Finding Information on Colleges and Universities

There are a variety of print, electronic, and web resources that can help you find information on college and universities in the United States of America and around the world.  This can include finding details about programs and majors, graduate schools, costs, rankings, admissions, and basic directory information.

CollegeSource

CollegeSource is a web-based resource which allows you to:

Locate information about a particular U.S. or international college or university

Identify colleges which match personal criteria (e.g. tuition cost, size of enrollment, degrees offered, affiliation, state, and majors offered)

View college catalogs of each U.S. institution and a large number of international institutions.

CollegeSource may be accessed from any computer in the Main Library. Please ask for assistance at the Reference Desk. Please note that you will be unable to search this site outside of the Main Library of Michigan State University without a fee being charged .

 Web Resources

There are a variety of good resources on the web for finding information about colleges and universities.  This list is borrowed from the Open Directory Project with modifications.  Please note that if you are interested in a particular institution, visiting its official web site will answer many of your questions. Good web resources include:

• Abbycon.com - Specialized directory of colleges and universities worldwide.
• All About College - Comprehensive and easy to use directory of colleges and universities throughout the world, including admissions office email addresses.
• American Academy of Financial Management - Directory of business schools offering finance and tax degrees, including information about certification and affiliations.
• American Universities and Colleges - Complete listing of American universities.
• Central and Eastern Europe Education Directory - A guide to higher education programmes offered by over 1300 universities in Europe, Russia and the newly independent states.
• College Admissions - Allows the user to search for schools they are interested in, then find out what it takes to get accepted. Includes insights into testing, and minimising costs.
• College and Career Programs for Deaf Students - Contains a listing of more than 100 postsecondary education programs (in the US and Canada) available to deaf and hard of hearing students.
• College Connexion - College and university resources on the internet.
• CollegeBot Search - Features unique web pages of colleges, K-12, and educational resources.
• Colleges Colleges - A directory of colleges and universities in the United States.
• Colleges.com - Select criteria for colleges to help narrow your choices and search for scholarships.
• GradSchools.com - Comprehensive directory of graduate programs worldwide including program descriptions.
• Higher Education Institution Registry (HEIR) - An on-line database of addresses for universities and colleges around the world.
• LDS Institutes of Religion - List of colleges and universities, administrator and contact telephone number for the Church Educational System of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• LearnAnytime.com - Searchable directory of universities in the world.
• NewsDirectory - Lookup college websites by state. Includes search for related links.
• NZcentre.co.nz - List of New Zealand universities.
• Outdoor Network - International directory of colleges that offer outdoor industry-related degrees.
• Paralegal Colleges - A directory of colleges offering paralegal programs approved by the American Bar Association.
• Residential Colleges Worldwide - Oxford/Cambridge-style residential colleges at universities around the world.
• RWM.org - Business, trade and technical school database covering all 50 states. Users click on the state and training field to find the vocational school of their choice.
• Schools in the USA - Search for accredited business, engineering, teaching and health schools offering bachelor degrees.
• StudySeries.com - Database of Canadian colleges and universities.
• Tree: Educational institutions - Links to .edu domain names and each particular institution's full name.
• Universities.com - Searchable database of college and universities.
• University Links: State-by-State Listing - Links to many U.S. colleges and universities.
• U.S. Colleges - Web sites of U.S. colleges including Puerto Rico listed by state. Includes financial aid information.
• US Colleges and Universities - Search through college and university lisings, by state.
• U.S. Journal of Academic Options - Directory of U.S. colleges and english language programs for international students.
• Web U.S. Universities, by State - A list of regionally-accredited U.S. universities organized by state from the University of Texas.
• Your Campus Connection - Comprehensive set of links to Christian postsecondary institutions in America.

College Guides Collection

Located on 1-East, just south of the East Wing elevators, the College Guides Collection contains a wide variety of resources to assist in the identification, evaluation, and pursuit of higher educational opportunities in the United States and abroad. These include: Guides to college majors - Examples include Which MBA? Critical Guide to the World's Best MBAs (College Guides HF 1111 .B53), Guide to English Language Programs (College Guides PE 1128 .P4), Official Guide to Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Schools (College Guides RT 73 .O34), Directory of Theatre Training Programs (College Guides PN 2078 .U6 D56), Directory of Schools for Alternative and Contemporary Health Care (College Guides R 733 .D59), and  the Graduate Medical Education Directory (Closed Reference R 712 .A1 D52). College directories for both general and program-specific, graduate and undergraduate - Examples include Peterson's 4 Year Colleges (Closed Reference L 901 .A554), Peterson's 2 Year Colleges (Closed Reference L 901 .A555), International Handbook of Universities (Closed Reference LB 2310. I5), Commonwealth Universities Yearbook (Closed Reference LB 2310. Y5), Peterson's Programs in (Various Fields), 6 volume set (Closed Reference LB 2371. A52), College Blue Book, 6 volume set (College Guides LA 726 .C6856) and the Fiske Guide to Colleges (College Guides L 901 .N48). College application and admission guides - Examples include Insider's Guide to College Admissions (College Guides LB 2351.2 .H38), CLEP Official Study Guide (College Guides LB 2353 .G8 .C65), Real Essays for College and Grad School (College Guides LB 2351.52 .U6 R43), and How to Write a Winning College Application Essay (College Guides LB 2351.5 .M37). College ratings and rankings  - Good examples include Educational Rankings Annual (Closed Reference LB 2331. G3 .E34), US News & World Reports Graduate Schools (April of every year), and US News & World Reports Best Colleges (September of every year).  A few bad examples include both the Gourman Report, Undergraduate (College Guides LB 2331.62 G62) and Gourman Report, Graduate (College Guides LB 2371 .G62).  The Gourman books are here because patrons occasionally ask for them but the rankings are highly suspect as the methodolgy is not revealed and entire fields (education, criminal justice) are trashed as being worthless. Directories of distance learning program - Examples include Campus-Free College Degrees (College Guides LC 6251 .C33), Guide to Distance Learning Programs (College Guides LC 5808. P48), and Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning (College Guides LB 2381 .B4). Graduate and professional school test preparation resources. Books in this collection can not be checked out. They must be used in the library. Closed Reference books can be requested at the Main Reference Desk on 1 East. The collection development policy for this collection (which is the rationale for why certain items are acquired and others are not) can be found here. Financial aid and internship directories are located nearby in the Funding Center (formerly, Foundation Collection). Page Editor:  Michael Lorenzen Last Updated: 25 June 2002 MSU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution