A major, also known as a plan, is a primary field of study and is associated with a college and must be made at the time the application for admission is submitted. Any student entering the university with fewer than 56 credits may choose to enter as an exploring preference major by selecting "exploratory." Students that apply to Eli Broad College of Business at the point of application and are not directly admitted are admissible to MSU through Undergraduate Education as an exploratory business preference student. The Exploratory Preference and Exploring Business Preference major options allows students to investigate the wide variety of majors available at Michigan State University and support with secondary admission into competitive programs where appropriate. University Advising support students in discovering their interests, visualizing major opportunities, and designing academic paths to success. Exploratory majors meeting college admission requirements have the option of declaring a major as early as 28 credits. A major must be selected before junior standing (56 credits) is reached.
Certain academic programs which specify particular courses or sequences of courses during the first two years may require more than eight semesters for completion of the degree program.