East Lansing is home to both of Michigan State's medical colleges: the College of Human Medicine, which grants the MD and has been LCME-accredited since 1964, and the College of Osteopathic Medicine (DO, 1969) (school list; LCME). Human Medicine is spread across Michigan: its students begin the first two years either in Grand Rapids or on the MSU campus in East Lansing, then spend the clinical years on one of eight community campuses (MSU College of Human Medicine).
The Lansing campus, established in 1966, is where Human Medicine started, and about 200 of its first- and second-year students still take their preclinical years in East Lansing (Lansing campus). For 2025-26 the college had 8,296 applications for 193 first-year places, and 72% of the entering class came from Michigan (AAMC FACTS).
Facts about East Lansing
| School | City | LCME accreditation | Next full survey | 2025-26 applications | First-year places | Entering class from Michigan |
|---|
| Michigan State University College of Human Medicine | East Lansing | Full, since 1964 | 2030-31 | 8,296 | 193 | 72% |
Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.
| City | Internal medicine residency program | First-time takers, 2023-2025 | Passed |
|---|
| Lansing | University of Michigan Health - Sparrow/Michigan State University Program | 42 | 83% |
| Lansing | McLaren Health Care/Greater Lansing/MSU Program | 28 | 89% |
ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates.
- The College of Human Medicine starts its first- and second-year students on the Shared Discovery Curriculum either in Grand Rapids or on the MSU campus in East Lansing; in the Late Clinical Experience, third- and fourth-year students do clerkships at nine primary teaching hospitals and 57 community hospitals across eight community campuses. (Michigan State University College of Human Medicine)
- The Lansing campus, established in 1966, is the College of Human Medicine's founding campus; about 200 first- and second-year students take their preclinical education in East Lansing, and about 26 third- and fourth-year students do their clerkships in greater Lansing. (Michigan State University College of Human Medicine)
- In the Shared Discovery Curriculum, students sit USMLE Step 1 after the M2 phase, then move to their community campus for the clerkship year, and complete Step 2 before graduation. (Michigan State University College of Human Medicine)
- The College of Human Medicine gives its Progress Clinical Skills Examination, with standardized patients, twice per semester, and students must pass its progress assessments to advance through the curriculum. (Michigan State University College of Human Medicine)
- Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine reports a 92.23% first-time pass rate on COMLEX Level 1 for 2025-2026, against 90.19% nationally. (Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine)
- MSUCOM's first-time pass rate on COMLEX Level 2-CE was 93.70% for 2025-2026, against 92.48% nationally, and its graduates passed COMLEX Level 3 at 99.26% in 2025, against 97.09%. (Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine)
Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Community Campuses (checked November 1, 2026); Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Lansing campus (checked November 1, 2026); Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Shared Discovery Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Office of Assessment (checked November 1, 2026); Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Outcomes (checked November 1, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).
In Human Medicine's Shared Discovery Curriculum, the M1 phase (two semesters, with an Early Clinical Experience) is followed by the M2 phase and its Middle Clinical Experience; students sit USMLE Step 1 at the end of M2 and then transfer to their M3/M4 community campus for the Late Clinical Experience, where the clerkships happen (Shared Discovery Curriculum).
So for many East Lansing students the dedicated Step 1 period and a move to Grand Rapids, Flint, Traverse City or another campus fall in the same season. We plan the study weeks around the move date, front-load the heaviest review before packing starts, and keep sessions online so nothing pauses while a student changes cities. Those who stay in greater Lansing, about 26 third- and fourth-years, rotate at MSU Health Care, McLaren Greater Lansing and University of Michigan Health-Sparrow (Lansing campus).
Step 2 comes later, before graduation, so the scored exam lands after a full clerkship year spread across nine primary teaching hospitals and 57 community hospitals in the college's network.
Progress tests from the first semester
Human Medicine does not wait for Step 1 to test knowledge. Its Office of Assessment gives the Progress Clinical Skills Examination, with standardized patients, twice per semester, and the Comprehensive Necessary Science Examinations are progress tests of scientific and clinical knowledge; students have to pass these assessments to advance (Office of Assessment).
That gives an East Lansing student a running record long before dedicated study. We read those progress-test results the way we read an NBME self-assessment: the weak systems they show become the first blocks of the Step 1 plan, and we track whether the next progress test moves them.
MSU's osteopathic college and COMLEX
The College of Osteopathic Medicine publishes its own COMLEX results. For 2025-2026 it reports a 92.23% first-time pass rate on Level 1, against 90.19% nationally, and 93.70% on Level 2-CE, against 92.48%; its graduates passed Level 3 at 99.26% in 2025, against 97.09% (MSUCOM outcomes).
Its clerkship policy makes Level 1 a hard gate: students must pass it before clinical rotations begin (quoted below). An osteopathic student in East Lansing therefore treats Level 1 like Human Medicine students treat Step 1, as the exam that decides when the clinical years start.
Medical schools in East Lansing
| School | Degree | Founded | Type | Exam series | In East Lansing |
|---|
| Michigan State University College of Human Medicine | MD | 1964 | Public | USMLE | Founding campus (headquarters in Grand Rapids; years 1-2 in East Lansing or Grand Rapids) |
| Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | 1969 | Public | COMLEX-USA | Main campus |
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine lists 800 students on Wikipedia.
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine lists 300 per class students on Wikipedia.
School list: LCME and COCA lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.
When East Lansing students must take the boards
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine states: “Prior to beginning clerkship clinical rotations, students must successfully complete the following. a. COMLEX USA Level 1” (MSUCOM Clerkship Course/Rotation Policy, Effective 5/11/25).
The exams East Lansing students take, in order
Human Medicine students take the USMLE: Step 1 at the end of M2 (pass/fail since January 26, 2022), an NBME shelf exam in each M3 clerkship on their community campus, Step 2 CK before graduation and Step 3 in residency.
Osteopathic students take COMLEX-USA: Level 1 before rotations, Level 2-CE in the clinical years and Level 3 in residency. Many add a USMLE Step; our Level 2 vs Step 2 CK guide covers whether it is worth it.
Graduates who train in internal medicine in Lansing finish with the ABIM exam; the 2023-2025 first-time results of the two Lansing programs are in the table above (ABIM).
Michigan board rules for East Lansing graduates
Michigan's two licensing boards split by degree. An MD from Human Medicine who is licensed in Michigan goes to the medical board, which allows 4 attempts at each USMLE Step, the same number at which the USMLE program ends eligibility (FSMB; USMLE eligibility rules).
A DO from the College of Osteopathic Medicine goes to Michigan's osteopathic board, which has its own rules, time limits included. Our Michigan page puts both boards' wording side by side.
How much East Lansing searches for board prep
East Lansing ranks 14th among US cities for “USMLE” searches, with a score of 31 out of 100. For “COMLEX Level 2” the Lansing metro area ranks 11th among US metro areas, with 29 (Google Trends, United States, past five years, retrieved October 2026). The two ranks come from different lists, one of cities and one of metro areas, so they do not compare directly. Scores compare places with each other; they are not counts of students.
- “USMLE”: number 14 among US cities, score 31 of 100
- “COMLEX Level 2”: number 11 among US metro areas (Lansing), score 29 of 100
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