Minnesota Private Colleges and Universities

Independent Colleges and Universities in Minnesota

First, let it be said that Minnesota colleges are cold. If you can get past the brutal winters, you are in for a real treat. That is because schools and universities in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" place a premium on education. In Minnesota, college students are often viewed as the state's most valuable resource; a far cry from the early days when fur trading and fishing were the number one candidates.

Minnesota private colleges and universities offer a wide range of education programs with degrees and certificates up to the doctoral level, as well as professional degrees such as law and medicine. These Minnesota private schools are diverse in character, academic emphasis, and origins. Some private colleges or schools have a religious affiliation; others are secular. Private colleges and universities may be profit or non-profit institutions. Typically, Minnesota independent colleges or private schools give weight to personal characteristics and activities in addition to considering GPA and test scores. While many Minnesota private schools are considerably more expensive than comparable state institutions, they also tend to offer more generous financial aid packages. Many students have found the actual out-of-pocket cost to earn a degree from a private college in Minnesota to be less than the cost of the state schools to which they were accepted. On the one hand, public colleges are usually less expensive, particularly for in-state residents. They get most of their money from the state or local government. Check out your state's Guide to Residency. Minnesota private colleges rely on tuition, fees, endowments, and other private sources of funding. On the other hand, Minnesota private colleges are usually smaller and can offer more personalized attention (and some believe, more prestige).

Minnesota College Graduate and Undergraduate Degrees

Minnesota Cities Colleges:

Minnesota Private Colleges and Universities

Minnesota's Private Colleges

The Minnesota Private College Council, Fund and Research Foundation are related non-profit organizations that represent private higher education in Minnesota. Members of the organizations are 17 private, four-year liberal arts colleges. Our mission is to preserve and enhance quality private higher education to serve the education and economic needs of our region while strengthening our cultural and economic fabric.

The organizations share a common goal: to create policy and funding conditions which allow any qualified Minnesota student the opportunity to attend a Minnesota private college. We serve our member colleges through: government relations and public policy development; research and analysis; communications; fundraising partnerships with corporations and foundations; and grant acquisition and administration.

• Adler Graduate School, Hopkins
• Augsburg College, Minneapolis
• Bethany College of Missions, Bloomington
• Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato
• Carleton College, Northfield
• College of Saint Benedict | Saint John's University, Saint Joseph
• College of St. Catherine, Saint Paul
• College of St. Scholastica, The, Duluth
• College of Visual Arts, Saint Paul
• Concordia College, Moorhead
• Crown College, Saint Bonifacius
• Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter
• Hamline University, Saint Paul
• Luther Seminary, Saint Paul
• Macalester College, Saint Paul
• Martin Luther College, New Ulm
• Mayo Graduate School, Rochester
• North Central University, Minneapolis
• Northwestern College, Saint Paul
• Northwestern Health Sciences University, Bloomington
• Oak Hills Christian College, Bemidji
• Saint John Vianney College Seminary, Saint Paul
• Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Winona
• Saint Olaf College, Northfield
• United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton
• University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul
• William Mitchell College of Law, Saint Paul