Michigan State University Overview
Located in East Lansing, Michigan, Michigan State University is a public institution. East Lansing is a great location for students who prefer city over country life.
What Is Michigan State University Known For?
- The 3% student loan default rate at Michigan State is better than the national rate of 10.1%. That's a good sign that you may be able to pay off student loans easier than your peers at other schools can.
- The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at Michigan State.
- For the 2017-2018 academic year, 88% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, Michigan State bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $53,600 a year. That's about 31% more than their peers at other schools.
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Michigan State University Rankings
Michigan State is ranked #178 out of 2,320 schools in the nation for overall quality on our 2021 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. Michigan State also holds the #6 spot on the Best Colleges in Michigan ranking.
These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.
Michigan State has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#21 | Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#85 | Best Master’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#106 | Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Michigan State.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards Michigan State has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#7 | Best Colleges for Biological & Biomedical Sciences | College Factual |
#12 | Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | College Factual |
#15 | Best Colleges for Communication & Journalism | College Factual |
#18 | Best Colleges for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | College Factual |
#46 | Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing | College Factual |
#52 | Best Business Schools | Business Degree Central |
Where Is Michigan State University?

Contact details for Michigan State are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | East Lansing, MI 48824-1046 |
Phone: | 517-355-1855 |
Website: | https://www.msu.edu |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/spartans.msu |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/michiganstateu |
How Do I Get Into Michigan State?
You can apply to Michigan State online at: https://admissions.msu.edu/apply/default.aspx
Admission Requirements for Michigan State
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Michigan State?
Approximately 48% of accepted students are men and 52% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 70%, and the acceptance rate for women is 73%.
Average Test Scores
About 60% of students accepted to Michigan State submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 550 and 650. Math scores were between 550 and 670.
Can I Afford Michigan State University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Michigan State, approximately 41% of students took out student loans averaging $8,129 a year. That adds up to $32,516 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Michigan State is 3.4%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Michigan State University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 10,928 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 35,744 full-time undergraduates at Michigan State, 49% are male and 51% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Michigan State University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 2,031 |
Black or African American | 2,732 |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,728 |
White | 24,168 |
International Students | 3,623 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,462 |
Geographic Diversity
Michigan students aren't the only ones who study at Michigan State University. At this time, 46 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 128 countries are represented at Michigan State. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, South Korea, and India.
Online Learning at Michigan State University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at Michigan State has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 8th most popular in Michigan for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.
Online Growth Rankings of Michigan State
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Michigan State University was 1.8%. This is the #1,919 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Michigan State regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Michigan State majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 14% |
Communication & Journalism | 1% |
Curriculum & Instruction | 20% |
Electrical Engineering | 10% |
Engineering | 2% |
Food Science Technology | 10% |
Mechanical Engineering | 5% |
Nursing | 11% |
Other Psychology | 11% |
Pharmacology & Toxicology | 12% |
Radio, Television & Digital Communication | 59% |
Special Education | 22% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Michigan State ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Michigan State.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Michigan State University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Jeffness under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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