Students at institutions as large as Michigan State University have unique opportunities because of its many programs. This is especially true for undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Physiology whose faculty members have academic appointments in many different colleges, research and academic units. Some are administratively associated with the College of Human Medicine, some with the College of Osteopathic Medicine, and others with the College of Veterinary Medicine, among other groups. Despite these different affiliations, all faculty work together on departmental issues. They share teaching in graduate, undergraduate and medical school courses, have overlapping interests in research, provide service equitably on committees among colleges and routinely work together on projects of departmental, college and university-level interests.
These joint efforts are possible only with the longstanding spirit of cooperation among the different colleges and basic science departments. It is usual to have a faculty member academically appointed, for example, in the College of Human Medicine, teach in that unit and serve on its committees, but concurrently teach in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, advise undergraduates (College of Natural Science), have a research grant with someone in the College of Veterinary Medicine, but also teach and conduct research with faculty in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering.
Similarly, undergraduate and graduate students benefit by having a major advisor who is jointly appointed in different departments and colleges, whose research and teaching commitments are at different levels and in different disciplines and whose off-campus contacts not only transcend disciplines but are also nationwide and even international. Both faculty and students in the Department of Physiology have benefited for decades from the seamless quality of professional, academic and administrative affiliations across campus and among educational institutions nationally.
Each student needs to plan with his/her advisor how to take full advantage of these unique opportunities.