Bridges to success: Introducing new Spartans to life at MSU 

Each year, around 11,000 incoming and transfer students start their journey at Michigan State University, and no two will have the same experience. For many, it’s their first time living away from home or navigating a campus the size of a small city. To help new Spartans feel ready from day one, MSU has bridge and transition programs that offer a powerful first step.

The Office of Undergraduate Education at MSU understands that college is a major transition for many students, so it offers a range of programs that can help enrolled students transition to college life during the summer between high school and their first semester at MSU. Some of these programs, called bridge programs, offer credit toward a degree, while other programs serve as supportive communities to help students succeed.

Finding a place of belonging

When reflecting on working in what is now the Intercultural Aide Program in the mid-1990s, Murray Edwards remembers walking into a dining hall at Michigan State University and noticing a few students sitting by themselves. “That shouldn’t be happening,” he thought to himself. Edwards was interested in student retention and success — and he wanted Spartans to be making friends and enjoying the college experience.

So, he started up a proposal for a summer transition program.

While transition programs at MSU did exist in the 1990s, Edwards believed there was room for more. So did the administration at MSU, which approved the Maximizing Academic Growth in College, or MAGIC, program. Nearly 30 years later, MAGIC continues to help incoming students transition to MSU. Of the 213 incoming Spartans who participated in MAGIC in 2024, 90% stayed in good academic standing during their first year.

Today, Edwards is the assistant director of the Office of Enrichment and Advocacy and the assistant director of the Multicultural Center. Plus, he is still the coordinator of MAGIC, which just completed its 29th year, ensuring students are introduced to academic, cultural and social success strategies and that they build relationships with each other, peer mentors, faculty and staff and community partners.

“All the research shows that if a student is comfortable in their environment,” Edwards says, “they tend to perform at a much higher level. Programs like MAGIC ease or relieve that anxiety that a student may bring in making the transition from high school to college.”

Edwards says he prides his program on how much walking the students do to understand the geography of campus. “They aren’t looking at maps that first week of school,” he jokes.

Kimora Heinrich is a junior majoring in psychology who participated in MAGIC during the summer of 2023. “MAGIC was such a unique and exciting experience for me,” says Heinrich, who grew up in Ann Arbor. “I walked in not knowing what to expect and walked out an overall more confident and knowledgeable incoming first-year. I highly recommend MAGIC for anyone who wants to be a part of an amazing community and better prepare themselves for college.”

A number of other programs are offered across campus, and students can choose one that best suits them. Popular options include the Detroit M.A.D.E. Scholars Program for students who have graduated from Detroit public and charter high schools and/or reside in the city of Detroit and the Dow STEM Scholars Program that gives students with academic potential the opportunity to surround themselves with fellow Spartans who are motivated to earn a degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. This summer, every student who participated in the Dow STEM Scholars Program passed Math 103A, which will support their paths in STEM classes moving forward.

Learning the ropes before classes begin

Team members in the Office of Undergraduate Education are guided by the belief that every MSU student has the capacity to learn, thrive and graduate. The office, along with many college-based programs, works to create opportunities for incoming first-year students from all backgrounds by providing tailored support as they embark on their college journeys. The bridge and transition programs offered before a student begins their official collegiate career in the fall are all part of the work supporting the MSU Student Success Strategic Plan and the university’s goal of reaching an 86% graduation rate by 2030.

With nearly 50 programs, MSU is invested in the impact bridge and transition programs can make. “We know that there is a lot of ‘hidden curriculum’ in higher education and that students come in with different skills, experiences, academic backgrounds, communities and networks,” says Renata Opoczynski, the assistant provost for undergraduate student success. “The idea of bridge and transition programs is to equal the playing field and to assist some students who might not have that institutional navigation.”

Questions like “Why does a professor have office hours?” or “What is the importance of career services?” are front and center in these transition programs. The same goes for questions about where things are located on MSU’s sprawling campus.

These programs hold multiple workshops during each session, diving into subjects about paths on campus, how to make the transition to college, and leading a healthy lifestyle. Plus, these programs provide a space where students can meet members of the community — one they will remain close to for the next four years and beyond.

Studying abroad before starting college

For incoming students looking to explore beyond East Lansing, First-Year Seminars Abroad are transition programs that take place in sites across the globe, providing academic engagement and experiential learning. The First-Year Seminar Away incorporates a domestic trip to explore intriguing topics in small, active learning environments.

This summer, incoming students spent two days on campus before departing for 10 to 14 days in either Greece, New Zealand, South Korea or Spain. MSU is the No. 1–ranked public university for education abroad, so it is no surprise incoming students can also benefit from its programming right from the start.

Bethany Judge is the director of experiential learning in the Office of Undergraduate Education and plays a large role in the seminar abroad programs. She says she and her team have found that students who participate in programs like First-Year Seminars Abroad often stay at MSU. “They’re an excellent retention method,” she says. “The students tend to have a higher satisfaction with MSU. Their grade points tend to be a little bit higher, and I know from personal experience that some of these students make lifelong connections.”

Branching out in college-based programs

Some MSU colleges offer specialized bridge programs that help students explore majors while earning credit before their first semester. The College of Communication Arts and Sciences, or ComArtSci, offers a program that give participants a sneak peek at the academic side of college while also experiencing MSU’s residence halls.

MSU Ignite is a five-day residential program meant to introduce students to ComArtSci’s disciplines. As Lauren Gaines, the director of diversity, equity and inclusion for ComArtSci and program director of Ignite, says, “We are a college where students don’t necessarily declare their major until their second year, and this allows us to put ourselves on their radar.” She says students might not know about majors like creative advertising but Ignite shows off what the college has to offer — while, of course, helping students get a realistic impression of college life.

“Staying in Owen Hall gave me a great experience of how dorm life will be in the future: having to share a bathroom with one another, adapting to a new lifestyle away from things, different food and the increase in walking you endure,” says Brian Rivers, who participated in Ignite in the summer of 2025. Rivers grew up in Farmington Hills and is planning to study journalism. “Ignite also forced me to branch out and meet new people. With the array of icebreakers and the final project you do to end the class, it gives you a chance to learn how to work with others and make strong connections with others.”

According to Gaines, MSU’s size is both a benefit and a challenge as students discover the breadth of opportunities and resources that exist. “What we have found from Ignite is that students really benefit from our workshops and courses that show them how important building relationships is at MSU. Having the opportunity to be in a classroom setting shows them that faculty and staff care about them and are here and available for them.”

In James Madison College, a residential college focused on public affairs, Brian Johnson leads the Early Start Program, which takes place a week before classes begin each summer. Funded through the generous gift of an alumnus of the college, the Early Start Program serves first-generation students who may benefit from additional support as they transition. Like Gaines, Johnson says the program helps students grapple with the changes they are facing. One of the hidden curriculums the program covers is navigating the CATA bus system: Students take public transportation to downtown Lansing — and Johnson says they’ll be ready to get around campus with ease thanks to that small lesson.

The lessons, Johnson hopes, will stick. “Our mission is to support students and provide access for them to thrive,” he says. “Our program means that they have a built-in support system, someone they can always go to, even, I hope, beyond graduation.”

On the right path

Opoczynski, the assistant provost for undergraduate student success, knows that these summer programs can be helpful for incoming students. She also understands that not everyone can participate. To her, that’s where cohort and affinity programs come in.

Like bridge and transition programs, these options offer community building and connections to the resources, faculty, staff and peers available for students — and some of these programs are available to all students, not only first-years.

Whether it is the Air Force ROTC for students interested in that training program or the TRIO Student Support Services Program for first-generation college students, MSU students have many cohorts to explore and receive support from during their entire MSU journey.

“Where we see the greatest impact,” Opoczynski says, “are those students who participate in a summer bridge or transition program that then move into a cohort program.”

For students who do not participate in a summer program before coming to campus, Opoczynski encourages them to search out cohort and affinity programs.

MSU is big, but there are many paths to take toward success — the key is finding a community that can make that path easier to discover. For Spartans, the resources and support are available, and faculty, staff and peers are eager to help guide the way.

Learn more about bridge and transition program options at MSU.