Michigan State University is a national leader in the number of healthcare professionals who graduate each year, and more are on the way. While dedicated healthcare workers are urgently needed across the state and nation, MSU recently welcomed more than 500 new medical students with white coat ceremonies and honored 76 summer nursing graduates at the traditional pinning ceremony in August.
The white coat ceremony, or convocation, marks the successful conclusion of the students’ path to getting accepted into medical school and the beginning of their medical studies. Students are “cloaked” in their first professional white coat and take an oath to practice compassionate and ethical care. Faculty members, mentors and practicing physicians chosen by the students assist with the coating ceremony while friends and family members observe and celebrate the tradition.
Alongside these future doctors, the MSU College of Nursing held its 2026 Pinning Ceremony — a deeply personal, time-honored tradition dating back to the 1860s that signifies a graduate’s official initiation into the nursing community and readiness to serve on the front lines of patient care.
MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine
The College of Osteopathic Medicine presented white coats to 312 members of the D.O. class of 2030. Reflecting the college’s mission to serve the health needs of the region, the class includes 71% Michigan residents, 13% first-generation college students, 14% nontraditional students and 7% underrepresented students.
Dean Joyce deJong welcomed the new students along with their family, friends, faculty and staff. She encouraged them to embrace the opportunities and challenges ahead. Keynote speaker John Popovich, an associate professor, licensed physical therapist and certified athletic trainer at MSU, also reminded the incoming class: “Putting on that white coat commits you to something. It is a commitment to your patients: to pay attention, to be honest about what you know and don’t know, to take responsibility, and to keep learning from every patient entrusted to your care.”
Read more on the College of Osteopathic Medicine website.
MSU College of Human Medicine
The MSU College of Human Medicine welcomed its newest class of 190 M.D. students at the Matriculation and White Coat Ceremony. As the symbolic start to the profession of medicine, students donned their new white coats and took the medical student oath among family, friends and mentors. Eighty percent of the students are Michigan residents, 19% are first-generation students and 91% come from medically underserved counties.
Students will spend their first two years of medical school in either Grand Rapids or East Lansing. The following two years, students will be embedded in one of the college’s eight community campuses across Michigan. Supratik Rayamajhi, interim dean of the college, reminded the incoming students that their white coats represent a promise of humanism and compassion, ensuring they never lose sight of the person behind the diagnosis.
Read more on the College of Human Medicine website.
MSU College of Nursing
The Michigan State University College of Nursing proudly celebrated 76 summer Bachelor of Science in Nursing, or BSN, graduates during a special pinning ceremony at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. The pinning of graduating nurses is a tradition that dates back to the 1860s when Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of St. George for her service.
Often more personally meaningful than a general graduation ceremony, the event marks a graduate’s official initiation into the nursing community and signifies their readiness to deliver dedicated patient care. Interim Dean Linda Weglicki expressed immense pride in the graduating Spartan nurses. “Our outstanding and caring students have shown a fierce commitment to their chosen career in nursing, which continues to be ranked as the most trusted profession in America. I look forward to their leadership and the impact that they will make as they enter the profession and healthcare.”
Read more on the College of Nursing website.
