Office of Undergraduate Education
Genyne Royal, Assistant Dean and Director
Ariel J. Arnold, Senior Director of Engagement Centers
Michigan State University pioneered the model for living and learning communities. The Brody Complex, East Complex, and South Complex halls were designated as living and learning complexes in the 1960s. The living and learning community concept is based on the premise that the cultural and intellectual life of the student is enhanced when the educational process extends beyond the classroom into the environment of the residence halls. Now known as neighborhoods, the concept has been extended to include the North Neighborhood and the River Trail Neighborhood.
Each neighborhood provides an opportunity for students to relate to a smaller unit of the university and to participate in various social and cultural activities. Students in the Honors College and Academic Scholars program can select Honors–specific housing. James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College, and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities are highly visible, four-year, residentially based academic programs. In addition, a range of shorter-term options addressing student academic interests have emerged. These include Residential Business Community, Charles Drew Science Scholars, College of Engineering CoRe Experience, and RISE - Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment, for students interested in the study of the environment.
In addition to the usual facilities of traditional residence halls, at the core of each neighborhood is the Engagement Center that includes classrooms, lecture halls, faculty and staff offices, and health and wellness facilities. Faculty, academic advisors, tutors and other staff support students’ overall intellectual professional, social, and personal development. A range of university courses are scheduled in each neighborhood complex, facilitating student and faculty interaction outside the classroom.
The Neighborhood Student Success Center (NSSC) is committed to empowering students to pursue knowledge, access resources, and develop skills needed for intellectual, social, local, and global success. These skills instill a lifelong desire to learn and effect positive change in the world. NSSC brings together the key elements necessary to help students transition from high school successfully, helps students graduate in less time with greater success, and to guide students toward activities that are designed to enhance their personal and professional growth.
Neighborhood Engagement Centers At MSU, every undergraduate student is a part of a Neighborhood, where they have access to resources to succeed academically, gain global perspectives, make connections, learn by doing, and live a healthy life. The Neighborhoods bring MSU resources to where students live and connect. The Engagement Centers are unique spaces located in each neighborhood and serve as the main access points to important resources such as university advisors, peer educators and tutors, help rooms, health practitioners, and other resources that can help you navigate through your college career. Services available in the neighborhoods include academic advising; assistance with math coursework, writing papers, and other academic subjects; recreation and fitness programs; health clinics; intercultural dialogues and identity consciousness programs; and exploring majors and careers.
When students have a question, need support or want to connect with other Spartans, they can visit the Engagement Center in their neighborhood, and although students are encouraged to visit the Engagement Center in their Neighborhood, students can visit an Engagement Center in any of the locations listed below.
North Neighborhood Engagement Center MSU Union, Room 200
1-517-884-4050
Brody Neighborhood Engagement Center Brody Hall, Room 160 1-517-884-6670
River Trail Neighborhood Engagement Center E. McDonel, Hall Room C101 1-517-884-4080
South Neighborhood Engagement Center East Holden Hall, C137 1-517-884-6680
East Neighborhood Engagement Center Hubbard Hall, Room C130 1-517-884-3501
For more information about the NSSC visit:
https://nssc.msu.edu and follow the NSSC on Instagram @nsscmsu. Visit our Web site maps, hours, and more.
Collaborative Learning Center
The Collaborative Learning Center (CLC) is MSU’s source for training peer educators—including tutors, supplemental instruction leaders, undergraduate learning assistants, recitation leaders, and academic coaches—to deliver effective study skills and learning strategies, collaborative learning techniques, and classroom assessment techniques. The CLC provides training in “how to learn” with “what to learn.” Peer educators learn about academic success skills and study skills and how to apply them to their role. The CLC also provides Academic Success skills workshops available to all MSU students, with a focus on first and second year students who are either on probation, enrolled in a Freshman Seminar (UGS) course or have time management or anxiety issues. In addition to training peer educators and providing success skills workshops, the CLC are also experts on non-cognitive indicators of academic success.
Undergraduate Pathway Programs
The Pathway Programs Unit, a coalition of four programs—Detroit M.A.D.E., Dow STEM, FLI Vanderploeg, and TRIO SSS Scholars—promotes academic proficiency, institutional navigation, and socio-emotional engagement for student success. Aligned with Undergraduate Education’s mission, the unit facilitates the empowerment of students to pursue knowledge, access resources, and develop skills. Its goals contribute to the broader institutional objectives of closing opportunity gaps for underserved students by enhancing persistence, retention, and graduation rates.
Michigan State University (MSU) has a First-Gen Forward Designation through NASPA Center for First Generation Student Success. The First-Generation College Student Initiative aims to inspire first-generation college students to persist and graduate by eliminating barriers, providing high-impact learning experiences, and ongoing development. Key partners at MSU steer First-Generation students in the right direction by providing access to resources and support.
These efforts earned MSU the national designation of First-Gen Forward Institution in Spring 2022. The Pathway Programs unit offers specialized programs such as the First-Generation Leadership and Innovation Vanderploeg Scholars Program and the TRIO Student Support Services, specifically designed to meet the needs of first-generation students. Additionally, more than half of the students in the other Pathway Programs (Detroit M.A.D.E. and Dow STEM) are first-generation students, further highlighting the significant impact and support of these programs for first-generation student success.
Detroit M.A.D.E. Scholars
The Detroit M.A.D.E (Mastering Academics Demonstrating Excellence) Scholars Program focuses on college retention, graduation, and career development for students who are both Detroit residents and graduates of Detroit Public or Charter high schools. Funded by the Gilbert Family Foundation, the Detroit M.A.D.E. program promotes personal and academic excellence through pre- college outreach, as well as individualized academic advising and cohort activities while in college. Students in the program engage in specialized, high- impact practices spanning four years—including a first-year seminar, service-learning projects, education abroad or study away, and undergraduate research. Through these opportunities and initiatives, Detroit M.A.D.E. students will enter conversations and experiences connecting them back to the city of Detroit.
Dow STEM Scholars
The Dow STEM Scholars (DSS) Program is designed for students who scored under an 11 on the MSU Math Placement Test and are pursuing a degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) major. The program enables students to take a specialized online math course during the summer before they begin at MSU. Through the Dow STEM math course, engaging activities and fieldtrips facilitated by dedicated Dow STEM staff and peer mentors, the program has shown significant success in enhancing DSS student’s academic and career achievements in STEM fields. Active Dow STEM Scholars are eligible for Dow STEM Funding to participate in high impact experiences such as research, internships and education abroad. Enrollment is limited to the first 80 students who apply, so—if you are a US resident planning on a STEM major as an MSU first- year student and scored under 11 on the Math Placement Test.
First-Generation Leadership and Innovation (FLI) Vanderploeg Scholars
The First-Generation Leadership and Innovation (FLI) Vanderploeg Scholars program provides first-generation college students at Michigan State University with access to opportunities to develop leadership skills and become innovators in their chosen field by providing access to support as well as funding. The program is funded by a generous gift from Alumni and Donor Dr. Martin J. Vanderploeg in honor of his father, the FLI Vanderploeg Scholars program aims to be a premier scholarship program at MSU for first-generation college students by creating opportunities for career and leadership development, opportunities for programmatic and individual innovation, and participation in high-impact practices while creating a community where first-generation scholars have a deep sense of belonging to the program and MSU.
TRIO Student Support Services (SSS)
The TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program at Michigan State University is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It aims to create opportunities for academic development, aid students in meeting essential college requirements, and inspire those who are first-generation, income-eligible, or have documented disabilities to successfully complete their post-secondary education. The primary objective of TRIO SSS is to enhance college retention and graduation rates among its participants. Within the MSU TRIO SSS Program, students are granted access to customized cultural activities, academic support services, and peer mentoring that facilitate their adjustment to university life and enable them to build strong relationships with peers, instructors, and advisors.