Michigan State University - Lyman Briggs College

Description: Lyman Briggs College Case Statement

In 1967, envisioning a bold new model for undergraduate education, Michigan State University created Lyman Briggs College - a residential learning community that connects the study of science to the challenges of society.

Lyman Briggs is now nationally recognized for vibrant, research-centered teaching that inspires students to acquire the scientific expertise needed to become tomorrow’s problem-solvers.

MSU’s Lyman Briggs College (LBC or Briggs) is a residential undergraduate college devoted to studying the natural sciences in their historical, philosophical, literary and social context. All under one roof, LBC offers science laboratories and classrooms; faculty and advising offices; and residential and dining facilities. Briggs offers its 1900 students the best of both worlds: the close-knit residential community of a liberal-arts science college combined with the resources of a great research university. For over 40 years, Briggs has helped prepare liberally educated scientists who understand the fundamental scientific and mathematical context of their disciplines and also appreciate the societal context of science.

U.S. News & World Report consistently cites LBC in its “Programs to Look For,” calling MSU’s residential colleges “stellar examples” of programs that are “linked to student success.” Over 60% of Lyman Briggs freshmen are female and nearly 20% belong to ethnic groups under-represented in science. In the Land-Grant tradition LBC imposes no additional admission requirements; its students’ prior academic preparation runs the gamut from the 10% who are not quite ready for pre-calculus to the 25% whose achievements qualify them for MSU’s Honors College. The LBC faculty and advisors challenge all of these students academically and support them toward the academic degrees they desire. Retention and degree attainment are excellent: 95% of LBC freshmen return to MSU as sophomores and 90% graduate within six years. Upon graduation, 40% of LBC students enter medical or other professional schools, another 35% enter graduate school, and 25% initially enter the workforce; in the longer term, 80% of LBC graduates earn post-graduate degrees, mainly in STEM fields, medicine, education, or public health.

Lyman Briggs College, was founded in 1967 with the mission of bridging the divide between C.P. Snow’s ``two cultures” of the sciences and the humanities; it is the longest-running program of its kind on a research-extensive campus in the United States. Students build a core science foundation through courses in biology, chemistry, math, physics; each class introduces the topics and methods of a particular field and also demonstrates the inter-relation of the various scientific disciplines.. To provide further context for their scientific education, Briggs students take a suite of courses in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of science, which draw students into thinking about the societal environment in which science is done and the impact science has upon society. Briggs faculty implement this integrated inter-disciplinary curriculum using research-validated pedagogical techniques and technologies that make students active participants in the classroom. Briggs also weaves undergraduate research experiences throughout the curriculum through faculty mentoring, competitive research grants, study abroad/away courses, and inquiry-based classroom labs. As a result of this liberal science education and research experience, Briggs students apply their scientific knowledge to solving society’s problems.