Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters

What Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters does

The Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters is the arts and humanities academic college within Michigan State University, a public land-grant institution founded in 1855 in East Lansing, Michigan. The college serves approximately 5,000+ graduate, major, and minor students across 33 distinct undergraduate majors and multiple graduate programs, organized through 10+ departments including African American and African Studies, Art, Art History and Design, English, Linguistics, Languages and Cultures, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Residential Community-Engaged Arts and Humanities, Romance and Classical Studies, Theatre, and Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures. Specialized programs include the Citizen Scholars community-engaged learning track, the Experience Architecture (XA) interdisciplinary major focused on digital solutions, and the nationally recognized Second Language Studies Ph.D. program.

The college's underlying technical and pedagogical infrastructure includes the MSU Libraries Digital Scholarship Lab with a 360-degree immersive presentation room, language-learning applications such as the Picky Birds game (a novel tone-recognition approach for Mandarin), and research centers supporting interdisciplinary work. It supports 85+ study abroad and away programs across 40 countries and 6 continents. Notable technical outputs include a registered patent for the Picky Birds language learning technology and an MFA exhibition partnership with the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum.

The business model relies on three streams: tuition and fees set at the MSU university level for arts and humanities programs, external research grants from federal agencies and foundations such as the NSF and Mellon Foundation, and philanthropic support from alumni and friends including named professorships, scholarships, and capital campaigns. The college is not separately incorporated; it operates under MSU's Board of Trustees and State of Michigan governance. As of July 1, 2026, the college formally integrates the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH), unifying community-engaged residential education with the broader academic departments under Dean Thomas Stubblefield.

Name

Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters

Legal name

Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters

Website

https://cal.msu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1855

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters is a public academic college within MSU offering 33+ undergraduate and graduate majors across 10+ arts and humanities departments, serving 5,000+ students through tuition-supported programs, research grants, and philanthropic donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Arts and Humanities

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Interdisciplinary/Experimental Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts-Integrated Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAO), Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH), Performing Arts Colleges (Theatre, Dance, Musical Theatre) (EDAHAJAD)

Keywords

• Higher education programs
• Arts and humanities
• Undergraduate degrees
• Graduate research programs
• Experiential learning

Headquarters

HQ city

East Lansing

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and graduate student tuition and fees for arts and humanities programs
2. Research Grants and Funding: External funding from federal agencies (NSF, Mellon Foundation), research grants for faculty and students
3. Private Donations and Endowments: Philanthropic support from alumni and friends including named professorships, scholarships, and capital campaigns

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The College of Arts & Letters provides undergraduate and graduate degree programs across 33+ majors in arts and humanities disciplines, delivered through 10+ departments. It offers experiential learning through 85+ study abroad and away programs, undergraduate research forums, internships, and community-engaged learning. The college also supports research centers, interdisciplinary programs, and public performances and exhibitions.

Product overview

Michigan State University College of Arts & Letters is an academic college offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs across multiple arts and humanities disciplines. The portfolio includes 33 distinct majors, graduate programs, minors, and experiential learning opportunities through departments such as African American & African Studies, Art/Art History & Design, English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Religious Studies, RCAH, Romance and Classical Studies, Theatre, and Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures. The college also supports research centers, interdisciplinary programs, and community-engaged learning through programs like Citizen Scholars and Experience Architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Academic Programs
• Research Centers

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% graduate placement rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026International partnership with Jonathan Choti to preserve and document Kenya's indigenous languages through a linguistics workshop in Nairobi focused on strengthening documentation, preservation, and scholarly publication.
• City of East LansingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026Michigan Pride Juried Exhibition presented in partnership with MSU's Department of Art, Art History, and Design and the City of East Lansing, celebrating LGBTQ+ artists from across Michigan.
• W.K. Kellogg Biological StationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026Farmscapes to Forests: Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research Artists-in-Residence Program entering its fifth year. Partnership integrates artists into scientific research environments.
• Eli and Edythe Broad Art MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 February 2026Annual MFA Exhibition hosted at the museum featuring graduating MFA candidates' thesis work, part of ongoing partnership for arts exhibitions and public programming.
• MSU Libraries Digital Scholarship LabcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 January 2026Student projects from Religious Studies 101 class displayed in the 360 Room of the MSU Libraries Digital Scholarship Lab using immersive presentation technology.
• University of Dar es SalaamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2025Strategic Partnership Grant from MSU's Center for Gender in Global Context to strengthen collaboration focusing on gender, environment, and community sustainability. Research examines livelihoods of Maasai women in Naitolia, Tanzania.
• Newberry Consortium in American Indian and Indigenous Studies (NCAIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2025Elan Pochedley awarded NCAIS long-term faculty fellowship to research Indigenous environmental stewardship and governance in the Great Lakes region.
• Smithsonian InstitutionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2023Collaboration on Sounds of Religion poster exhibition - a new Smithsonian poster exhibition exploring how rituals and religious practices are expressed through sound. Available globally for educators to download or print, premiered at MSU Museum until June 30, 2023.
• The Ohio State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2023Partner institution in the Sounds of Religion exhibition collaboration with Smithsonian Institution and MSU.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts: The flagship liberal arts and sciences college of a Big Ten peer institution with comparable scope in humanities, languages, and arts. Closely comparable in mission, scale, and research profile, and the most direct institutional peer for MSU College of Arts and Letters.
• Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences: Big Ten peer college with overlapping arts, humanities, and social science departments. Direct peer and existing collaboration partner on the Smithsonian 'Sounds of Religion' exhibition, providing direct institutional comparability.
• University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Big Ten public university college offering humanities, arts, and language programs. Comparable in structure, scale, and the breadth of arts and humanities departments housed within a major research university.
• University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences: Public research university college with strong humanities and arts programming. Comparable in mission, public-university setting, and the breadth of arts and letters departments offered.
• University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts: Big Ten peer college with a humanities- and arts-focused portfolio within a major public research university. Comparable in scale, mission, and the integration of language, arts, and humanities programs.
• Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences: Big Ten peer college delivering arts, humanities, and language degrees. Closely comparable in portfolio, public-research-university context, and emphasis on language and area studies.
• Purdue University College of Liberal Arts: Big Ten peer college delivering arts, humanities, and social science programs at a public research university. Comparable in disciplinary mix and the balance between STEM-heavy parent institution and humanities-focused college.
• University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Public research university college covering arts, humanities, and sciences. Comparable in structure, public-university funding model, and prominence of creative writing and arts programs.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Letters and Science: Big Ten peer college covering arts, humanities, and social sciences within a public research university. Highly comparable in disciplinary breadth, public-land-grant context, and scale of graduate and undergraduate programming.

Emerging players

• College of Fine Arts, Carnegie Mellon University: A more specialized arts college within a private research university, focused on performing and visual arts. Comparable in arts programming depth but operates under a different funding and selectivity model than the public MSU college.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/msucal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAL
• Facebookfacebook.com/MSUCollegeOfArtsAndLetters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/michigan-state-university-college-of-arts-and-letters

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters