MSU's building stories: Education, research and outreach

Ranked No. 1 in the nation for elementary and secondary teacher education for 29 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report and ranked No. 2 in education by ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, the College of Education — housed in Erickson Hall (pictured) and IM Circle — is a place where future educators and health professionals flourish and grow. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Home to the only Packaging doctoral program in the nation, the School of Packaging finds its home in the Packaging Building, a newly renovated space that was completed in early 2023. The $10 million renovation helped modernize the facility, adding flexible classrooms, new technology and collaboration-friendly spaces for students to connect with industry partners. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Bridged by skyway to the Chemistry and Biochemistry buildings and outfitted in 2021 with transparent solar glass panels, the Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building is a complex built with innovation and research. Completed in 2002, the building is home to U.S. News & World Report’s No. 2-ranked graduate nuclear physics program. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

The sprawling complex housing the Eli Broad College of Business, including the vibrant 2019 addition of the Minskoff Pavilion, is filled to the brim with spaces designed for tomorrow’s business leaders to collaborate and learn. For 13 consecutive years, the Business College Complex has hosted the No. 1 supply chain/logistics undergraduate program according to U.S. News & World Report — a testament to the college’s commitment to educational excellence. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

While students may come and go, the Communication Arts and Sciences Building remains. The 2022 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects lists MSU No. 3 in communication, an honor held for two consecutive years. The massive brick building also is home to the No. 9 global and No. 6 U.S. rankings for communication and media by QS World University Rankings. ComArtSci, as it’s affectionately known, is also home to WKAR Public Media, the Spartan Newsroom and the Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab, which serve as hubs for real-world student learning and experiences. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Looks can be deceiving, which helps explain why the academic building with “Physics” and “Astronomy” carved into its facade is, in fact, the Psychology Building. The building is home to the Department of Psychology and a No. 2-ranked organizational psychology graduate program, according to U.S. News & World Report. The building, which became the department’s home in 2002, was built in 1946 and is decorated with images of famous physicists. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Located just steps away from the Red Cedar River, Baker Hall is home to the Department of Anthropology, School of Social Work and School of Criminal Justice, which boasts the nation’s No. 6 criminal justice online graduate program as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.

Nestled among the historic buildings of north campus quietly sits the Morrill Hall of Agriculture. The hall was completed in 1909 to serve as Michigan State’s premier teaching facility for scientific agriculture and, at that time, was the largest building on campus. Today, Morrill Hall houses administrative offices for QS World University Ranking’s No. 14 agriculture and forestry program and reminds visitors of MSU’s storied past. Photo by Derrick L. Turner.