Minnesota’s Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship
What are the best colleges and universities in Minnesota if you reward schools for making the best use of their limited resources? Academic Stewardship asks how effectively schools manage their financial and human resources to gain the influence that makes them academically excellent. Schools that are exemplary in Academic Stewardship are doing everything in their power to help students and faculty achieve their full potential.
Colleges and universities in Minnesota deserve to be recognized when they do more with less. It’s impressive when a large wealthy school can spend money lavishly on expensive buildings and programs. But it’s even more impressive when a small school with limited means is able to train and inspire students that the larger wealthier schools tend to ignore.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities reported in late 2021 that almost 75 percent of higher-education professionals at US colleges and universities felt financial constraints prevented their schools from effectively attracting students. Distracted by the size and amenities of larger schools, prospective students tended especially to be overawed by the big research universities.
Minnesota’s smaller colleges, especially its liberal arts colleges, need effective ways of communicating their value to a world that celebrates “bigger is better” and “you need the best.” Unfortunately, most college ranking companies, such as U.S. News & World Report, define “best” in a way that devalues schools with smaller budgets and fewer students even when these schools do remarkable work in advancing their students’ education. By and large, college rankings penalize schools that serve underserved populations.
Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell, who for years now has criticized conventional college rankings for misrepresenting what’s good and valuable in education, we decided to construct a new ranking metric that highlights those schools that do more with less. That metric—called the Academic Stewardship metric—takes away both the size and the wealth advantage of schools, and focuses instead on how well schools use the resources available to them to advance the education of their students.
How We Measure the Academic Stewardship of Minnesota’s Colleges and Universities
As a metric, Academic Stewardship is defined by a precise mathematical formula, which can be found in our Academic Stewardship white paper. Measuring the Academic Stewardship of Minnesota’s colleges requires measuring two forms of stewardship: 1) Stewardship of financial resources (using the money they have responsibility without waste) and 2) Stewardship of human resources (doing their best to help students, faculty, and administration to flourish). Together, these two types of stewardship form what we call Academic Stewardship. If you want to learn more about the factors involved in Academic Stewardship, click the more button below.
- Stewardship of financial resources: To determine a school’s stewardship of financial resources, we factored in its undergraduate size, budget, endowments and reserves, as well as tuition and fees. All these data are available from the National Center for Educational Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. In addition, we factored in a school’s financial responsibility as gauged by the Federal Student Aid Office at the US Department of Education through its financial responsibility composite scores.
- Stewardship of human resources: To determine a school’s stewardship of human resources, we used our InfluenceRanking engine to track the influence of the school’s faculty and alumni but also to control for size of the undergraduate student body. We’ve found that measuring a school’s influence based on the contributions of faculty and alumni make in their fields of study but then also controlling for size of the undergraduate population is the single best indicator of academic excellence. We call this Concentrated Influence. Schools that rank highly in Concentrated Influence are schools that, given their available human resources, invest heavily in their students and faculty, and the results are demonstrable.
- We measure the influence of colleges and universities based on the publications and citations of the schools’ faculty and alumni who are teaching in and working in areas related to their degrees. To do this, we take publicly available databases, such as Semantic Scholar, Crossref, and Wikipedia and use these to measure the influence of academics in their disciplines. Having measured the influence of persons, we then identify the schools that they’re affiliated with, adding up the influence scores of the faculty and alumni to measure the influence of the schools and their disciplinary programs. Finally, we control these influence scores by size of undergraduate student body so that schools do not score high in influence simply because of a size advantage. We lay out these methodological considerations on our methodology page.
- Academic Stewardship: Having measured a school’s stewardship of financial and human resources in the two previous points, we now divide the second measure by the first to define the Academic Stewardship metric. This metric spotlights smaller schools, with fewer financial resources and people, that invest wisely and do proportionately better in building influence than large wealthy schools. Many of these smaller, less wealthy schools are incentivized to make better use of their resources but would never get recognized in conventional school rankings, which directly or indirectly put a premium on the wealth of schools.
Academic Stewardship as so defined is connected to keeping tuition and other costs down, but it should not be confused with affordability or frugality. The schools that this metric ranks as exemplary academic stewards tend to be all over the map when it comes to tuition and other costs. At issue is the influence of schools given the financial and human resources they have on hand. If a school is going to charge more for tuition, then that needs to be reflected in the school having proportionately greater influence.
Why Academic Stewardship Matters to Students and Their Families
The benefits of attending a school with strong academic stewardship include:
- A clear reason for why students are at the school in the first place. Without the distraction of amenities and luxuries, these schools are at once unpretentious but also passionately committed to their educational mission. The schools in this ranking are financially efficient and academically rigorous. By avoiding frills, these schools take the most direct path to accomplishing their mission of educating students.
- Valuing character over prestige and self-indulgence. A school that’s a good steward of its resources doesn’t instill shame in its students over what they are missing (such as elite cuisine) but rather pride in what they have and making the most of it. These schools exhibit a culture of good stewardship, which tends to build good character in the students that attend these schools.
- Avoiding the spoiled-student syndrome. It’s easy to think that offering students endless options and opportunities will enrich their time at school in every way. But spoiling people—whether in business, sports, or academics—has the opposite effect, causing people to take their advantages for granted and in the end achieving less than they might otherwise, a point well-documented in Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code. Schools exhibiting academic stewardship avoid this pitfall.
- The best schools vs. the schools that help students to be their best. Students at schools demonstrating outstanding academic stewardship aren’t so much concerned about being at the “best” school, whatever that may mean, as about being at a school that helps them to be their best. These schools pay attention to their students, hoping that any glory goes to them rather than to the school. Small schools, and especially liberal arts colleges, help themselves by communicating this advantage to prospective students.
- Emphasizing development over talent and achievement. Schools like Harvard and Stanford have their pick of academic talent, and their students have a long record of achievement even before they apply to such elite schools. But if a school doesn’t have the resources of a Harvard or Stanford, how does it build a great team of students? In that case, it must focus on student development. Colleges exemplifying academic stewardship emphasize student growth and development, ensuring that the schools are doing everything in their power to help students reach their full potential and thereby become their best selves.
Minnesota’s Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship
- #8 50 Best Christian Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities 2024 #1 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #2 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #2 Best Private Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
- #2 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024
- #3 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
- #3 Best Colleges in Minnesota 2024
- #9 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Education Degrees
- #10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Communications Degree
- #16 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Earth Sciences Degree
- #20 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Anthropology Degrees
- #21 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Sociology Degrees
- #21 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Philosophy Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Political Science Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Religious Studies Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Math Degrees
Tuition + fees
$63K
Acceptance
28%
Graduation
88%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1420/32
Career Outlook for degree at Macalester College
Cost of Degree: $62,500Expenses: $16,400Starting Salary: $55,800Cost Recoup Time: 20 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Macalester College known for?
Macalester College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Anthropology
- Political Science
- Literature
- Mathematics
- Economics
- Sociology
- Philosophy
- Biology
- Earth Sciences
- Communications
Most Influential Alumni
- #1 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #1 Best Private Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #1 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #2 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
Other Rankings
- #2 Best Colleges in Minnesota 2024
- #13 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Earth Sciences Degree
- #14 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Degrees
- #16 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Religious Studies Degrees
- #18 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Political Science Degrees
- #19 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Anthropology Degrees
- #20 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for a Biology Degree
- #22 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for History Degrees
- #22 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Chemistry Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Sociology Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Physics Degrees
- #23 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Economics Degree
- #25 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Philosophy Degrees
Tuition + fees
$63K
Acceptance
17%
Graduation
91%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1490/33
Career Outlook for degree at Carleton College
Cost of Degree: $62,634Expenses: $18,716Starting Salary: $67,900Cost Recoup Time: 18 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Carleton College known for?
Carleton College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Economics
- Earth Sciences
- Anthropology
- Political Science
- Literature
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Biology
- Philosophy
- Chemistry
Most Influential Alumni
- #25 50 Best Christian Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities 2024 #5 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #5 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #6 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
76%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Gustavus Adolphus College
Cost of Degree: $53,030Expenses: $13,090Starting Salary: $58,900Cost Recoup Time: 17 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Gustavus Adolphus College known for?
Gustavus Adolphus College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Economics
- Literature
- Sociology
- History
- Physics
- Philosophy
- Religious Studies
- Political Science
- Communications
- Chemistry
Most Influential Alumni
- #3 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #3 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #4 Best Grad Schools in Minnesota 2024 #4 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$47K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
69%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1144/23
Career Outlook for degree at Hamline University
Cost of Degree: $46,616Expenses: $13,133Starting Salary: $55,500Cost Recoup Time: 17 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Hamline University known for?
Hamline University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #8 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #9 Best Private Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #9 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Tuition + fees
$52K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
78%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1150/23
Career Outlook for degree at College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University
Cost of Degree: $52,108Expenses: $14,822Starting Salary: $57,000Cost Recoup Time: 18 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University known for?
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Sociology
- Economics
- Mathematics
- Literature
- History
- Political Science
- Education
- Communications
- Biology
- Philosophy
Most Influential Alumni
- #4 Best Public Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #5 Most Affordable Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #6 Best Grad Schools in Minnesota 2024 #8 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
55%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/21
Career Outlook for degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead
Cost of Degree: $10,236Expenses: $14,828Starting Salary: $44,900Cost Recoup Time: 11 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Minnesota State University Moorhead known for?
Minnesota State University Moorhead’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Sociology
- Communications
- Nursing
- Computer Science
- Philosophy
- Anthropology
- Psychology
- Political Science
- Education
- Literature
Most Influential Alumni
- #7 50 Best Christian Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities 2024 #4 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024 #4 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #4 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
56%
Graduation
85%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1390/30
Career Outlook for degree at St. Olaf College
Cost of Degree: $54,650Expenses: $14,350Starting Salary: $57,300Cost Recoup Time: 18 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is St. Olaf College known for?
St. Olaf College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #5 Best Online Colleges for Students Who Work Part-Time #7 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #7 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #8 Best Private Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
56%
Student body
4K
Career Outlook for degree at Augsburg University
Cost of Degree: $42,064Expenses: $15,809Starting Salary: $53,200Cost Recoup Time: 17 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Augsburg University known for?
Augsburg University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Chemistry
- Literature
- Social Work
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Biology
- Political Science
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Communications
Most Influential Alumni
- #3 Best Research Universities in Minnesota 2024 #9 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #10 Best Private Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #10 Best Small Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
64%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1302/22
Career Outlook for degree at St. Catherine University
Cost of Degree: $37,494Expenses: $13,580Starting Salary: $51,100Cost Recoup Time: 16 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is St. Catherine University known for?
St. Catherine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #2 Most Affordable Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #2 Best Grad Schools in Minnesota 2024 #2 Best Public Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #3 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
62%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/25
Career Outlook for degree at University of Minnesota Duluth
Cost of Degree: $14,126Expenses: $13,082Starting Salary: $56,300Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Minnesota Duluth known for?
University of Minnesota Duluth’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #5 Best Public Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #7 Most Affordable Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #7 Best Grad Schools in Minnesota 2024 #9 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
44%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1113/21
Career Outlook for degree at St. Cloud State University
Cost of Degree: $10,117Expenses: $13,950Starting Salary: $48,600Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is St. Cloud State University known for?
St. Cloud State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Social Work
- Criminal Justice
- Earth Sciences
- Mathematics
- Biology
- Anthropology
- Economics
- Communications
- Education
- Sociology
Most Influential Alumni
- #2 Best Christian Colleges Minnesota 2024 #2 Best Research Universities in Minnesota 2024 #3 Best Grad Schools in Minnesota 2024 #3 Best Private Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$50K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
80%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1295/26
Career Outlook for degree at University of St. Thomas
Cost of Degree: $50,366Expenses: $16,787Starting Salary: $62,900Cost Recoup Time: 17 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of St. Thomas known for?
University of St. Thomas ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Religious Studies
- Philosophy
- Economics
- Social Work
- Computer Science
- Law
- Political Science
- Business
- Sociology
- History
Most Influential Alumni
- #3 Best Public Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #4 Most Affordable Colleges in Minnesota 2024 #5 Best Grad Schools in Minnesota 2024 #7 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
53%
Student body
18K
Career Outlook for degree at Minnesota State University, Mankato
Cost of Degree: $9,444Expenses: $13,790Starting Salary: $48,400Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Minnesota State University, Mankato known for?
Minnesota State University, Mankato’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #6 Most Affordable Colleges and Universities in the U.S. 2024 #8 50 Best Public Grad Schools 2024 #12 50 Best Public Colleges and Universities Ranked for Students in 2024 #18 Best Universities in the US Ranked for Prospective Students in 2024
Other Rankings
- #1 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
- #1 Most Affordable Colleges in Minnesota 2024
- #1 Best Research Universities in Minnesota 2024
- #1 Best Colleges in Minnesota 2024
- #1 Best Grad Schools in Minnesota 2024
- #1 Best Public Colleges in Minnesota 2024
- #1 Best Online Master's Programs in Minnesota 2024
- #1 10 Best Online Master's of Music Education Degree Programs
- #1 Best Online MBA Programs in Minnesota
- #1 Top 20 Best Online MBA Programs that Can Be Completed in One Year 2024
- #1 Best Online Colleges in Minnesota 2024
- #1 Best Online Bachelor's of Cybersecurity Degree Programs in Minnesota
- #3 Top 50 Best No GRE Online PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
- #4 Top 10 Best Online Counseling PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
- #4 Most Affordable Online Computer Science PhDs (Doctorates) 2024
- #5 Top 8 Best Online Public Health PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
- #8 Top 15 Most Affordable Online Economics PhD Programs (Doctorates) 2024
- #11 Best Online Bachelor's in Construction Management Degree Programs
- #7 Top 20 Best Business Schools for MBAs Ranked for Students
- #25 The Best Traditional MBA Programs Ranked for Students in 2024
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
84%
Student body
61K
Median SAT/ACT
1395/29
Career Outlook for degree at University of Minnesota
Cost of Degree: $15,859Expenses: $15,240Starting Salary: $61,200Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Minnesota known for?
University of Minnesota’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$25K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
47%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Dunwoody College of Technology
Cost of Degree: $24,611Expenses: $18,286Starting Salary: $53,600Cost Recoup Time: 14 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Dunwoody College of Technology known for?
Dunwoody College of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Minnesota’s Best Colleges in Your Area of Interest
Colleges and Universities in Minnesota
One of largest public higher education institutes in the country, the University of Minnesota has main campuses in both of the Twin Cities, Saint Paul and Minneapolis. This school costs about $15,000 in tuition, and provides its students with competitive programs in fields like nursing, education, economics, and psychology. And the options don’t stop there. There are more than 20 schools in the state with religious affiliations, including larger schools like the University of St. Thomas, which campuses in both Twin Cities, and smaller schools like Oak Hills Christian College in Bemidji.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
For students striving to keep costs low in a smaller school environment, Southwest Minnesota State University offers tuition below the national average and serves about 3,500 students. Additionally, those on track to become a teacher or health care provider may be eligible for one of Minnesota’s loan forgiveness programs after graduation. Minnesota also boasts a large network of private colleges, two of which, Walden University and Capella University, primarily cater to online students.
Ever heard the phrase, There’s an app for that?
Well, in Minnesota they say something similar, There’s a festival for that.
This fun state doesn’t hold back when it comes to celebrating. With events like the Grumpy Old Men Festival, World Festival, and the Perham Turtle Fest, students earning their degrees at one of Minnesota’s more than 70 colleges won’t miss out on a good time.
Discover some of Minnesota’s top programs and learn how you can earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree while cashing in on some of this state’s unique experiences.
What are Minnesota’s Colleges & Universities?
- 6 Research Universities
- 24 Liberal Arts Colleges & Universities
- 12 Graduate Schools
- 11 Public Colleges & Universities
- 21 Private Colleges & Universities
- 17 Christian Colleges & Universities
- 22 Small Colleges & Universities (fewer than 5,000 students)
- 13 Affordable Colleges (below $20,000/year)
- 30 Community Colleges
- Best Online Colleges