In its 2023 rating of Best Colleges, Money magazine gave Michigan State University 4.5 out of 5 stars. The scores are based on three main criteria – quality, affordability and student outcomes.
“As the nation’s premier land-grant university, MSU was founded on the principle that a high-caliber education should be available to everyone,” said Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D. “More than 165 years later, we continue to provide students with life-changing opportunities to enable them to reach their full academic and career potential.”
MSU educates more Michigan students than any other institution in the state, and more than half choose to stay in the state after graduation. The graduation rate for first-time, full-time undergraduates is 82%, a record high for the university. MSU has a goal of increasing that rate to 86% by 2030.
The university has a placement rate of 93%. That rate represents bachelor's degree recipients who are employed or continue their education after graduation.
In June 2018, MSU froze tuition rates for in-state first-year students in the 2018-19 academic year, and for all undergraduate students in 2019-20. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university maintained the 2018-19 rate for the 2020-21 academic year, a third year in a row.
The university also established a flat-rate tuition model in which students taking 12 to 18 credit hours are charged the 15-credit-hour rate for all credits. MSU studies show students who took on 15 or more credits in their first semester or completed 30 credits during their first year, graduate at significantly higher rates.
During the past decade, MSU has invested heavily in student financial aid, increasing funding to expand access by 105%, or five times the resident undergraduate tuition rate increase during that same time. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, MSU is investing an unprecedented $224 million in student financial aid — a $16.4 million increase over the previous year.
“Year after year, MSU continues to make significant investments in financial aid programs to better support our students and widen access to a world-class Michigan State education,” said Woodruff.
In addition to access, excellence is another hallmark of an MSU education. The university has six No. 1-ranked programs and concentrations and 39 ranked in the top 25 nationally by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, the university is ranked in the top 10 nationally by U.S. News & World Report for learning communities and service-learning offerings and is the No. 1 public university for education abroad.