1855
- Agricultural College of the State of Michigan founded in East Lansing
1857
- Classes begin
1861
- College renamed the State Agricultural College of Michigan
1862
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Passage of Morrill Land-Grant College Act establishes colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts
1885
- College renamed Michigan Agricultural College
- Original Mechanical Laboratory designed by Rolla Carpenter and constructed
1888
- First undergraduate degrees granted to four engineering students
1892
- Student chapter of Tau Beta Pi is founded by Lancaster P. Breckenridge
1901
- College renamed Michigan State Agricultural College
- Departments of Civil and Electrical Engineering are established, with master's degrees available in Electrical Engineering
1902
- Master's program in Civil Engineering established
- First Senior Engineering Society organized to discuss mechanical, civil and electrical engineering. Weekly meetings held; papers read and discussed
1907
- The State Board of Agriculture begins awarding professional degrees in mechanical, civil and electrical engineering for those engineers who have five years of practical service in the field
- George Bissel is appointed as the first Dean of Engineering
1908
- Engineering Hall is dedicated
1909
- College renamed Michigan Agricultural College
- Division of Engineering is established with departments in civil engineering, drawing and design, mechanical engineering, physics and electrical engineering
1916
- Engineering Building and Mechanical Building destroyed by fire
1917
- R. E. Olds Hall of Engineering is built on the old foundation of the former Engineering Building
1918
- War Service work begins; Student Army Training Corps for auto mechanics is established
1924
- Engineering Experiment Station established
1925
- College renamed Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science
1927
- Michigan's first rural electrical power line, reaching from Mason to Dansville, is placed in service with the cooperation from the college
1932
- Ethel V. Lyon is the first female granted permission to enroll in engineering
- Department of Chemical Engineering joins the Division of Engineering
1936
- Seven academic departments receive accreditation that is continuous to the present
1940
- Flat fee system adopted by college
1946
- First PhD awarded to Lawrence B. Hein, Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
- Doctoral Program in Electrical Engineering approved
1947
- The Electrical Engineering Building is constructed (now the Computer Center)
1948
- Dedication of Farrall Hall, the agricultural engineering building (now called Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering BAE)
- First annual College of Engineering Exposition
- H. B. Dirks retires and Lorin G. Miller, chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, appointed dean
1949
- Department of Metallurgy established
1950
- JETS, Junior Engineering Training for Schools, is organized
1951
- Department of Applied Mechanics established
1953
- L. G. Miller retires and J. D. Ryder, head of Electrical Engineering at University of Illinois, appointed dean
- Department of Applied Mechanics, Oldsmobile Display
1954
- Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering approved
1955
- Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science renamed as Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science
1956
- The MSU Computer Laboratory was created to provide centralized academic computing functions
1957
- MSU's first computing system, called Michigan State Integral Computer (MISTIC), began operation (Left to right: Lawrence W. Von Tersch and Julian Kateley working on the MISTIC computer)
1958
- Engineering Experiment Station renamed Division of Engineering Research
1962
- Engineering Building is constructed where it is now, 428 S. Shaw Lane
1963
- Tau Beta Pi dedicates seven-foot replica of society's symbol, The Bent, to chapter founder Lester P. Breckenridge
1964
- Engineering program reduced to 180 hours including Natural Science and Physical Education
- Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science renamed as Michigan State University
1966
- Engineering Science program established
1968
- J. D. Ryder retires, Lawrence W. Von Tersch, associate dean, appointed dean
1969
- Department of Computer Science established and graduate program approved
- MiSTriga reactor becomes operational
1971
- Material Science graduate degree program approved
1973
- Engineering Arts major approved
- Society of Women Engineering student chapter established
1975
- Engineering Cooperative Education Program established
1978
- A. H. Case Center for Computer-Aided Engineering and Manufacturing established
1981
- MSU purchases Jolly Road Research Facility
- Department of Civil and Sanitary Engineering renamed Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
1988
- Dedication of Research Complex - Engineering
- Ground breaking ceremony for Engineering Building addition and renovation
- Composite Materials and Structures Center established
1989
- Lawrence W. Von Tersch retires, Theodore A. Bickart, Dean of Engineering at Syracuse University, appointed dean
- $34.5 million addition and renovation to the Engineering Building adds 167,000 square feet of space
- The Crop and Food Bioprocessing Center established
1990
- MSU purchases Hulett Road Research Facility
1997
- $14 million, 46,000 square foot addition to the Engineering Building from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Institute for Materials Research
1998
- Theodore Bickart retires, George Van Dusen named acting dean
1999
2005
2013
- Satish Udpa named MSU executive vice president for administrative services, Leo Kempel, associate dean for research, is named acting dean
- Construction began in June 2013 on the 130,000-square-foot Bio Engineering Facility to house interdisciplinary research on biomedical sciences and engineering
2014
- Leo Kempel is appointed dean
- MSU establishes Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME)
2015
2016
2021
2022
2023
2024
- Technology Engineering added to degree program offering
