Academic Programs Catalog

Admission to Michigan State University is open to all candidates on the basis of academic preparation and ability, and the availability of space in the desired academic program, and without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, political persuasion, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, height, weight, veteran status, age, or (in the case of U. S. citizens) financial need.

The applicant for admission at the graduate level must:

1. Complete the Online Application for Admission to Graduate Study. The Application Fee is required at the time of submission.
2. Submit any additional materials through the application portal or as specified by the department, school or program to which admission is sought.
3. Request the registrar of each college or university attended to send one copy of each official transcript (original language version plus one translated into English, if needed) to the college, department, school, or program to which admission is sought or to the Office of Admissions. Transcripts of work taken at Michigan State University need not be requested.
4. Have three letters of recommendation submitted electronically using the application system.
5. Take any required examinations and have the testing agency forward official results to the appropriate entity at Michigan State University as specified in the application instructions.
6. Fulfill any additional requirements and procedures of the college, department, program or school to which admission is sought.

To ensure full consideration, the application for admission, the application fee, official transcripts, letters of recommendation, test scores, and other required documents received by the appropriate offices at least nine months prior to the anticipated first semester of enrollment.

If the applicant is also applying for financial aid, the application materials must be received nine months prior to the first semester of enrollment.

An application for an assistantship, fellowship, or scholarship for a fall semester is assured of full consideration if received before January 1, of that year, unless the application is for a special form of financial aid carrying an earlier deadline date. Some awards of financial aid are made earlier than January 1, and the applicant is therefore encouraged to file the application as early as possible.

Applications for loans for new students are made through the Office of Financial Aid and should be returned to that office before April 1, except for such loans as may carry a later deadline date.

See the General Information, Policies, Procedures and Regulations section of this catalog for further details.

Concurrent Application to a Graduate Program

Applicants seeking admission to a graduate program may apply to two programs concurrently in order to seek admission to the program that is the appropriate field of study for their needs. Submission of applications concurrently may be for any two programs selected from master’s degree programs, educational specialist degree programs, graduate certificate (Type 2) programs, and/or doctoral degree programs. For each program, the applicant must file a separate application and pay a separate application fee.

An applicant for admission to a graduate program leading to a master's degree or an educational specialist degree must be a senior in or a graduate of an institution having substantially the same requirements for a bachelor's degree as Michigan State University. An applicant for admission to a doctoral or doctor of education degree program may be required to have completed a master's program or its equivalent. In certain departments and schools, however, a student may be allowed to begin a doctoral program directly after obtaining a bachelor's degree. Normally, a grade–point average of at least 3.00 (B) in the third and fourth years of undergraduate study is required by all departments and schools for regular admission to graduate programs.

Upon admission to a graduate program a student is classified in one of two categories, regular or provisional. Specific criteria for distinguishing between these categories are determined within each college for its own programs. In general, these criteria are:

1. Regular:  Students who are considered to be fully qualified to undertake a program toward the graduate degree for which they are admitted.
2. Provisional:  Students of promise who have some remediable inadequacy of qualification such as a minor deficiency in subject–matter preparation or for whom there is incomplete interpretation of available records. A student who is admitted to provisional status will be eligible for change to regular status when specific written conditions for transfer to regular status have been met.

Graduate students currently enrolled in a degree program but wishing to enter a different degree program must file a new graduate application as noted in the Application Procedure section of this catalog at least six weeks in advance of the deadline set by the unit for ordinary applications.

A graduate student admitted with deficiencies in academic background may be required to take collateral courses in addition to the prescribed courses of a program. Credits earned in collateral courses do not count toward the minimum credit requirements for a degree.

If a person files an application for admission to a graduate program for a specific semester and is accepted but does not enroll for that semester, that person may renew his or her application within a period of one year. If after one year that person still has not registered at Michigan State University, that person must file a new application for admission.

Shared Programs – Undergraduate to Graduate (also referred to as Shared Programs-UG2G) provide an opportunity for academically talented undergraduate students to enroll in graduate courses and conduct research towards a graduate degree while completing the last two years of their bachelor’s degree(s) programs. 

To initiate interest in a Shared Program, students complete the Request for Shared Enrollment Status available on The Graduate School Web site (under Forms, Shared Programs). The form can be completed once the student has achieved 56 credits. The form must be submitted before a student may begin any shared course work. Upon entering their final year of their bachelor’s program, students will then apply for admission to graduate study. Students must complete their first bachelor’s degree prior to beginning their graduate degree. Completion of the form does not guarantee future admission into a graduate program.

There is no limit on the number of 400-level or above courses an undergraduate student can complete; however, only 30% of the total number of credits required for the graduate degree taken at the undergraduate level can be used for the graduate degree program requirements. Only graduate-level courses with a 3.0 grade or above will be eligible for sharing, however, colleges, departments, or schools may establish a higher minimum standard. Once credits are shared from any career, those same credits cannot be shared with any additional degree. 

A student pays undergraduate tuition for courses counting towards their bachelor's degree, including credits shared with their graduate degree program (i.e. 30% of the total number of credits required for the graduate degree.) A student will be classified as an undergraduate until the first bachelor’s degree is conferred.  

A student pays graduate tuition for courses counting solely toward their graduate degree.

When a student is classified solely as a graduate student, eligibility begins for graduate assistantships, other forms of graduate student financial aid, and services reserved for graduate students.  

In semesters when the student is sharing course work, federal financial aid designated for the first bachelor’s degree (Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and subsidized and/or unsubsidized federal loans) will be determined based upon the number of undergraduate credits only, if eligible. Awards will be manually adjusted as necessary once the student is registered. Students may be eligible for institutional aid but are not eligible for federal financial aid as a graduate student until the first bachelor’s degree has been conferred. 

A faculty member with the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor may not earn a doctoral degree from Michigan State University. Any waiver of this regulation may be made only by agreement of the University Committee on Graduate Studies and the provost prior to the beginning of the program. A faculty member may earn a master’s degree at Michigan State University. 

New students may apply for housing after the notice of acceptance for admission is issued. Specific instructions are provided with the notice of acceptance. Former students may apply for housing facilities after their applications for readmission have been accepted. Although additional students may be accommodated in university housing, housing reservations are guaranteed only for first-year students. See Housing and the University Housing Policy in the General Information, Policies, Procedures and Regulations section of this catalog for more information on university housing regulations and facilities.

Graduate students whose enrollment at Michigan State University is interrupted for any reason so that they have not been enrolled for three consecutive semesters, including the summer sessions, must apply for readmission via the web at www.reg.msu.edu at least two months prior to the first day of registration for the semester in which the student expects to resume graduate studies. Faculty will evaluate the application to determine admission. 

A graduate student wishing to pursue a degree or program other than the one originally sought, or who has not been enrolled for three consecutive semesters, including the Summer Sessions, or who has completed prior courses of study, must file a new graduate application as noted in the Application Procedure section of this catalog.

Michigan State University welcomes applications from international students and is authorized by the U.S. government to issue Forms I-20 and DS-2019 to assist non-immigrants to apply for F and J visas.

A prospective international student should contact the graduate department to which they wish to apply.  We recommend that prospective students obtain application information well enough in advance so that the completed application can be submitted well before the program’s start date.  One official copy of all records of any previous postsecondary schooling (mark sheets, transcripts, diplomas, certificates, etc.) must be submitted as official documents directly from each institution. These records must show courses taken and grades earned, and must be translated into English if the original records are in another language. Translations must be done by the issuing institution, a certified translator in the country of study, or by an American Translator’s Association certified translator in the US.  The original record should be also included.  The chief academic officer of the university has authority to grant waivers of usual entrance requirements upon recommendation of the Dean of the Graduate School.

U.S. immigration regulations require that non-immigrants who intend to study in the United States hold a student visa (F or J) and attend the institution that issued the Form I-20 or DS-2019 they used to obtain their visa.  Michigan State University is required by U.S. government regulations to obtain evidence of a non-immigrant student’s financial ability to meet their educational and living expenses for each year of their proposed study before issuing the Form I-20. Estimated expenses may be found by visiting http://admissions.msu.edu/cost-aid#cost.  Thus, providing written verification of the source and amount of financial support available for at least the first year of study is part of the application process.  This information should be sent to the Office of Admissions. It is common that a teaching or research assistantship serves as the required evidence of financial support. If you are awarded an assistantship, your department will notify the Office of Admissions.

If the student is approved for admission, the university will mail a letter of acceptance and the Form I-20 to the student.  The student will need to present the Form I-20 and evidence of financial support to a U.S. Consular Officer when applying for a student visa and later, to a U.S. immigration inspector at a U.S. port of entry.  If a student must obtain a J Exchange Visitor visa, they should contact their sponsoring agency, or Michigan State University’s Office for International Students and Scholars (http://oiss.isp.msu.edu) for information about the issuance of a Form DS-2019. 

There can be lengthy delays in the time it takes for the visa application to be approved. We recommend non-immigrant students apply as far in advance as possible for the student visa.  More information about the process to obtain a U.S. student visa can be found at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/student-visa.html.

A student who currently attends another institution in the U.S. will need to notify the U.S. government of their school transfer.  An international student advisor can provide the information about the procedures to transfer a student’s visa sponsorship from one institution to another.