International Studies & Programs

Home > About > Education Abroad Overview > Enrollment Trends & Statistics

Enrollment Trends & Statistics

Each year, thousands of students at Michigan State University are transformed by their educational experiences outside of the United States and can be found in classrooms, research labs, field stations, and internship sites throughout the world.  In addition, we welcome a growing number of international students for a non-degree study experience at our East Lansing campus through the American Semester Program.


2018-19 Academic Year

2,915 students studied abroad.

  • 2,832 were MSU students (2,663 U.S. citizens and 169 international students)
  • 83 were students from other U.S. institutions

1 in 4 students of the 2019 MSU graduating class participated in education abroad. 

  • 24.9 percent of MSU students who graduated in 2018-19 participated in education abroad - an increase of more than 4 percent over last year (NOTE: The national undergraduate participation rate is only 16 percent)

Compared to the national averages, MSU exceeds participation in the following categories:

  • Freshmen, seniors and graduate students
  • Science, technology, engineering & math (STEM) majors, Communications/journalism majors, Legal studies majors, and Social science majors
  • Black/African American students
  • Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Oceania participation
  • Short-term programming

Regional participation in Latin America and Europe increased over last year.

Eight MSU Colleges had a higher percentage of students abroad compared to their on-campus population.

Participation rose among Hispanic/Latinx, Black/African American, and multiracial students compared with last year.

For further details and statistics:

#spartansabroad