University of Michigan - Academics

Academics

The University of Michigan is a large, four-year, residential research university accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The four year, full-time undergraduate program comprises the majority of enrollments and emphasizes instruction in the arts, sciences, and professions and there is a high level of coexistence between graduate and undergraduate programs. The university has "very high" research activity and the "comprehensive" graduate program offers doctoral degrees in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields as well as professional degrees in medicine, law, and dentistry. U-M has been included on Richard Moll's list of Public Ivies. With over 200 undergraduate majors, 100 doctoral and 90 master's programs, U-M conferred 6,473 undergraduate degrees, 4,322 graduate degrees, and 734 first professional degrees in 2008-2009.

National honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Tau Beta Pi have chapters at U-M. Degrees "with Highest Distinction" are recommended to students who rank in the top 3% of their class, "with High Distinction" to the next 7%, and "with Distinction" to the next 15%. Students earning a minimum overall GPA of 3.4 who have demonstrated high academic achievement and capacity for independent work may be recommended for a degree "with Highest Honors," "with High Honors," or "with Honors." Those students who earn all A's for two or more consecutive terms in a calendar year are recognized as James B. Angell Scholars and are invited to attend the annual Honors Convocation, an event which recognizes undergraduate students with distinguished academic achievements.

Out-of-state undergraduate students pay between US $36,001.38 and $43,063.38 annually for tuition alone while in-state undergraduate students paid between US $11,837.38 and $16,363.38 annually. U-M provides financial aid in the form of need-based loans, grants, scholarships, work study, and non-need based scholarships, with 77% of undergraduates in 2007 receiving financial aid. 8% were eligible for Pell Grants. For undergraduates in 2008, 46% graduated with about $25,586 of debt in 2008. The university is attempting to increase financial aid availability to students by devoting over $1.53 billion in endowment funds to support financial aid.