Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI · Public · 40,922 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$65 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$7,068
$30,000 – $48,000	$10,830
$48,000 – $75,000	$16,521
$75,000 – $110,000	$22,703
Over $110,000	$28,546
All incomes (average)	$19,680

Sticker tuition and fees: $16,458 in-state, $43,842 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Michigan State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$12,928
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,928
Books and supplies	$1,420
Other expenses, on campus	$5,240
Other expenses, off campus	$5,240

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (9,655 of them) in 2022–23; 97% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	96%	$8,147
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	18%	$5,379
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	96%	$7,036
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	32%	$5,355

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 85%
Average SAT: 1269
Median ACT: 26
Students with Pell grants: 20%
Graduation rate (6yr): 81%
Freshman retention: 90%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $67,253
Median debt at graduation: $23,250
International undergrads: 2,297 (5.7%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $65
Students per faculty member: 17 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 86%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 590–680
SAT Math: 590–680
ACT composite: 25–31

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Not considered
High school record	Not considered
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Considered if submitted
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 58,879
Admitted: 49,414
Enrolled: 9,533

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business15%

Biology & Life Sciences13%

Communications & Media11%

Engineering8%

Social Sciences8%

Computer Science6%

Psychology5%

Agriculture5%

Visual & Performing Arts4%

Kinesiology & Sports Science4%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (90)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Biology, General	592	$31,266	$64,018national $57,214	$20,459
Psychology, General	565	$35,150	$56,040national $50,706	$19,000
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	500	$51,683	$69,300national $63,560	$19,500
Business Administration, Management and Operations	438	$73,822	$91,187national $68,257	$19,500
Finance and Financial Management Services	398	$71,484	$102,017national $83,343	$19,500
Computer and Information Sciences, General	369	$82,941	$116,905national $92,374	$20,382
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	298	$35,881	$67,290national $54,562	$19,500
Communication and Media Studies	284	$45,044	$60,807national $56,359	$19,500
Mechanical Engineering	262	$82,932	$97,946national $92,135	$21,000
Marketing	257	$60,083	$90,453national $69,303	$20,750
Economics	249	$57,194	$79,428national $82,686	$18,750
Criminal Justice and Corrections	223	$44,809	$62,715national $55,378	$18,823
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	208	$33,065	$58,046national $62,451	$21,000
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	182	$80,040	$80,129national $88,910	$22,768
Engineering-Related Fields	154	$73,673	$94,143national $89,619	$19,576
Accounting and Related Services	153	$65,532	$96,093national $76,194	$19,541
Political Science and Government	137	$42,356	$67,032national $63,293	$15,000
Design and Applied Arts	135	$42,052	$53,250national $51,490	$18,500
Animal Sciences	133	$38,523	$54,751national $49,634	$20,954
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	121	$43,040	$63,419national $65,466	$20,847
Sociology	119	$44,361	$62,204national $52,657	$21,500
Non-Professional Legal Studies	116	$40,123	$72,414national $61,959	$18,120
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	108	$83,604	$100,481national $100,647	$20,489
Zoology/Animal Biology	107	$31,386	$41,768national $44,055	$20,500
International Relations and National Security Studies	104	$48,616	$74,709national $66,596	$18,500
Human Resources Management and Services	101	$57,996	$85,886national $68,069	$19,500
Hospitality Administration/Management	98	$54,061	$69,651national $56,726	$20,156
Journalism	90	$41,025	$59,498national $56,278	$18,500
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	88	$36,007	$60,728national $55,012	$17,250
Engineering, General	88	$79,320	$102,301national $89,359	$21,500
Civil Engineering	87	$71,474	$90,650national $86,517	$20,000
Genetics	82	$37,814	$55,404national $66,076	$18,750
Education, General	78	$48,981	$52,243national $49,808	$19,500
Social Sciences, General	78	$41,553	$58,797national $53,366	$20,500
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	73	$39,975	$53,740national $48,568	$21,235
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	72	$58,623	$70,940national $75,975	$21,500
English Language and Literature, General	71	$32,498	$49,154national $48,590	$16,943
Mathematics	69	$50,873	$72,226national $69,562	$20,982
Chemical Engineering	63	$78,729	$102,223national $98,158	$21,500
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	62	$31,826	$61,309national $62,172	$20,789
International/Globalization Studies	61	$42,306	$64,372national $59,972	$19,125
Agricultural Business and Management	59	$60,048	$69,108national $66,647	$15,333
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management	59	$32,271	$49,948national $45,338	$20,820
Computational Science	58	$74,099	—national $104,864	$20,300
Music	58	$44,788	$52,132national $42,892	$23,750
Visual and Performing Arts, General	55	—	—national $41,688	$17,625
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	53	—	—national $58,928	$23,750
Social Work	51	$29,138	$57,321national $51,790	$18,100
History	49	$28,531	$47,224national $50,680	$19,384
Computer Engineering	48	$88,605	$104,627national $109,015	$19,500
Engineering, Other	48	$61,770	$79,609national $93,989	$20,500
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	48	$33,317	$55,159national $48,842	$19,500
Special Education and Teaching	47	$45,012	$58,522national $50,499	$21,134
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	47	$36,671	$61,953national $62,582	$18,625
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	46	$31,431	$45,167national $55,693	$18,392
Physics	43	$52,160	—national $76,786	$24,088
Agricultural Engineering	40	$63,187	$86,498national $84,624	$24,276
Sustainability Studies	40	$62,210	—national $57,887	$24,760
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	37	$27,940	$58,989national $55,753	$19,188
Nutrition Sciences	35	$37,940	$66,437national $60,053	$15,378
Chemistry	35	$46,887	$65,983national $65,120	$18,666
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	34	—	$59,315national $55,000	—
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	33	$58,935	$73,880national $85,063	$20,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	31	—	$50,127national $51,389	$17,100
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician	31	$78,401	$95,387national $93,843	$20,000
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	30	$36,069	$51,436national $53,072	$18,250
Astronomy and Astrophysics	30	$41,394	—national $68,333	$18,538
Statistics	29	$63,622	$93,930national $92,425	$23,060
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	28	$35,529	$42,820national $39,775	$24,150
Plant Sciences	27	$49,378	$47,404national $56,567	$20,750
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	26	$62,236	$97,236national $86,176	$22,500
Soil Sciences	25	$56,925	$67,666national $62,122	$12,000
Anthropology	25	—	$41,512national $46,676	$23,850
Fine and Studio Arts	25	$31,909	$50,098national $41,367	—
Food Science and Technology	20	$60,006	$70,380national $70,873	$27,500
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy	20	$54,195	$68,913national $56,185	$20,000
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	20	$23,479	$65,667national $49,984	—
Forestry	19	—	$55,724national $58,784	—
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	17	$42,510	$46,669national $44,115	$26,500
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	17	—	$52,496national $51,642	—
Public Policy Analysis	16	$52,507	$58,535national $73,721	$14,411
Geography and Cartography	16	$41,516	$56,515national $57,853	—
Materials Engineering	15	$80,657	$95,761national $91,449	—
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management	15	$35,312	$49,377national $50,468	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	14	$47,809	$56,662national $48,471	—
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	12	—	$53,183national $55,459	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	11	$47,521	$62,448national $60,190	—
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	11	$27,059	—national $43,765	—
Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	8	—	$75,147national $67,612	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	0	—	$51,658national $70,786	—

Undergraduate certificates (11)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Agricultural Production Operations	40	$34,611	$35,265national $42,010	—
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	31	$52,992	$61,187national $37,705	—
Electrical and Power Transmission Installers	18	—	$59,811national $53,078	—
Agricultural Business and Management	3	—	$63,115national $43,930	—
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	—	$39,982	—national $53,696	—
Computational Science	—	$58,845	—national $90,951	$20,687
Psychology, General	—	$41,200	—national $45,285	$19,500
Criminal Justice and Corrections	—	—	—national $57,702	$21,250
Sociology	—	$44,453	—national $50,205	—
Public Health	—	$41,687	—national $53,933	—
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities	—	$31,459	—	—

Master's degrees (32)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	228	$75,294	$139,589national $124,807	$30,918
Business Administration, Management and Operations	176	$121,954	$142,927national $103,485	$52,543
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	175	$56,510	$62,675national $59,571	$56,250
Business/Commerce, General	117	$142,037	$188,085national $125,988	$89,206
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other	70	$67,529	$80,358national $95,461	$31,981
Human Resources Management and Services	60	$92,004	$127,481national $83,558	$28,231
Public Health	56	$62,744	$81,743national $82,751	$29,936
Curriculum and Instruction	55	$58,727	$61,650national $63,399	—
Music	55	$51,726	$62,193national $48,285	$33,887
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	55	$79,401	—national $96,656	$51,000
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	53	$76,048	$86,080national $75,972	$28,749
Computer and Information Sciences, General	45	$109,471	$123,621national $124,201	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	44	$54,535	$55,911national $63,707	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	43	$130,247	$118,130national $120,193	—
Pharmacology and Toxicology	39	—	$110,091national $92,305	—
Food Science and Technology	35	$94,811	$106,264national $88,332	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	32	$65,297	$74,998national $71,685	—
Criminal Justice and Corrections	32	$57,382	$84,105national $66,714	—
Special Education and Teaching	27	$59,271	$64,777national $64,397	$30,014
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	27	$65,662	$62,529national $67,030	$50,350
Social Work	24	$56,418	$64,368national $65,123	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	22	—	$74,956national $65,184	—
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	20	$62,399	—national $80,125	—
Educational/Instructional Media Design	20	$60,639	$67,489national $70,644	—
Education, General	19	$65,432	$60,007national $65,824	—
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	16	$52,917	$61,573national $60,111	—
Nutrition Sciences	13	$53,933	—national $67,126	—
Public Policy Analysis	9	$61,127	$72,828national $93,020	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	4	—	$65,302national $71,416	—
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	2	—	$57,864national $62,033	—
Marketing	1	$82,942	$100,453national $79,106	$33,000
Accounting and Related Services	0	$75,306	$105,724national $95,833	—

First professional degrees (6)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Medicine	454	$62,429	$130,503national $112,460	$262,566
Law	255	$73,787	$96,342national $107,773	$86,596
Veterinary Medicine	107	$110,119	$127,621national $131,316	$185,673
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	51	$109,778	—national $133,099	$80,980
Educational Administration and Supervision	—	$105,043	—national $78,026	—
Legal Professions and Studies, Other	—	$104,235	—national $86,371	—

Doctoral degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Music	45	$54,970	$64,672national $59,592	—
Chemistry	30	$87,223	$113,129national $115,386	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	26	$103,046	$101,377national $100,573	—
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	13	—	$76,183national $97,173	—
Curriculum and Instruction	8	—	$79,274national $83,031	—
Anthropology	7	—	$72,767national $77,473	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	2	—	$91,736national $99,878	—

Graduate certificates (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational/Instructional Media Design	35	$62,152	$64,738national $75,166	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	14	$58,427	$71,324national $86,288	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 280 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: East Lansing, MI 48824-1046
Phone: (517) 355-1855
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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