U.S. News rankings mention three ‘stellar’ MSU programs

by Tom Oswald

August 17, 2007 - Three MSU programs that U.S. News & World Report says are “linked to student success” were listed among the magazine’s “Programs to Look For” in its recent rankings of America’s best colleges.

Listed as “stellar examples” of these programs were MSU’s residential colleges, or learning communities; its study abroad program; and its service learning experiences.

In learning communities, students take several linked courses and often live together – with the goal of integrating learning and living in a dynamic way in which conversations spill outside classrooms and faculty and students get to know one another well.

MSU has three residential colleges – James Madison, which focuses on public affairs; Lyman Briggs, which focuses on science; and the new Residential College for Arts and Humanities, which focuses on arts and humanities in a global context.

With more than 240 programs on all continents in more than 60 countries, MSU is a national leader in study abroad. During 2005-06, 2,787 students studied abroad through MSU.

Hundreds of MSU students take advantage of the university’s service-learning opportunities every year, volunteering in places such as hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, soup kitchens and homeless shelters, as well as at a number of international sites.

Overall, MSU ranked 29th among public universities and 71st among all national universities.

Specific rankings included:

In U.S. News rankings of graduate and professional programs published in March 2007, several MSU programs – in education, human and osteopathic medicine, business, engineering, nuclear physics, nursing, and supply chain management and logistics – were listed among the nation’s best.

The rankings will be available online at www.usnews.com/colleges on Aug. 17 and in the Aug. 27 print edition of the magazine. In compiling the rankings, the magazine considered college entrance exam scores of incoming students, average class size, reputation among peer institutions and several other factors.