MSU Honors College

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MSU Honors College A community of scholars dedicated to academic excellence, personal growth, and meaningful engagement.

Honors College Spartans are making a difference, one idea at a time. What starts as a single experience can grow into so...
10/15/2026

Honors College Spartans are making a difference, one idea at a time. What starts as a single experience can grow into something that changes lives.

For Honors student Sanaa Bashar, a trip to Bangladesh and West Bengal 14 years ago inspired a research project focused on expanding access to water and sanitation in South Asia.

“I was watching people washing their clothes in muddy water and I saw this girl, she had a shoebox as her dollhouse because [her family] didn’t really have much,” Bashar said.

Through grant funding and nonprofit partnerships, Bashar helped bring a tube well and latrine to communities in need. Her original proposal aimed to reach about 34 families, but the completed facilities now serve 117 households, which is an estimated 490 people.

Stories like Bashar’s are a reminder of what makes the Honors College community so special: students who turn their curiosity into meaningful work, supported by opportunities that help their ideas reach beyond campus.

Thank you to two donor-funded intiatives – the Schoenl Family Undergraduate Grant for Dire Needs Overseas and the Honors Research Scholars program – for helping make Bashar's work possible.

Read the full story in the comments below. 🔽

This year, eight Honors College students are on Homecoming Court. Join us in congratulating this exceptional group:▪️Sar...
10/07/2026

This year, eight Honors College students are on Homecoming Court. Join us in congratulating this exceptional group:

▪️Sarah Bejleri
▪️Anastasia Breen
▪️Roberto Marcos Garcia
▪️Maddie Hanes
▪️Sumaiya Imad
▪️Benjamin Nketsiah
▪️Shrinidhi Pola
▪️Jagger Wraalstad

Nketsiah said, "The Honors College is more than an academic community, it is a community whose members genuinely invest in one another’s success."

"Over the years, it has given me opportunities to find community, grow as a leader, and become involved in parts of the university I never imagined I would when I first arrived," Imad said.

“I have really appreciated the Honors College advising team and the work they do for students. Having access to specialized advisors while balancing multiple majors and minors has been instrumental to my success at MSU,” Breen said.

You can read more about all eight scholars in the comments below 🔽

"One of the biggest reasons I chose MSU was that I've always been a Spartan. My parents met at Michigan State and named ...
06/03/2026

"One of the biggest reasons I chose MSU was that I've always been a Spartan. My parents met at Michigan State and named my siblings and me after buildings there," said Alumni Distinguished Scholar Kedzie Hall.

Hall belongs to a cohort of 51 incoming Spartans who have earned some of the most competitive scholarships in the nation.

The awards cover full tuition, room and board, and a stipend for up to eight semesters of undergraduate study.

They include a spot in the Honors College’s Professorial Assistantship program, which provides students a two-year paid research placement with a faculty mentor.

"MSU feels like a place where I can grow intellectually while also engaging with global issues in a meaningful way," said Williams Scholar Safia Behmen.

"I chose MSU for the amazing opportunities in academics, research, study abroad, and so much more," said University Distinguished Scholar Sophia Tavarez, "as well as the school spirit and community that I felt everywhere on campus."

The newest scholars represent thirteen states and five countries. They are pursuing degrees across nine different colleges at MSU.

Read more in the comments below.

05/08/2026

"These four years haven't been about being ready. They've been about the middle. They've been about the sweaty-palmed, nauseating, beautiful feeling of becoming."

More than 850 Honors College graduates have become scholars, changemakers, and the newest Spartan alumni.

Congratulations, Class of 2026. 🎓

Spartans of impact – may we know them, be them, and support them.Friday was a joyful day in celebration of Honors Colleg...
05/05/2026

Spartans of impact – may we know them, be them, and support them.

Friday was a joyful day in celebration of Honors College graduates and their supporters. 💚

Complimentary photos from the Honors College Graduation Reception are available at: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCSPqd

05/04/2026

Recognize John Morrison's name from the list of Honors College students who graduated with a 4.0 GPA?

Join us in congratulating him on his fantastic work, from the classroom to the Sparty suit.

“If the College of Arts and Letters is a pillar in my education, then the Honors College is my guiding light."Best wishe...
05/03/2026

“If the College of Arts and Letters is a pillar in my education, then the Honors College is my guiding light."

Best wishes to graduating Honors student Sloane Barlow, who will deliver the undergraduate speech at the MSU College of Arts & Letters commencement ceremony this morning.

Barlow was also a student speaker at the Honors College Graduation Reception, where she dedicated remarks to her mother, a Spartan alumna who was a commencement speaker as well.

Read more about Barlow's journey, storytelling, and community engagement at the link in the comments below.

More than 10,000 Spartans are preparing to graduate this weekend and change the world. Honors student Julia Preservati h...
04/30/2026

More than 10,000 Spartans are preparing to graduate this weekend and change the world. Honors student Julia Preservati has gotten a head start.

In her four years at MSU, Preservati has studied abroad three times – in Costa Rica, South Africa, and an expedition between Argentina and Antarctica.

Through her time abroad, she felt a life-changing call to become a polar ecologist.

"I really want to look at the impact [of avian flu], not necessarily even on birds, but on seals," Preservati said. "Seals are also getting very exposed and having large die-offs, and there's been some studying, but none in the polar regions."

Preservati took advantage of Honors experiences, undergraduate research, and Distinguished Student Awards Office opportunities to make her mark.

She graduates this weekend with one degree in zoology, another in environmental studies and sustainability, and a minor in leadership and integrative learning.

Read more about Preservati's journey at the link in the comments.

Introducing the Honors College Graduation Reception speakers, Om Nair and Sloane Barlow.You might recognize Nair as a co...
04/27/2026

Introducing the Honors College Graduation Reception speakers, Om Nair and Sloane Barlow.

You might recognize Nair as a co-founder of SPARC, the university's student-led undergraduate research journal.

You may have seen him waving in a parade as a member of Homecoming Court, or welcoming students through the International Scholars Advisory Board, an Honors College student organization.

Nair is graduating with a degree in applied engineering sciences through the Michigan State University College of Engineering, with a minor in data science, and a second minor in entrepreneurship and innovation.

Barlow is also an active member of the campus community, helping countless Spartans feel celebrated and seen through her photographs and news stories.

She's been behind the lens for more than three years of Honors College events, and captured campus-wide moments for the Red Cedar Log: Official Yearbook of MSU.

Barlow is graduating with degrees in English and journalism through the MSU College of Arts & Letters and Michigan State University College of Communication Arts & Sciences, with a minor in media photography.

Barlow and Nair will be speaking at the Honors College Graduation Reception this Friday, May 1 inside the Breslin Center.

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468 E Circle Dr, #105
East Lansing, MI
48824

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+15173552326

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