Welcome > History of the Department
The Department of Physiology at Michigan State University has a long history. Animal physiology was first taught on this campus in 1908 along with other topics in the basic sciences. The institution was then called the "Michigan Agricultural College". Aligned with veterinary courses, the curriculum and number of faculty continued steady, but slow growth for the next decade. The department was formally established as an independent academic unit in 1923. Agricultural, veterinary and general science interests predominated in the maturing department which kept pace with university expansion of facilities and curricula through World War II. Animal science and comparative physiology remained dominant curricular and research themes through the postwar years. Continued academic growth of the department led to conferring its first Ph.D. degree in 1950.
There were new directions for all basic science departments in the early 1960's when the College of Human Medicine was formed on campus. This resulted in near-doubling of faculty positions in the Department of Physiology over the next few years. Recruited faculty brought many new teaching and research disciplines that coexisted with the department's traditionally established veterinary and animal science programs. Courses for teaching allopathic (M.D.) medical and veterinary (D.V.M.) students, and those for undergraduates, expanded side-by-side as the department grew to national status as a research unit by the late 1960's.
There was further growth and enrichment of the department in 1970 when the College of Osteopathic Medicine came to campus from its site in Pontiac, Michigan. Following a longstanding tradition and well-earned reputation as an adaptive unit, faculty in the Department of Physiology shared teaching and research efforts among the three colleges of medicine. They also met the growing needs for graduate education and those of its already sizeable undergraduate program, besides presenting service courses for other majors. These commitments have remained virtually unchanged for over 20 years. The department is now among the largest in the United States. Its many research interests and teaching specialties attract undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral appointees and faculty worldwide.
The Department of Physiology's undergraduate program is not only among the oldest on campus, it is also one of the largest. In the recent past, over 100 students matriculate each year through the department's program. Students come to the department from diverse backgrounds, but with a common need to obtain quality education in a wide range of basic science fields to be competitive for postgraduate employment or entrance to postgraduate training programs. Many departmental majors are also enrolled in the Lyman Briggs or Honor's College programs.
As a major in the Department of Physiology, you are inheriting a rich legacy of departmental and faculty competency, experience and goodwill. Take advantage of it by remaining in frequent contact with your advisor and with others in the department.
