Degree Programs Available at the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota appears in our ranking of 50 Great College Gymnasiums and Recreation Centers.
The University of Minnesota offers more than 120 majors and minors for undergrads. It encourages students to pick minors that go along with their majors and will help them in their careers. One of the popular majors is in accounting, which is a program available from the Carlson School of Management. Over the course of four years, students learn accounting practices and principles and can easily transition to a graduate accounting program. Human resource development, entrepreneurial management, and public and nonprofit management are some related majors.
One of the only retail merchandising programs available in Minnesota is available from the university. It teaches students how to think creatively about issues, create attractive displays and order merchandise for retailers. The program includes Retail Buying, Fashion, Ethics and Consumption, Creative Leadership in Retailing and Introduction to Retail Merchandising. Many of the students in this program choose a minor in fashion design. In the agricultural education program, students can do a 12-week internship and get a Minnesota teaching license. Through classes such as Agricultural Education: Methods of Teaching and Livestock and Carcass Evaluation students learn how to teach others between the fifth and 12th grades.
At the graduate and doctoral levels, students can study art history. They can work with the University of Minnesota to pick a focus area and study contemporary art, photography or different eras or methods of art. The veterinary medicine program includes courses on animal nutrition, genetics, and behaviors. There is also a Master of Arts in Sports Management program, which is available on-campus. It allows students to do a thesis and pass a comprehensive oral exam or take more classes and complete the exam without doing a thesis. Those classes include Sport Finance, Youth Sport Science, Readings in Kinesiology and Issues in the Sports Industry.
About the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota is a large public university located in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Established in 1851, it is the oldest university system in Minnesota and consists of multiple campuses located across the state. There is one campus in Minneapolis and a second campus in the Falcon Heights area, which is close to St. Paul and only three miles from the other campus. The university offers service between those campuses for students, though they can also use public transportation. Some of the names used by the university include the U, UMN and Minnesota, which distinguishes it from other campuses in the system. Ranked as one of the nation’s top colleges by Washington Monthly, ARWU, and Forbes, the U also ranks among the best schools across the globe. The U is home to top programs in education, public health, psychology, biology, and health care management.
University of Minnesota Accreditation Details
The U has the regional accreditation that lets students transfer credits when they take college classes or earn those credits in high school. That accreditation comes from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and gives students access to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is what lets them get financial aid. Among the many programs offered by UMN that have accreditation include those in dietetics, marriage and family therapy, legal studies, public health, music, and physical therapy.
University of Minnesota Application Requirements
Prospective freshmen applying to Minnesota can view an online checklist to make sure that they submit all required documents. The early action deadline of November first allows students to get a decision by the end of January. Students who apply by the regular application deadline of January first will get a response by the end of March. Those placed on the waitlist will get a final decision from the university by the middle of April. Minnesota allows students to use the Golden Gopher Application on its website, but they can also use the Coalition Application or the Common Application. All applications charge a $55 fee. Students can report their ACT/SAT scores and high school grades on any of these applications. They may need to submit official copies of those records later.
UMN offers an online application for graduate students too and also charges a fee. Students can submit this application and indicate which program interests them on it. They will need to make sure that they meet the requirements for admission, including a high college grade point average and a bachelor’s degree in a similar field. Most programs ask for a GRE score but will accept a score from an equivalent graduate exam. Students may need to submit a personal statement that lists their career goals and reasons for choosing the program, several letters of recommendation, a resume and/or a portfolio that shows some of the work they did in an undergraduate degree program.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Though the U offers an in-state tuition rate for Minnesota residents, it also has a reciprocity agreement that allows students from Manitoba, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin to qualify for the same rate. These students pay $15,236 per year. All other nonresidents pay $33,534 per year. To keep costs down, the university only charges students for the first 13 credits of classes that they take. If they take more than that amount, they will not face any other fees or costs. The basic room and board plans available for undergrads give them a double room and 14 meals a week and cost $10,358 per year. Graduate students pay the rates established by their programs, which can range from around $13,000 a year to more than $30,000 a year. The university charges a nonresident rate for graduate students too.
The financial aid available from UMN varies based on how many courses a student takes and whether that student is in a graduate or an undergraduate program. Work-study opportunities allow graduate students to work as assistants and provide undergrads with different positions on the campus. The university awards scholarships to students based on their grades, test scores, courses taken and class ranking. Most scholarships go to students who apply by the first deadline, but some programs will award funds to those who apply later. Students can renew their scholarships if they meet the basic requirements each year and apply for new scholarships too. The other financial aid available from the University of Minnesota includes grants and different government loans.