In its 2024 edition of Best Colleges in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse ranked Michigan State University No. 14 among public institutions and No. 57 overall out of 400 universities nationwide.
This is the first year the Wall Street Journal partnered with College Pulse. In the 2017 through 2022 editions of its Best Colleges in the U.S., the WSJ partnered with Times Higher Education of London.
The WSJ and College Pulse rankings are mainly based on three criteria, with student outcomes receiving the highest weight.
- Student outcomes accounted for 70%, including salary impact, graduation rate and years to pay off net price.
- Learning environment accounted for 20%, including learning opportunities and facilities as well as preparation for career and recommendation score — the extent to which students would recommend the university.
- Diversity accounted for 10%, including opportunities to interact with students from different backgrounds, ethnic diversity and international diversity, as well as inclusion of students with lower family earnings and students with disabilities.
“Fostering student success and advancing academic excellence are MSU’s highest priorities,” said Interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko. “It is rewarding to see MSU’s achievements in these areas recognized at the national level.”
MSU’s six-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time undergraduates is 82%. The university has a goal to increase the rate to 86% by 2030. Of the university’s more than 50,000 students, 26.6% are students of color and 8.7% are international students.
MSU has a 93% placement rate for recent graduates, and the mean salary is $55,548.
