Lake Superior State University — College Profile

About

Located on the border of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Canada, Lake Superior State University (LSSU) is Michigan's smallest public university, renowned for offering a highly personalized, hands-on education within a tight-knit campus community. LSSU is best known for its premier programs in fisheries and wildlife management—highlighted by a unique, student-run fish hatchery on the St. Marys River—as well as its top-tier engineering school featuring one of the nation's leading undergraduate robotics labs. The student experience is deeply defined by this spectacular natural setting, offering an active, outdoorsy culture with year-round recreation like skiing and kayaking, alongside the unique benefit of easy international travel just across the bridge to Ontario.

Wikipedia:Lake Superior State University is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States. It enrolls approximately 1,600 students. Due to its proximity to the Canada–United States border, LSSU has many Canadian students and offers joint programs with Sault College and Algoma University in the twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada across the St. Marys River. In a sign of this close relationship with its international neighbor, LSSU flies both the Canadian and United States flags on its campus.

Location

Sault Ste Marie, MI, 49783 · Town campus

✈

Nearest airport from college

DTW · Detroit

300 mi away

Open in Google Maps

Cost & aid

Cost of attendance

In-stateOut-of-state

Tuition & fees$14,890$14,890

Housing & food (on campus)$11,459$11,459

Books & supplies$2,000$2,000

Cost of attendance$27,154$33,058

Average net price$12,822Not published

Out-of-state prices

Tuition & fees$14,890

Housing & food (on campus)$11,459

Books & supplies$2,000

Cost of attendance$33,058

In-state: $27,154

Average net priceNot published

In-state: $12,822

Source: U.S. College Scorecard · published total: www.lssu.edu

How it’s made up · 2025-26

Lake Superior State University’s own figures for 2025-2026, newer than the 2024-25 federal figures above, so the amounts differ.

Tuition$15,096

Fees$1,150

Housing$6,886

Food$6,828

Books & supplies$1,500

Personal expenses$1,200

Transportation$238

Total published by the school$33,058

Source: www.lssu.edu · checked Sep 13, 2026

Net price by family income · in-state students, 2023-24

$0–30k

$3,516

$30–48k

$9,226

$48–75k

$10,422

$75–110k

$14,541

$110k+

$20,321

Your family's actual price → Lake Superior State University net price calculator

Source: U.S. College Scorecard

Outcomes

Completion

Within 6 yrs

54%

Entered 2017–18

Within 4 yrs

31%

Back for yr 2

79%

Transferred

24%

8 yrs after starting · first-time, full-time students

54% graduated · 27% transferred · 1% still enrolled · 17% left or unknown

Earnings · measured 2020 & 2021

6 yrs after entry$42,767

10 yrs after entry$49,045

Debt

Median at graduation$23,250

Monthly payment$246

Middle 50% owe$5.5k–$27k

90th percentile$35,250

Green marks a figure above the typical Baccalaureate — diverse fields: 43% graduate within 6 yrs, $45,606 earned 10 yrs after entry.

Admissions

Getting in · applied for fall 2024

ACT midpoint

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Essay prompts

If Lake Superior State University asks for supplemental essays, the prompts are in the Common App.

The personal essay is separate: see the Common App essay prompts.

Student Body

Gender

Men 46%Women 54%

Who enrolls

Faculty ratio

13 : 1

Pell grant

27%

First-gen

33%

Family income

$49,053

Independent

16%

Age at entry

21.0

Part-time

13%

Race & ethnicity

White

70%

Hispanic

Black

Asian

Two or more

Non-resident

AI/AN

Unknown

Varsity sports

NCAA Division II without football · EADA 2024-25

Basketball
Men's · Women's
Golf
Men's · Women's
Ice Hockey
Men's
Swimming
Men's · Women's
Tennis
Men's · Women's
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
Men's · Women's
Volleyball
Women's

Programs & Earnings

Bachelor's degrees by annual completions · 4yr national median earnings

Median earnings, all programs · measured 2020 & 2021

After 6 yrs

$42,767

After 10 yrs

$49,045

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing38

Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management25

Criminal Justice and Corrections22

Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness19

Psychology, General17

Business Administration, Management and Operations15

Mechanical Engineering14

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods12

Biology, General12

Chemistry12

Business/Commerce, General10

Fire Protection9

Marketing8

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas7

Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology7

Social Sciences, General7

Type your major above to highlight and detail relevant programs.

Institutional

Resources

Endowment

$39M

Full-time faculty

92%

Faculty salary

$8,000/mo

Teaching spend

$11,551

per student

Federal loans

37%

Classification

Carnegie type

Baccalaureate — diverse fields

Research activity

Research college or university

$4M research spending

Undergraduate profile