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Michigan State University

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Location East Lansing, MI
Population 450,000
Website http://www.msu.edu/
Map of the United States

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 40,243
Men / Women 48% / 52%
White 62%
Asian 8%
Black 7%
Hispanic 7%
International 5%
Mixed 4%
Native American 0%
From State 77%
From Region 9%

Academics

Undergraduate Degrees
Business & Economics 25%
Humanities & Social Sciences 25%
Life & Natural Sciences 19%
Engineering 9%
Health Sciences 7%
Computer Science 6%
Arts 3%
Education 2%
Physical Sciences & Math 2%
Professional 2%

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $19,742
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $46,094
Est. In-State Cost $25,538
Est. Out-of-State Cost $59,627
10-Year ROI $210,000
ROI Percentile 85th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 90%
4-Year Graduation Rate 63%
6-Year Graduation Rate 81%
Transfer-Out Rate 11%

Weather

Comfortable Days 110 (71%)
Sunshine Hours 2,435 (28%)
Days Without Precipitation 231 (19%)

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes
Acceptance Rate 83%
Yield (Unbound) 18%
Early Action Nov 1
Regular Decision Jan 1

Research

Research Level R1
Expenditure
Humanities & Social Sciences $61M #18
Life & Natural Sciences $666M #32
Engineering, Computing & Math $136M #49
Graduate Degrees
Life & Natural Sciences 793 #10
Humanities & Social Sciences 493 #21
Engineering, Computing & Math 121 #42

Honors College

Name Honors College
Students 4,000 (10%)

Standardized Tests

Test Scores

Test Policy optional
Submitted Test Scores 46%
SAT Range 1210 – 1330
SAT Math Range 590 – 680
SAT RW Range 590 – 680
ACT Range 25 – 31

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Schools & Majors

⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources 498 33% / 67% 1% $59,710 94%
Animal Sciences 133 — 11% / 89% 1% $59,436 45 93%
Environmental Studies 80 +2 31% / 69% 2% $64,549 58 94%
Fisheries and Wildlife 59 — 42% / 58% 0% $44,778 9 93%
Food Science 20 — 40% / 60% 0% $70,225 70 97%
Forestry 19 — 63% / 37% 0% $54,610 30 100%
Horticultural Science 27 — 48% / 52% 0% $46,604 11 97%
Nutritional Sciences 33 +2 3% / 97% 0% $59,642 45 97%
Pre-Veterinary Studies 2 — 0% / 100% 0% $52,736 25 —
Soil Science 25 — 72% / 28% 0% $62,520 53 98%
Veterinary Technology 17 — 0% / 100% 0% $46,982 12 93%
Agricultural Business and Management 57 +2 63% / 37% 5% $74,454 77 92%
Agricultural Education 6 — 0% / 100% 0% $49,124 16 98%
Environmental/Natural Resource Economics 20 — 55% / 45% 0% $67,535 65 96%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Arts and Letters 622 39% / 61% 6% $54,964 92%
Computational Science 57 +1 70% / 30% 14% $90,172 91 —
Game and Interactive Media Design 59 +3 83% / 17% 8% $54,108 29 92%
Biological and Physical Sciences 10 — 50% / 50% 10% $61,084 49 —
African American Studies 1 +1 0% / 100% 0% $54,667 31 —
Arabic Language and Literature — +8 — — $56,993 38 —
Chinese 6 +2 17% / 83% 0% $60,428 48 78%
English 70 +1 14% / 86% 0% $51,627 22 91%
French 6 +3 17% / 83% 0% $54,726 31 86%
German 4 +8 25% / 75% 0% $52,119 23 100%
Humanities 29 +1 34% / 66% 0% $46,687 11 88%
Interdisciplinary Studies 44 +2 9% / 91% 0% $48,532 15 90%
Japanese 6 +3 67% / 33% 0% $60,428 48 78%
Linguistics 16 +4 25% / 75% 0% $64,354 58 89%
Philosophy 1 +1 100% / 0% 0% $54,412 30 —
Professional Writing 11 +3 18% / 82% 0% $62,048 52 95%
Religious Studies 1 — 100% / 0% 0% $52,864 26 —
Russian 2 +1 100% / 0% 0% $57,421 39 —
Science, Technology and Society 4 — 25% / 75% 0% $55,449 33 —
Spanish 15 +10 33% / 67% 0% $54,726 31 86%
Sustainability Studies 40 — 57% / 42% 12% $59,737 46 —
Women's Studies 5 +1 0% / 100% 20% $54,373 30 —
History Teacher Education 12 — 58% / 42% 8% $49,124 16 98%
Art Education 13 — 8% / 92% 8% $49,124 16 97%
Art History 5 +1 20% / 80% 0% $43,016 7 94%
Digital Arts 53 +2 47% / 53% 19% $50,407 19 —
Fashion Design 16 — 12% / 88% 6% $54,108 29 92%
Film Studies 10 +1 30% / 70% 10% $42,406 6 —
Graphic Design 38 — 26% / 74% 3% $54,108 29 92%
Interior Design 19 — 11% / 89% 0% $54,108 29 92%
Jazz Studies 9 +1 100% / 0% 0% $40,644 5 98%
Music Pedagogy 14 — 43% / 57% 0% $40,644 5 98%
Music Theory and Composition 2 — 50% / 50% 0% $40,644 5 98%
Studio Art 19 — 16% / 84% 16% $43,016 7 94%
Theatre 25 +3 36% / 64% 0% $34,587 2 96%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Communication Arts and Sciences 903 43% / 57% 6% $68,246 95%
Communication Sciences and Disorders 51 +2 0% / 100% 0% $64,643 59 95%
Advertising 449 +7 50% / 50% 6% $71,448 72 94%
Communication 16 +1 56% / 44% 19% $66,407 62 95%
Communication 207 +4 41% / 59% 6% $66,407 62 95%
Journalism 86 +4 38% / 62% 1% $58,101 41 99%
Media and Information 54 +2 52% / 48% 20% $66,407 62 95%
Public Relations 40 +4 20% / 80% 0% $71,448 72 94%
Digital Communication and Media — — — — $60,182 47 —
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Education 437 27% / 73% 2% $63,710 96%
Kinesiology 297 +1 34% / 66% 1% $68,711 67 96%
Parks, Recreation and Tourism Resources 14 +1 43% / 57% 0% $48,389 14 100%
Early Childhood Education 1 +6 0% / 100% 0% $51,827 23 —
Education 78 — 9% / 91% 8% $52,112 23 97%
Special Education 47 — 9% / 91% 0% $56,180 35 94%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Engineering 1,342 72% / 28% 7% $97,950 98%
Agricultural and Biological Engineering 40 — 32% / 68% 0% $81,288 84 100%
Chemical Engineering 63 — 60% / 40% 2% $95,843 94 96%
Civil Engineering 87 — 70% / 30% 0% $87,138 89 96%
Computer Engineering 46 +2 87% / 13% 11% $101,837 96 100%
Electrical Engineering 105 +3 83% / 17% 12% $102,673 96 94%
Engineering 48 — 42% / 58% 10% $78,017 81 100%
General Engineering 88 — 65% / 35% 0% $96,847 94 96%
Materials Engineering 15 — 67% / 33% 7% $95,671 94 100%
Mechanical Engineering 262 — 86% / 14% 9% $99,381 95 99%
Computer Science 369 — 80% / 20% 14% $105,539 97 99%
Information Technology Project Management 33 — 36% / 64% 3% $72,402 73 100%
Communications Technology/Technician 1 — 100% / 0% 0% $53,436 27 —
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician 31 — 84% / 16% 0% $103,264 96 100%
Packaging Science 154 — 48% / 52% 1% $96,014 94 97%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Music 31 55% / 45% 3% $40,644 98%
Music 3 +1 67% / 33% 0% $40,644 5 98%
Music Performance 28 — 54% / 46% 4% $40,644 5 98%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Natural Science 1,447 37% / 63% 4% $64,652 95%
Astrophysics 28 +2 64% / 36% 0% $48,391 14 94%
Chemical Physics 1 — 100% / 0% 0% $57,345 39 89%
Chemistry 32 +2 44% / 56% 6% $57,345 39 89%
Computational Mathematics 6 — 83% / 17% 50% $90,418 91 —
Geosciences 10 +1 60% / 40% 0% $61,145 50 100%
Mathematics 63 +6 51% / 49% 16% $71,880 73 93%
Physical Sciences — — — — $61,069 49 —
Physics 43 — 84% / 16% 14% $75,119 77 92%
Statistics 24 +5 75% / 25% 8% $94,328 93 94%
Biochemistry 39 — 36% / 64% 0% $70,734 71 94%
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 82 — 51% / 49% 13% $70,734 71 94%
Biology 580 +12 32% / 68% 1% $66,211 62 95%
Botany 7 — 29% / 71% 0% $51,267 21 —
Entomology 6 +1 33% / 67% 0% $49,355 17 92%
Environmental Biology 48 — 42% / 58% 0% $53,932 29 100%
Microbiology 44 +3 39% / 61% 7% $60,447 48 96%
Molecular Genetics 75 +7 25% / 75% 4% $59,887 46 97%
Neuroscience 199 +9 27% / 73% 2% $64,682 59 97%
Physiology 62 — 40% / 60% 3% $65,556 61 96%
Zoology 98 +2 29% / 71% 2% $49,355 17 92%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Nursing 297 14% / 86% 2% $74,523 97%
Dietetics 36 +1 14% / 86% 6% $59,274 44 93%
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences 8 — 12% / 88% 0% $65,748 61 —
Medical Laboratory Science 71 +1 20% / 80% 6% $70,284 70 94%
Nursing 182 — 12% / 88% 0% $79,580 83 99%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
College of Social Science 1,711 39% / 61% 5% $63,871 95%
Economics 188 +15 84% / 16% 20% $81,373 84 96%
Economics 7 — 57% / 43% 0% $81,373 84 96%
Economics 39 — 72% / 28% 31% $81,373 84 96%
Anthropology 22 +3 23% / 77% 0% $56,484 36 93%
Child Development 5 +1 0% / 100% 0% $47,493 13 90%
Criminal Justice 195 +28 36% / 64% 4% $66,284 62 95%
Environmental Science and Policy 6 — 67% / 33% 0% $64,549 58 94%
Family and Community Services 66 — 11% / 89% 0% $47,493 13 90%
Geographic Information Science and Cartography 5 +1 100% / 0% 20% $72,290 73 96%
Geography 10 — 40% / 60% 0% $72,290 73 96%
History 42 +7 57% / 43% 0% $48,421 15 95%
International Affairs 98 +6 48% / 52% 1% $75,882 79 94%
International Relations 50 +11 26% / 74% 2% $62,935 54 98%
Political Science 126 +11 54% / 46% 0% $72,691 74 96%
Pre-Law 111 +5 42% / 58% 1% $63,933 57 96%
Psychology 486 +79 22% / 78% 4% $56,392 36 96%
Public Policy 15 +1 33% / 67% 0% $57,364 39 100%
Social Sciences 76 +2 38% / 62% 1% $57,882 40 95%
Social Work 51 — 10% / 90% 0% $55,523 33 95%
Sociology 112 +7 39% / 61% 2% $60,828 49 93%
Child Care and Development 1 — 0% / 100% 0% $47,493 13 90%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Eli Broad College of Business 1,469 58% / 42% 6% $90,356 96%
Accounting 153 — 67% / 33% 6% $91,024 91 98%
Actuarial Science 26 — 54% / 46% 8% $95,291 93 98%
Business Administration 96 — 59% / 41% 6% $90,299 91 97%
Finance 398 — 79% / 21% 6% $99,263 95 95%
Hospitality Management 98 — 42% / 58% 12% $61,842 51 98%
Human Resource Management 75 +2 47% / 53% 7% $86,826 88 89%
Human Resources Management 24 — 12% / 88% 4% $86,826 88 89%
Marketing 257 — 34% / 66% 3% $88,000 89 97%
Supply Chain Management 342 — 59% / 41% 6% $90,299 91 97%

Rankings

Fun and Games

Party til You Drop (Out) Party Schools
Schmooze

Prestige

I Peaked in AP Calc But Now I Get Priority Registration Top 15 Honors Colleges
I Only Came Here For The Better Dorms And Free Printing

My Tribe

Call Your Mother! Most Jewish
Significant Community

Engineering

Farming with Numbers Biological & Agricultural Engineering
Farm to Lab
It's Not About Molecules, It's About Pipes Chemical Engineering
High-Vis Vests & Factory Floor Grunts
Playing House Civil Engineering
Project Managers
Resistance Is Not Futile Electrical Engineering
Short Circuit Survivors
Hugging Trees with Calculus Environmental Engineering
Carbon Crushers
Is It a Solid? Is It a Liquid? Yes. Materials Engineering
Solid State
WD-40 & Duct Tape Mechanical Engineering & Robotics
The Kinetic Energy Cartel

Computer Science

No, I Can't Fix Your Printer Computer Science (Eng)
10k-Student Server Crashers
Explaining That HTML is Not a Programming Language Computer Science (A&S)
10k-Student Server Crashers

Physical Sciences & Math

Breaking Bad Chemistry
Agri-Chem & Geo
Rocks and Whales Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
Fossil Hunters
The "I Understand Interstellar" Elite Physics & Astronomy
Our Labs Have Labs (The Experimentalists)
No Words Allowed Pure Mathematics
Number Crunchers

Life & Natural Sciences

Pre-Med Reject Waiting Room Biology
The Double Helix
Photosynthesis Fan Club Ecology & Plant Biology
Greenhouse Gang
Doomsday Prepping with Data Environmental Science
Ecosystem Engineers
Better Eating Through Chemistry Food Science & Nutrition
Lab Coat Foodies
Memorizing 206 Bones Human Biology
Lab Partners
Farmers, Cowboys, and Tree Huggers Plant & Agricultural Systems
The Land Grants
Puppies Over People Zoology & Veterinary Sciences
We Can Pet It AND Fix Its Spleen

Health Sciences

Future Heroes (With 12-Hour Shifts) Nursing
Clinical Hours
Legal Drug Dealers Pharmacy
The Compound
Sweat Equity Sports & Fitness
ESPN Scholars

Business & Economics

Show Me the Bushels Agribusiness & Economics
Suits with Boots
PowerPoint Presentation Power Rankings Business Administration
Regional Boardroom Rulers
Pivot Tables & Missing Pallets Business Analytics
Just-In-Time Jugglers
It's Basic Supply and Demand, Bro Economics
The Aggie-Econ & Applied Regressions Guild
Wolf of Wall Street Prep Finance
Fortune 500 Feeders
May I Take Your Order? Hospitality & Tourism
Industry Connected
Office Politics 101 Human Resources
Talent Whisperers
Tik-Tok Generation Marketing
The Creatives
Ballers, Shot Callers & Hollywood Hustlers Sports & Entertainment Business
Nepo-Baby Adjacent

Humanities & Social Sciences

Much Ado About Nothing English, Literature & Writing
Page Turners
Saving the Planet, One Policy at a Time Environmental Policy & Sustainability
Compost Curriculum
Mappy Few, the Cartography Crew Geography & Cartography
Bermuda Triangulators
Model UN Generation Government & Politics
Caucus Crew
Hindsight is 20/20 (And So is My Salary) History & Archaeology
The Time Travelers
Nosy for a Living Journalism
Statehouse Press-Corps Factories
Future Lawyers (and Their Future Anxiety) Law
FBI Most Wanted... To Hire
Professional Yapping Media & Communication Studies
State-Funded Media Monoliths
The "Why Are We Here?" Support Group Philosophy & Ethics
Existential Crisis Club
Spin Class Professional Communication
State-Flagship Spin Machines
I Want To Understand Myself Psychology
Corporate Compliance Consultants
Everything is a Construct Sociology & Anthropology
Survey Says
Grammar Police Academy World Languages & Linguistics
Syntax Scholars

Education

No Johnny, Don't Eat Your Buggers Early Education
Brat Whisperers
Surviving PTA Karens General Education
Shaping the Shapers
Hablas Pedagogy? Languages Education
Grammar Gurus
History Repeats Itself Social Sciences Education
Map and Map Quest
Everyone Gets a Medal Special Education
Inclusive Classroom Crew
Gym Class Heroes and Art Teachers Specific Subjects Education
Studio to Schoolroom
Show Your Work, Then Teach It STEM Education
Lab Coat Lecturers

Arts

Sleep Deprivation by Design Architecture
Building Blocks

Professional

The Hard Hat Caste Construction
Subs and Specs