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Navigation using icons can be avoided by viewing the Michigan State University functions as a unit, with its colleges, divisions, schools, and departments serving one another. No single part is independent of the others. The Michigan State University College of Law, through a special affiliation, functions fully as a part of the University, although it remains financially independent.
Most schools and departments offer courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. At the undergraduate level, freshman and sophomore students, except when enrolled in James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College, or the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, are enrolled in the Undergraduate University Division. Such students may select a field of study as a major preference; however, the academic responsibility for such students rests solely with the Undergraduate University Division. During the first two years students usually take (1) courses that will fulfill the university requirements as described in the Undergraduate Education section of this catalog and (2) courses appropriate to the particular major, or (3) courses of an exploratory nature. During the junior and senior years, students take courses, whether given by the colleges of the majors or others, which meet the needs of the academic programs. For high-achieving undergraduate students, colleges, schools, departments, and faculty, in cooperation with the Honors College, provide programs to encourage the highest intellectual development and greatest achievement.
At the graduate level, colleges which offer graduate courses have developed graduate programs consistent with the highest national, international, and professional standards of the respective fields.
Study Abroad programs are sponsored by the University through its academic departments and schools, and cooperative arrangements with other universities. The University offers more than 200 programs in over 60 countries on all seven continents.
To provide broader access to its instructional resources, the University offers selected degree programs, certificate programs, and courses at various locations and via the Web.
The materials throughout this catalog are intended to be cumulative. The Undergraduate Education section is applicable to undergraduate study, and the Graduate Education section refers to graduate study. The all–University policies and requirements given in the General Information, Policies, Procedures and Regulations section apply to both undergraduate and graduate study. These three sections serve as the foundation for the college statements, and the all-University sections and the college statements serve as the foundation for the department and school statements.
Each college statement addresses the purposes or role of the college in the University; the organizational structure of the college; undergraduate programs, including college policies and requirements for admission and graduation beyond the all-University requirements; and graduate study, including the college policies and requirements for admission and the degrees beyond the all-University requirements. The organization of the department and school statements is similar to that of the college statements.
