Campus of Michigan State University

The campus of Michigan State University is located in East Lansing on the banks of the Red Cedar River, and comprises a contiguous area of 5,200 acres (21 km2), 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of which are developed. Built amid virgin forest, the campus opened in 1855 with three buildings, none of which remain. As an agricultural college, the campus was originally located several miles outside of the city of Lansing, but as the population of the college grew, the city of East Lansing developed just north of the area's main avenue.

As the campus of a large university, MSU has many facilities that serve not only the school, but the entire metropolitan area. Public venues on campus include a football stadium, multipurpose arena, ice arena, concert hall, hotel, and golf course. The campus also has its own power plant, laundry service, incinerator, and Amtrak train station.

In terms of infrastructure, there are 556 buildings: 100 for academics, 131 for agriculture, 166 for housing and food service, and 42 for athletics. Overall, the university has 22,763,025 square feet (2,114,754.2 m2) of total indoor space. MSU also owns 44 non-campus properties, totaling 22,000 acres (89 km2) in 28 different counties. However, the size of the campus, combined with its curving roads and lack of a centralized quadrangle, can make it difficult for newcomers to navigate.