2025 College Rankings

Michigan State University was the first land-grant university in the United States, and it retains the character of a large, practical-minded institution. On the whole, it steers a steady course, avoiding many of the common pitfalls in higher education.

The administration, for instance, is not beholden to activists seeking to divert the university from its core teaching mission. In 2024, Michigan State adopted a policy of institutional neutrality, with President Kevin M. Guskiewicz noting that frequent intervention in public debates would only “add to community distress, numb the community to leaders’ voices, appear performative and/or exacerbate the situation.” The university has largely succeeded in staying above the fray. It declined to involve itself in the Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action case—Students for Fair Admissions—even as many peer institutions weighed in. Michigan State also rejected activist calls for an academic boycott of Israel, an issue well beyond its educational mission. That said, the university still maintains a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy, and about half of its faculty job postings require DEI statements.

Michigan State’s administration could do more to support free speech on campus. While the university has adopted the Chicago Principles, which affirm a commitment to free inquiry, it also maintains a bias-response system that can chill open expression. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) gives Michigan State a “yellow” speech code rating, indicating that its policies could be used to suppress speech. Even so, 43 percent of students tell FIRE that they believe that the administration is “extremely” or “very” clear in its support for free speech.

Students are often underwhelmed by the faculty. The Princeton Review ranks Michigan State’s teaching quality among the 25 worst in the nation. The faculty is perceived as predominantly liberal, and few are affiliated with organizations that promote free inquiry in the classroom. Still, students at Michigan State rarely feel the need to censor themselves. Only 4 percent of students surveyed by FIRE say that they are “very” or “fairly” often personally offended by perspectives shared by classmates.

The school’s curriculum is middling. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gives Michigan State a C in its What Will They Learn? ratings, which assign letter grades based on how many of seven core subjects are required in the core curriculum or general education program. Overall, the university’s core requirements are weak, reflecting a limited commitment to well-rounded learning. One notable exception is the LeFrak Forum and Symposium on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy: each year, the Forum selects two themes related to the challenges of modern democracy and explores them through public programming.

Michigan State serves its graduates well in economic terms. On average, it takes just 1.4 years to recoup the cost of education—well below the national average of 2.3 years. Graduation rates also exceed expectations: while the predicted six-year graduation rate is 77 percent (based on SAT scores and Pell Grant data), the actual rate reaches 82 percent. In addition, graduates earn more than expected, with median income ten years after enrollment exceeding projections by over $8,000.