Michigan State University
#161
QS World University Rankings 2026
60.9
QS 2026 overall score
Ranking data
QS World University Rankings source#161
QS World University Rankings 2026
#152
QS World University Rankings 2025
60.9
QS 2026 overall score
Indicator-level data
Each card keeps the QS 2026 score and rank separate. A missing value is not estimated.
Academic reputation
- QS 2026 score
- 67.3
- QS 2026 rank
- #146
Employer reputation
- QS 2026 score
- 62.9
- QS 2026 rank
- #174
Faculty-student ratio
- QS 2026 score
- 13.9
- QS 2026 rank
- #801
Citations per faculty
- QS 2026 score
- 61.2
- QS 2026 rank
- #280
International faculty ratio
- QS 2026 score
- 67.2
- QS 2026 rank
- #348
International student ratio
- QS 2026 score
- 21.1
- QS 2026 rank
- #708
International student diversity
- QS 2026 score
- 27.3
- QS 2026 rank
- #649
International research network
- QS 2026 score
- 97.6
- QS 2026 rank
- #27
Employment outcomes
- QS 2026 score
- 75.6
- QS 2026 rank
- #180
Sustainability
- QS 2026 score
- 94.2
- QS 2026 rank
- #28
About Michigan State University
Michigan State research combines discovery with problem-solving traditions
Michigan State University describes research and creative activity as part of the daily work of its professors and researchers. Its public material places that activity in a land-grant, problem-solving tradition and connects it with questions that affect people, society, and the natural world. Examples include climate-resilient agriculture, supply-chain management, approaches to STEM education, water, health, and community questions. This gives a reader a broad map of visible work. It does not show where every related topic is located. The next step is to find the research centre, project, laboratory, or academic profile where the inquiry takes a concrete form.
The university's research stories range from historical work on corn and anticancer drugs to current work on water protection and substance-use treatment. Such examples are useful because they show how an institutional mission becomes a defined research problem. They are not a substitute for current local evidence. A researcher interested in agriculture, health, education, or operations should check the unit behind the relevant work and see whether the research object and approach are close to their own interests. Similar public language does not always mean the same methods or research setting.
Research integrity and collaboration are part of the surrounding structure
Michigan State's Office of Research and Innovation describes support for research integrity, regulatory compliance, collaboration, licensing of university inventions, and research development. These functions show part of the framework around research activity. They can be relevant when a question involves responsible conduct, a partnership, or a path from research to use beyond the university. They do not define the content of a group's work. For a careful comparison, use the central office material to understand the surrounding structure and use local academic material to determine whether the research question is actually being examined there.
The office also makes institutes and centres visible, as well as initiatives related to water and a partnership with Henry Ford Health. A named initiative can be a valuable point of investigation when it concerns the same system or public issue as your work. It is still important to trace the initiative to the people and projects involved. Look for a description that names the specific problem, setting, data, or intervention. This lets you distinguish a potentially useful institutional connection from a broad announcement that does not reveal the current research route.
Find a Michigan State research connection by following the problem
A practical Michigan State University note begins with the problem, not the university's general reputation or size. State what you want to investigate, then find the closest local research setting. It may be connected with agricultural resilience, water, health, education, supply chains, a scientific mechanism, or another visible area. Add evidence that explains how the question is approached. A laboratory page may show an experimental system, while a research centre may show a community issue or field of practice. The purpose is to identify the place where the problem has a concrete research form.
Finish by separating institutional context from verified local evidence. The Office of Research and Innovation can show that integrity, collaboration, and research development are part of the university's structure. It cannot establish that a particular team is currently working on your exact question. Keep a short list of confirmed facts, useful leads, and missing details. That restraint makes later comparison easier and keeps the profile accurate when the public research pages are updated.
Institution record
- Country
- United States of America
- Region
- Americas
- Status
- Public
- QS size code
- XL
- Profile record updated
- July 24, 2026
This date shows when this profile was refreshed. It is not a source-verification date from QS or the university.
Search opportunitiesOpportunity records may use a different form of the institution's name. Confirm every listing with its original source.