Michigan State University (“MSU”) was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first land-grant university. Since then, it has grown into a comprehensive research university with about 5,700 faculty and academic staff, 7,365 support staff, 39,176 undergraduate, and 10,633 graduate and professional students. The total enrollment of more than 45,000 is the largest single campus student body of any Michigan university and among the largest in the country. MSU has more than 200 programs of study offered by 14 degree-granting colleges and an affiliated law college.

The Department of Animal Science is an integral part of the university, having 30 fulltime tenure-track faculty members, 33 fixed-term faculty and specialists, 40 PhD and Master’s students, and approximately 611 undergraduate students.