Enrollment Trends at MSU

The student population at Michigan State University is 52,089 (41,234 undergraduate and 10,855 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 1,551 (3.07%) over the past decade.

Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at MSU is 79.16% which is increased by 2,091 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 540 and it has been decreasing.
Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 88 male students for every 100 female students, down from 94 in 2015.
2,681 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 20.93% since 2015.

School Home 2024 Student Population

Student Population Changes

The average student population over the last 11 years is 50,384 where 52,089 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.

Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 4 year-over-year increases and 5 decreases. It peaked at 52,089 students in 2025 and was lowest at 49,659 in 2022. Overall, enrollment rose from 50,538 to 52,089 students, a net gain of 1,551 (3.1%).

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Michigan State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	50,538	39,143	19,415	19,728	11,395	5,061	6,334
2016-17	50,340 -198	39,090 -53	19,312 -103	19,778 50	11,250 -145	4,992 -69	6,258 -76
2017-18	50,019 -321	38,996 -94	19,292 -20	19,704 -74	11,023 -227	4,901 -91	6,122 -136
2018-19	50,351 332	39,423 427	19,438 146	19,985 281	10,928 -95	4,799 -102	6,129 7
2019-20	49,809 -542	39,176 -247	19,352 -86	19,824 -161	10,633 -295	4,575 -224	6,058 -71
2020-21	49,695 -114	38,491 -685	18,731 -621	19,760 -64	11,204 571	4,819 244	6,385 327
2021-22	49,659 -36	38,574 83	18,668 -63	19,906 146	11,085 -119	4,698 -121	6,387 2
2022-23	50,023 364	39,201 627	18,944 276	20,257 351	10,822 -263	4,597 -101	6,225 -162
2023-24	51,316 1,293	40,483 1,282	19,689 745	20,794 537	10,833 11	4,606 9	6,227 2
2024-25	52,089 773	41,234 751	19,921 232	21,313 519	10,855 22	4,518 -88	6,337 110
Average	50,384	39,381	19,276	20,105	11,003	4,757	6,246

Michigan State University Enrollment Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 39,381 where 41,234 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Michigan State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	39,143	35,645	17,491	18,154	3,498	1,924	1,574
2016-17	39,090	35,447	17,315	18,132	3,643	1,997	1,646
2017-18	38,996	35,404	17,386	18,018	3,592	1,906	1,686
2018-19	39,423	35,744	17,431	18,313	3,679	2,007	1,672
2019-20	39,176	35,722	17,530	18,192	3,454	1,822	1,632
2020-21	38,491	34,588	16,639	17,949	3,903	2,092	1,811
2021-22	38,574	35,062	16,763	18,299	3,512	1,905	1,607
2022-23	39,201	35,982	17,245	18,737	3,219	1,699	1,520
2023-24	40,483	37,492	18,107	19,385	2,991	1,582	1,409
2024-25	41,234	38,546	18,544	20,002	2,688	1,377	1,311
Average	39,381	39,381	17,445	18,518	39,381	1,831	1,587

Michigan State University Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 11,003 where 10,855 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Michigan State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	11,395	8,381	3,920	4,461	3,014	1,141	1,873
2016-17	11,250	8,248	3,855	4,393	3,002	1,137	1,865
2017-18	11,023	8,103	3,780	4,323	2,920	1,121	1,799
2018-19	10,928	8,119	3,792	4,327	2,809	1,007	1,802
2019-20	10,633	7,971	3,637	4,334	2,662	938	1,724
2020-21	11,204	8,417	3,864	4,553	2,787	955	1,832
2021-22	11,085	8,080	3,598	4,482	3,005	1,100	1,905
2022-23	10,822	8,310	3,709	4,601	2,512	888	1,624
2023-24	10,833	8,423	3,721	4,702	2,410	885	1,525
2024-25	10,855	8,316	3,614	4,702	2,539	904	1,635
Average	11,003	11,003	3,749	4,488	11,003	1,008	1,758

Michigan State University Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 64.15%. The percentage was 65.71% 10 years ago and MSU still has a high percentage of white students. 7.85% of enrolled students is Asian and 6.46% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 6.68% of the student body.

Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 65.71% to 64.15%. Asian enrollment grew from 4.63% to 7.85%. Black student enrollment decreased from 6.59% to 6.46%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 4.02% to 6.68%.

The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5719 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.5595 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Michigan State University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
Year	2015-16	120	2,339	3,331	2,032	46	33,209	1,279
2016-17	127	2,491	3,340	2,076	57	33,058	1,348
2017-18	116	2,582	3,414	2,172	54	32,870	1,416
2018-19	104	2,826	3,505	2,388	52	33,210	1,484
2019-20	113	2,991	3,482	2,524	42	32,865	1,533
2020-21	125	3,244	3,572	2,783	28	33,051	1,662
2021-22	113	3,538	3,438	2,985	28	32,759	1,682
2022-23	130	3,781	3,228	3,061	30	32,451	1,935
2023-24	144	4,002	3,261	3,240	30	33,066	2,051
2024-25	144	4,087	3,364	3,477	32	33,416	2,158
Average	124	3,188	3,394	2,674	40	32,996	1,655

Michigan State University Enrollment by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

2,681 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 5% of total students. The number of online students has increased 20.93% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Michigan State University from 2015 to 2025.

Year	Total Enrollment	Online Completely	Enrolled in Some Online Courses	Not Enrolled in Online Courses
2015-16	50,538	2,217	7,684	40,637
2016-17	50,340	2,339	9,277	38,724
2017-18	50,019	2,243	9,759	38,017
2018-19	50,351	2,196	9,273	38,882
2019-20	49,809	2,223	10,940	36,646
2020-21	49,695	40,974	4,614	4,107
2021-22	49,659	3,988	33,526	12,145
2022-23	50,023	2,728	23,498	23,797
2023-24	51,316	2,486	24,269	24,561
2024-25	52,089	2,681	24,643	24,765
Average	50,384	6,408	15,748	28,228

Most Searched Michigan Colleges (last 30 days)

Undergraduate

Michigan State University Public, 4-year | East Lansing
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Public, 4-year | Ann Arbor
Hillsdale College Private, 4-year | Hillsdale
Grand Valley State University Public, 4-year | Allendale
Eastern Michigan University Public, 4-year | Ypsilanti
Western Michigan University Public, 4-year | Kalamazoo
Kettering University Private, 4-year | Flint
Wayne State University Public, 4-year | Detroit
Lawrence Technological University Private, 4-year | Southfield
Central Michigan University Public, 4-year | Mount Pleasant

compare schools

Graduate

Michigan State University Public, 4-year | East Lansing
Madonna University Private, 4-year | Livonia
Adrian College Private, 4-year | Adrian
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Public, 4-year | Ann Arbor
University of Michigan-Dearborn Public, 4-year | Dearborn
Northern Michigan University Public, 4-year | Marquette
Central Michigan University Public, 4-year | Mount Pleasant
Wayne State University Public, 4-year | Detroit
Walsh College Private, 4-year | Troy
Western Michigan University Public, 4-year | Kalamazoo

compare schools

Online Schools

Michigan State University Public, 4-year | East Lansing
Hillsdale College Private, 4-year | Hillsdale
Lawrence Technological University Private, 4-year | Southfield
Wayne State University Public, 4-year | Detroit
Western Michigan University Public, 4-year | Kalamazoo
Grand Valley State University Public, 4-year | Allendale
Wayne County Community College District Public, 2-4 year | Detroit
Davenport University Private, 4-year | Grand Rapids
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Public, 4-year | Ann Arbor
Spring Arbor University Private, 4-year | Spring Arbor

compare schools

Trade Schools

Douglas J Aveda Institute Private, 2-4 year | East Lansing
Elevate Salon Institute Private, Less than 2-year | Royal Oak
Northwestern Technological Institute Private, Less than 2-year | Southfield
Ross Medical Education Center-Portage Private, Less than 2-year | Portage
Protege Academy Private, Less than 2-year | East Lansing
Ross Medical Education Center-Davison Private, Less than 2-year | Davison
Ross Medical Education Center-Warren Private, Less than 2-year | Warren
Irene's Myomassology Institute Private, Less than 2-year | Southfield
Sharp's Academy of Hairstyling Private, Less than 2-year | Grand Blanc
Ross Medical Education Center-New Baltimore Private, Less than 2-year | New Baltimore

compare schools

Enrollment Trends at MSU

Student Population Changes

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

Graduate Enrollment Changes

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

Ratings & Review