From its founding in 1868 as Mankato Normal School, serving 27 students, we've been an institution where big ideas meet real-world thinking.
In 1921, the school became Mankato State Teachers College and began offering two- and three-year degrees. In 1939, the first four-year degrees were awarded. The first master's degrees were awarded in 1954, and the first doctorates were awarded in 2009.
By 1956, enrollment exceeded 3,000. The school became Mankato State College in 1957, with enrollment of 7,000; Mankato State University in 1975, with enrollment of 14,000; and Minnesota State University, Mankato in 1999. Dr. Richard Davenport became the twelfth president of the University on July 1, 2002. Today, our faculty, students and staff are devoted to solving problems, finding solutions and making life better for people throughout our state, our region and our global society.
The Place
- Approximately 85 miles southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota State Mankato sits atop 303 acres overlooking the Minnesota River Valley; Greater Mankato has a population of nearly 50,000.
- Minnesota State Mankato at 7700 France Avenue in Edina serves students in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area with classes in more than 15 areas of study, including graduate education in business, educational leadership and nursing.
- Minnesota State Mankato adds $377.13 million annually to the Mankato economy (2007 Economic Impact Study by Wilder Research, St. Paul).
The People
- More than 15,000 students including nearly 600 international students from 75 countries.
- Approximately 1,800 faculty and staff, including more than 530 teaching faculty, 80 percent with terminal degrees.
- More than 1,000 students of color, a diverse faculty and staff and an institutional commitment to welcoming underrepresented populations.
- More than 105,000 alumni worldwide.
- University Leadership:
The Programs
- More than 150 undergraduate programs of study, including 16 pre-professional, 44 undergraduate and graduate certificate, one associate and 134 bachelor's degree programs; and more than 70 graduate programs including master's, specialist and doctoral programs. These programs are offered through six academic colleges: Allied Health and Nursing; Arts and Humanities; Business; Education; Science, Engineering and Technology; and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Several of the programs, or portions of them, are also offered through various College of Extended Learning venues, including the 7700 France facility in Edina.
- Academic quality as recognized by 26 national accrediting agencies including the North Central Association of Colleges and AACSB International (MBA program).
- One of 11 U.S. universities to receive Campus Technology magazine's 2009 Campus Technology Innovator award.
- Applied research opportunities through the Organizational Effectiveness Group; Center on Aging; Center for Continuous Learning; Center for School-University Partnerships; Force Science Research Center; International Renewable Energy Technology Institute; Kessel Institute for the Study of Peace and Change; Minnesota Center for Automotive Research; Minnesota Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence; Minnesota Center for Transportation Research; Minnesota Modeling and Simulation Center; Minnesota Rapid Prototyping & Production Center; Space Image Processing Center; Strategic Business, Education and Regional Partnerships; the annual Undergraduate and Graduate Research Conferences; and the Water Resources Center.
- Other creative on-site learning opportunities through partnerships with Public Achievement and Dakota Meadows Middle School, the Department of Trade and Economic Development and Condux/MICO, Healthcare Education Industry Partnership, Mayo Clinic, Committee Against Domestic Violence, SpeechGear computerized voice recognition, and the Urban and Regional Studies Institute; competitive student teams including Forensics, Clean Snowmobile, and Formula SAE Collegiate Design; and professional-level student involvement in the award-winning EMuseum and Weather Analysis Laboratory.
- Opportunities for global learning through international partnerships with universities, businesses and organizations; and international lectures and cultural events including the annual International Festival and annual Asian-Pacific American, Fagin Pan-African Student Leadership, Native Nations, and Chicano-Latino conferences.
- Four of the Minnesota Department of Education's TRIO programs (Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Talent Search and McNair Achievement) serving both underrepresented pre-college and college students.
- NCAA Division I WCHA men's and women's hockey; NCAA Division II men's baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, track, and wrestling; and NCAA Division II women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, and volleyball, all serving more than 600 student athletes.
- Finished in 13th place nationally in the 2010-11 NACDA Directors' Cup.
- Finished in second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/U.S. Bank All-Sports Award in 2010-11.
- A vibrant campus life with more than 200 academic student groups, intramural sports, leadership and religious organizations, honorary and professional fraternities and sororities, and special interest groups; a nationally recognized service-learning program with more than 2,000 students participating; a Women's Center; and an LGBT Center that helped earn Minnesota State Mankato's status as one of the 100 Best Campuses for LGBT students by The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students.
- Strong ties to alumni through the online community, the monthly e-newsletter the Alumni Reporter, the print and online editions of TODAY magazine and reunions, Homecoming and other gatherings near and far.
The Price
- Annual budget: $240 million.
- Annual tuition and fees: $6,429 (undergraduate in-state).
- $113.5 million in scholarships, grants, work-study, and other support awarded annually to more than 13,743 students.
- $15.8 million in federal grants, $7 million in state grants, $8.3 million in institutional grants/scholarships.
- $2.5 million in non-institutional scholarships/grants, and $2 million in third party funding (employer-paid tuition, etc.).
- $64 million in federal loans, $3.2 million in state loans, $10.8 million in private loans, and $1.9 million in federal and state work-study.
