North Dakota State University

ndsu online degree

Degrees Offered at North Dakota State University

North Dakota State University appears in our ranking of the 30 Best Colleges Online.

There are eight colleges at North Dakota State University (NDSU) that house 170 undergraduate and over 120 graduate degree programs. These include the College of Business, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, College of Engineering, and the College of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies. A popular option is the College of Science and Mathematics which is composed of nine departments like Statistics, Physics, Biochemistry, and Psychology. The Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials is known throughout the country as a leader in coating technology. Undergraduates can pair this minor with a major in engineering or pure sciences by taking 16 credits including Polymer Synthesis, Coatings Laboratory, and Corrosion and Materials. The department also offers week-long specialized courses during the summer along with a 10-week research experience. At the graduate level, there is both an M.S. and Ph.D. in the field.

The College of Health Professions includes degrees in nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and public health studies. The three allied health majors are medical laboratory science, radiology, and respiratory care. The B.S. in Radiologic Sciences requires courses in the areas of microbiology, chemistry, and physics along with a 60-credit-hour field experience. Students can choose between three specialties, general radiology, echocardiology, and diagnostic medical sonography, and graduates can apply for certification in these fields. Students in the master of public health program also qualify for a license upon graduation. This program can be taken on campus or completely online. The online version requires 24 core classes including Public Health Management and Policy, Essentials in Epidemiology, and Environmental Health along with a master’s paper and practicum. Students also must take 18 credits in one of four specializations, American Indian Public Health, Community Health Sciences, Management of Infectious Diseases, or Food Safety. The College of Human Development and Education offers related degrees in fields like nutrition, exercise science, and social work along with degrees in hospitality and education.

The College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources is the oldest in the university with 18 majors and 24 graduate degrees. There are a variety of programs that focus on plant health including crop and weed sciences, horticulture, soil science, plant pathology, and plant sciences. The undergraduate agribusiness program emphasizes both business and agricultural topics with students selecting a focus in management, finance, or marketing. In the food science discipline, students can earn a master’s degree in fields like Cereal Science and study technical aspects through courses like Milling, Malting and Brewing, and Pasta Processing as well as science classes including Food Microbiology, Carbohydrate Chemistry, and Sensory Science of Food.

About North Dakota State University

NDSU was established in 1890 as North Dakota Agricultural College after renting out six classrooms from Fargo College. The school began as a land-grant institution meaning the government provided startup resources as long as the curriculum focused on agriculture and engineering fields. In 1892, the first campus building was completed, and classes moved to the school’s current location in Fargo. Over the years, the school expanded and now enrolls more than 14,000 students in almost 300 total programs. NDSU is a research university and recently opened the Technology incubator as part of their Research and Technology Park which focuses on advances in the computing and engineering fields. Many programs at NDSU are nationally ranked including the pharmacy program which is ranked in the top half in the country as well as the doctor of nursing program ranked in the top third according to the U.S. News and World Report.

North Dakota State University Accreditation Details

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is the regional accrediting body responsible for evaluating and certifying the quality of North Dakota State University. This evaluation process includes an examination of education-related facets of each school like the expertise of professors, breadth and depth of curriculum, and student outcomes along with financial standing, organizational structure, and transparency among other business-related aspects. NDSU has been accredited since 1915 with its current review period ending in 2016. While the HLC looks at each institution as a whole, there are other specialized accreditation bodies that evaluate individual degrees and departments. The following list includes some of these associations that have certified specific NDSU programs.

  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
  • Council on Education for Public Health
  • Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology

Featured Programs

North Dakota State University Application Requirements

Freshmen applicants to NDSU must submit their official high school transcripts and ACT or SAT scores along with application and $35 fee. High school coursework must include four years of English, three years each of math, lab science, and social science, and one year of a foreign language. Minimum cutoff scores to qualify for admission are a GPA of 2.75 and an ACT score of 22 or an 1100 SAT score. All graduate applicants need to complete a bachelor’s degree prior to enrolling and must provide undergraduate transcripts, a statement of purpose, and three letters of recommendation along with the graduate application and fee. Some programs have additional requirements like GRE or GMAT scores. Prospective online students must follow the same application procedures as on-campus applicants.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Tuition at NDSU is dependent on state of residency with four different levels. For undergraduates, North Dakota residents pay around $8000 per year, and students from Minnesota are charged about $9000. The next tier includes residents of Montana, South Dakota, and Saskatchewan whose tuition rate is $9500 annually, and finally, all other students can expect to pay the out-of-state rate of almost $12,000. Graduate programs cost $360 per credit hour for in-state students with Minnesota residents paying $457 and other U.S. residents paying $540 per hour. There are additional undergraduate and graduate tuition charges for students in the engineering, architecture and landscape, nursing, business, and pharmacy programs. The university offers a variety of scholarships and grants to students based on academic performance and financial need. In addition, there are a limited number of cultural diversity tuition waivers for students from an ethnic minority group with single parents, Native Americans, and first-generation college students receiving the highest priority. At the graduate level, North Dakota State University has programs like assistantships and fellowships available with individual departments and professors.