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Faculty and staff at St. Cloud State are preparing graduates for work and life in the 21st century.

Minnesota's second-largest university, with more than 17,200 students, is located about an hour northwest of Minneapolis, along the oak-crowned west bank of the Mississippi River.

The 100-acre campus is between downtown St. Cloud and the Beaver Islands, a group of more than 30 islands that form a natural maze for a two-mile stretch of the river.   

St. Cloud State’s undergraduate programs hold nearly every available national accreditation. Students choose from more than 200 majors, minors and pre-professional programs, including regional rarities such meteorology and geographic information systems.

The School of Graduate Studies offers more than 60 programs, including doctoral degrees in Higher Education Administration and Educational Administration and Leadership, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the acclaimed Herberger Business School.

Master's degrees in regulatory affairs and services and applied clinical research tap a growing demand for professionals who can lead medical device companies through Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and international regulatory processes. Minnesota is home to nearly 600 FDA-approved medical device manufacturers.

Founded in 1869 as a state normal school, St. Cloud State has evolved into a comprehensive university with all the institutions that make college life exciting: events and activities, art galleries, theatre, about 250 clubs and organizations, NCAA athletics, club sports, intramurals, indoor recreation opportunities and outdoor pursuits. The campus nerve center is our state-of-the-art library.

Four Pillars

Key elements of a St. Cloud State education are:

Community Engagement – we must be what we teach in order to provide our students role models and real-life in action examples of what they are leaning in the classroom

Active Learning – we must provide opportunities to put classroom learning into action in order to provide our students with practical experience and reinforcement of their learning

Sustainability in its broadest sense – we must tend to our community as well as the physical environment so that our students can have real opportunities to succeed

Globalization – we must be attentive to a changing world and agile in our adaptation to new developments in order to ensure that our students are prepared for a world in which nothing is static and knowledge rapidly becomes obsolete

St. Cloud State by the Numbers

• Fall 2011 enrollment was 17,231, including 1,695 graduate students.
• The Bridges is a scenic 2.72-mile exercise route.
• Hundreds of courses offered online each semester.
• More than 3,200 bachelor's degrees were conferred during 2010-11.
• Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education has 300 survivor videos.
• Earl H. Potter III is the school’s 22nd president.
• The University’s first building was purchased in 1869 for $3,000.
• National Hockey Center's Section 108 hosts college hockey's fiercest fans.
• Noted economists have spoken at the Winter Institute for nearly 50 years.