EAST LANSING, Mich. — Four Michigan State University programs that U.S. News & World Report says are “linked to student success” were listed among the magazine’s “Programs to Look For” in its newest rankings of America’s best colleges.
The magazine’s 2010 edition recognizes MSU’s residential colleges, or learning communities; undergraduate research/creative projects; service learning; and study abroad programs as “stellar examples” of programs that help students succeed. The rankings are available at www.usnews.com/colleges.
In learning communities, students take several linked courses and often live together – with the goal of integrating learning and living in a dynamic way in which conversations spill outside classrooms and faculty and students get to know one another well.
MSU has three residential colleges: James Madison, which focuses on public affairs; Lyman Briggs, which focuses on science; and the Residential College for Arts and Humanities, which focuses on arts and humanities in a global context.
In the magazine's undergraduate research/creative projects category, students -- either independently or in small teams -- do intensive and self-directed research or creative work that results in an original scholarly paper or other product that can be formally presented on or off campus.
With service learning, volunteering in the community is an instructional strategy -- and a requirement of a student's coursework. MSU’s 40-year-old Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement -- the oldest continuously operating student-volunteer program in the nation -- has seen its student rolls double in the past five years, reaching a record 14,551 in 2007-08.
When it comes to study abroad, MSU is a national leader with 265 programs on all continents in 62 countries. During 2008-09, 2,741 students studied abroad through the university.
Overall, MSU ranked 29th among public universities and 71st among all national universities.
Specific rankings included:
*Best business programs: No. 25
*Supply chain specialty programs: No. 2
*Best undergraduate engineering programs: No. 45
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.