michael Cimino and Sam Raimi; film producer Jeff Katz; film editor Bob Murawski; and screenwriter David Magee. Composer Dika Newlin earned her undergraduate degree from MSU, while Jacques Levy, a lyricist, theatrical director, and clinical psychologist, received a doctorate in psychology. The university has also produced jazz musicians such as pianist Henry Butler, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and keyboardist/composer-arranger Clare Fischer.
Russell Kirk, who influenced the American conservative movement, attended MSU on a scholarship. Journalists include NBC reporter Chris Hansen, ESPN sportcaster Jemele Hill, AP White House correspondent Nedra Pickler, and NPR Washington correspondent Don Gonyea. Novelist Michael Kimball graduated in 1990. Novelist and true crime author R. Barri Flowers, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 1977 and a master’s degree in criminal justice in 1980, was inducted into the MSU Criminal Justice Wall of Fame in 2006. Author Erik Qualman graduated with honors in 1994 and was also Academic Big-Ten in basketball. Susan K. Avery, the first female president and director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, received an MSU bachelor’s degree in physics. Two members of the Little Rock Nine, Ernest Green and Carlotta Walls LaNier, attended MSU. The university awarded an honorary degree to Robert Mugabe in 1990 but later revoked it in 2008.
MSU alumni have made significant contributions to major American sports. NBA alumni include Earvin "Magic" Johnson, a three-time MVP; Greg Kelser; Jay Vincent; Steve Smith; Scott Skiles; Jason Richardson; and Zach Randolph. NFL alumni include Carl Banks, a member of Super Bowl-winning Giants teams; quarterback Earl Morrall; defensive end and actor Bubba Smith; former Detroit Lions head coach Wayne Fontes; NFL games-played leader Morten Andersen; and players such as Plaxico Burress, Andre Rison, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, T. J. Duckett, Flozell Adams, Julian Peterson, Charles Rogers, and Jim Miller. The American Football League’s All-Time Team includes Fred Arbanas and George Saimes.
NHL alumni include All-Star defensemen Duncan Keith, Rod Brind’Amour, Anson Carter, Donald McSween, Adam Hall, John-Michael Liles, Justin Abdelkader, Corey Tropp, and the Miller brothers (Kelly, Kip, Ryan, and Drew). MLB alumni include Hall of Fame inductee Robin Roberts, Kirk Gibson, Steve Garvey, and Mark Mulder. Olympic gold medalists include Savatheda Fynes and Fred Alderman. MSU alumni also play in Major League Soccer, including Doug DeMartin, Dave Hertel, Greg Janicki, Rauwshan McKenzie, Ryan McMahen, and Fatai Alashe. Alex Skotarek, Steve Twellman, and Buzz Demling played in the North American Soccer League, with Demling also participating in the 1972 Summer Olympics and the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team in the 1970s.
Other notable alumni include Ryan Riess, the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion; NCAA Gymnastics Champion and former Sesame Street Muppet performer Toby Towson; and professional wrestler George "The Animal" Steele. Nancy Fleming, Miss America 1961, is a graduate of MSU. Verghese Kurien, known as the "Father of the White Revolution" for his Operation Flood, earned a Master of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from MSU in 1948. Peter Schmidt, an economist and econometrician, is both an alumnus (1970) and faculty member of MSU, holding a Distinguished Professor position since 1997.
References
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