Academic Programs Catalog

Michigan State University functions as a unit, with its colleges, divisions, schools, and departments serving one another. No single part is independent of the others. The Michigan State University College of Law, through a special affiliation, functions fully as a part of the University, although it remains financially independent.

Most schools and departments offer courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  At the undergraduate level, first-year students and sophomores, except when enrolled in James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College, or the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, are enrolled as part of the Neighborhood Student Success Collaborative (NSSC). Such students may select a field of study as a major preference; however, the academic responsibility for such students rests solely with the NSSC. During the first two years students begin taking (1) courses that apply to the university requirements as described in the Undergraduate Education section of this catalog, (2) courses appropriate to the particular major, and/or (3) courses of an exploratory nature.  During the junior and senior years, students’ primary focus is on courses, whether given by the colleges of the majors or others, which meet the needs of the academic programs.  For high-achieving undergraduate students, colleges, schools, departments, and faculty, in cooperation with the Honors College, provide programs to encourage the intellectual development and achievement.

At the graduate level, colleges that offer graduate courses have developed graduate programs consistent with the highest national, international, and professional standards of the respective fields.

Education Abroad programs are sponsored by the University through its academic departments and schools and through cooperative arrangements with other universities. The University offers more than 275 programs in over 60 countries on all seven continents.

To provide broader access to its instructional resources, the University offers selected degree programs, certificate programs, and courses at various locations and via the web.

The materials throughout this catalog are intended to be cumulative. The Undergraduate Education section is applicable to undergraduate study, and the Graduate Education section refers to graduate study. The all–University policies and requirements given in the General Information, Policies, Procedures and Regulations section apply to both undergraduate and graduate study. These three sections serve as the foundation for the college statements, and the all-University sections and the college statements serve as the foundation for the department and school statements.

Each college statement addresses the purposes or role of the college in the University; the organizational structure of the college; undergraduate programs, including college policies and requirements for admission and graduation beyond the all-University requirements; and graduate study, including the college policies and requirements for admission and degree completion beyond the all-University requirements. The organization of the department and school statements is similar to that of the college statements.
 

The university offers instruction throughout the year during the fall semester, spring semester, and summer sessions.

The period covered by registration for a given semester or summer session is defined as commencing with the first day of classes as published in the University academic calendar, and extending through the day prior to the start of the first day of classes for the succeeding semester or the first summer session.  The delivery of appropriate services requires at least minimum registration for that semester or summer session.

Michigan State University is a member of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Association of American Universities, American Council on Education, American Council of Learned Societies, Association of Graduate Schools, Council of Graduate Schools, Big Ten Academic Alliance, and International Association of Universities.  The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, Illinois 60604-1411, www.hlcommission.org, 1-312-263-0456.  Some individual programs, schools, and colleges are recognized by the accrediting agencies in their respective fields. For a list, visit https://aacc.msu.edu/accreditation/accrediting-agencies.

Information about the accreditation of individual programs, schools, and colleges is included in program descriptions in Academic Programs. Updated program listings may be found at https://aacc.msu.edu/ucc.

Michigan State University is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and nondiscrimination.  University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to age, color, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), genetic information, disability status, ethnicity, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation), military or veteran status, or weight, or any other status protected by applicable federal or state law.   In carrying out this commitment, the university is guided by the applicable federal and state laws and regulations and policies adopted by the Board of Trustees.

The University Anti-Discrimination Policy applies to all university community members and to education and employment programs and activities and prohibits discrimination and harassment based on age, color, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), genetic information, disability status, ethnicity, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation), military or veteran status, or weight, or any other status protected by applicable federal or state law.  The Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance provides a system of addressing complaints of prohibited discrimination and harassment by conducting investigations where necessary and ensures prompt remedial action where discrimination or harassment is found.

For additional information, contact the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Hannah Administration Building, 426 Auditorium Road, Room 444, 1-517-353-3924, inclusion@msu.edu, or visit www.inclusion.msu.edu. For additional information on the University's Anti-Discrimination Policy, contact the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance, Olds Hall Suite 105, 408 West Circle Drive, 1-517-353-3922, ocr.isr@msu.edu.

Federal regulations require MSU to publicly disclose, for each educational program designed to meet the educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification required for employment in an occupation (or advertised as meeting those requirements), information about whether program completion would meet those requirements in a state. These public disclosure requirements apply to all programs, regardless of their modality (i.e., on-ground, online, and hybrid programs). MSU discloses the required information related to the educational requirements for professional licensure and certification on the State Authorization and Distance Learning Web site. 

All current and prospective students are encouraged to contact the applicable professional licensure/certification boards in their respective states for additional information regarding professional licensure/certification requirements, including, without limitation, information regarding any non-educational requirements (such as work experience, background clearance, or examination by outside entities, such as bar examinations).

The information in the table should not be construed as guaranteeing that any particular professional licensure/certification authority will approve a student’s application; nor should the information in the table be read to imply that other requirements for professional licensure/certification do not exist or that other requirements for professional licensure/certification have been determined to have been met by MSU’s program/course, or that any necessary approvals for clinical or other experiential learning placements are secured by virtue of a student’s enrollment at MSU.

State professional licensure/certification requirements are subject to change at any time.

Michigan State University seeks to make available to prospective and enrolled students full information on all pertinent matters that would affect their attendance at the University.  These matters include academic programs, financial aid programs, eligibility requirements for financial aid, cost of attending the institution, refund policy, program integrity (complaints) and, to the extent available, patterns of retention in offered curricula. Information is accessible at https://aacc.msu.edu/compliance/consumer-protectionInformation. Information is also available in various University publications, such as this catalog and information brochures for prospective students; or inquiries may be made of appropriate MSU administrative offices and Web sites.  Typical sources include:

Office of Admissions 
Hannah Administration Building 
426 Auditorium Road, Room 250
(For prospective students)
www.admissions.msu.edu

Office of the Controller
Hannah Administration Building 
426 Auditorium Road, Room 305
www.ctlr.msu.edu

Office of Financial Aid
Student Services Building
556 E. Circle Drive, Room 252
www.finaid.msu.edu 

Office of the Registrar
Hannah Administration Building
426 Auditorium Road, Room 150
(For enrolled students)
www.reg.msu.edu

Additional information on University rules and regulations affecting students is published in the resource guide Spartan Life and other publications and is available at www.msu.edu.

Admission to Michigan State University is based upon academic preparation and ability. To assist students in their educational planning, as well as for institutional planning and reporting, first-time degree-seeking undergraduate students are included in a cohort each fall semester. This cohort is followed to determine the rate of retention and graduation from Michigan State University.

Decisions by students to complete degree programs in more than four years may vary from personal to programmatic reasons. The most recent Graduation Rate Survey, based on the 2017 entering cohort, indicates that 81% of bachelor degree-seeking students graduated within 6 years, or 150% of the normal time to award, 79% graduated within 5 years, and 63% within 4 years. These data compare favorably to graduation statistics from similar institutions. Additionally, some students in the initial cohort will eventually graduate at other institutions through transfer or pre-baccalaureate entry into professional programs.

Departments of instruction at Michigan State University are organized as follows:

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
Animal Science
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Community Sustainability
Entomology
Fisheries and Wildlife
Food Science and Human Nutrition
Forestry
Horticulture
Packaging
Planning, Design and Construction
Plant Biology
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

Residential College in the Arts and Humanities

College of Arts and Letters
African American and African Studies
Art, Art History, and Design
English
Linguistics, Languages and Cultures
Philosophy
Religious Studies
Romance and Classical Studies
Theatre
Program in Women, Gender, and Social Justice
Writing, Rhetoric and Cultures

The Eli Broad College of Business and The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management
Accounting and Information Systems
Finance
Hospitality Business
Management
Marketing
Supply Chain Management

College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Advertising and Public Relations
Communication
Communicative Sciences and Disorders
Journalism
Media and Information

College of Education
Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education
Educational Administration
Kinesiology
Teacher Education

College of Engineering
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

College of Human Medicine
Anesthesia
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Emergency Medicine
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Family Medicine
Medicine
Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Neurology and Ophthalmology
Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Orthopedics
Pediatrics and Human Development
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Physiology
Psychiatry
Public Health
Radiology
Surgery
Translation Science and Molecular Medicine

James Madison College

College of Law

Lyman Briggs College

College of Music

College of Natural Science
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program
Chemistry
Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering
Geological Sciences
Integrative Biology
Mathematics
Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology
Physics and Astronomy
Physiology
Plant Biology
Statistics and Probability

College of Nursing

College of Osteopathic Medicine
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Family and Community Medicine
Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology
Neurology and Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine
Osteopathic Medical Specialties
Osteopathic Surgical Specialties
Pediatrics
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Physician Assistant's Medicine
Physiology
Psychiatry
Radiology

College of Social Science
Anthropology
Criminal Justice
Economics
Geography
History
Human Development and Family Studies
Human Resources and Labor Relations
Political Science
Psychology
Social Work
Sociology
Program in Women, Gender, and Social Justice

College of Veterinary Medicine
Large Animal Clinical Sciences
Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology
Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Physiology
Small Animal Clinical Sciences

Office of the Provost
Aerospace Studies—Air Force
Military Science—Army

Michigan State University offers a wide variety of programs and areas of study that contribute to the overall strength of the University.

Although some programs and areas of study are not available as majors, the following list indicates the breadth and depth of opportunities available to students. In addition, special programs, suited to individual needs and purposes may be arranged, particularly at the advanced levels.

Refer to the Michigan State University home page for information about the central administration; the academic organization of the University; the academic governance system including Faculty Senate, University Council standing committees, advisory consultative committees and University student–faculty judiciaries; administrative advisory committees; and Board established committees, www.msu.edu.

The names of the persons who hold administrative positions and who serve on the committees are included at this site, www.msu.edu/about/thisismsu/board-admin/index.html.