Is a research university right for me?–

Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students. Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines. Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you? If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel. Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well. Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.

Is an online college right for me?–

Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available. Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degrees you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no distinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online. Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whether you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college. Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands. Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain. Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands of balancing work and life, or because the online college affords them the chance to attend a better school without moving. If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are asynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc. The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors. Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions. If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024

Q: Is a liberal arts college right for me?–

Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students. Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom). Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships and make walks across campus more fun. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers. Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.

Badge for BEST IN MINNESOTA LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

By Dr. James Barham

Published: Apr 13, 2021
Updated: Oct 26, 2023

Liberal arts colleges are a great option for students seeking a well-rounded education in an intimate campus setting. The best liberal arts colleges in Minnesota offer a diverse selection of degree programs with opportunities for a highly individualized educational experience.

10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota

Carleton College
Macalester College
University of Minnesota Duluth
Hamline University
St. Olaf College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University Moorhead
St. Cloud State University
Concordia College

Carleton College
St. Olaf College
Macalester College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamline University
University of Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University Moorhead
St. Cloud State University
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University

Dunwoody College of Technology 98%
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota 97%
St. Cloud State University 95%
University of Northwestern – St. Paul 93%
Southwest Minnesota State University 92%
North Central University 91%
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University 88%
University of Minnesota Duluth 81%
Hamline University 81%
University of Minnesota Morris 78%

Minnesota State University, Mankato 21 to 1
Minnesota State University Moorhead 17 to 1
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota 17 to 1
University of Minnesota Crookston 17 to 1
Crown College 17 to 1
University of Minnesota Duluth 16 to 1
St. Cloud State University 16 to 1
Winona State University 16 to 1
Bemidji State University 16 to 1
Southwest Minnesota State University 15 to 1

Carleton College $62,634
Macalester College $62,500
St. Olaf College $54,650
Gustavus Adolphus College $53,030
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University $52,108
Hamline University $46,616
Augsburg University $42,074
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota $41,150
University of Northwestern – St. Paul $35,340
Crown College $29,230

University of Minnesota Duluth $18,468
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University $14,910
Augsburg University $13,732
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota $11,835
Crown College $10,620
Hamline University $10,321
Minnesota State University Moorhead $10,292
North Central University $10,260
Bethany Lutheran College $9,900
Concordia College $9,638

Crown College
Concordia University, St. Paul
Dunwoody College of Technology
Bethany Lutheran College
North Central University
University of Northwestern – St. Paul
Southwest Minnesota State University
University of Minnesota Crookston
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Bemidji State University

Crown College
Bethany Lutheran College
Dunwoody College of Technology
Concordia University, St. Paul
North Central University
Southwest Minnesota State University
University of Minnesota Crookston
Concordia College
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
University of Northwestern – St. Paul

Carleton College 17%
Macalester College 28%
St. Olaf College 56%
Minnesota State University Moorhead 57%
University of Minnesota Crookston 57%
Bethany Lutheran College 58%
Concordia College 66%
Crown College 67%
Concordia University, St. Paul 69%
Minnesota State University, Mankato 71%

Carleton College 8 to 1
University of Minnesota Morris 9 to 1
Macalester College 10 to 1
Gustavus Adolphus College 11 to 1
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University 11 to 1
North Central University 11 to 1
St. Olaf College 12 to 1
Concordia College 12 to 1
Bethany Lutheran College 12 to 1
Dunwoody College of Technology 12 to 1

Minnesota State University, Mankato $8,356
Winona State University $8,388
St. Cloud State University $8,811
Minnesota State University Moorhead $8,838
Southwest Minnesota State University $10,122
Bemidji State University $10,130
University of Minnesota Duluth $12,638
University of Minnesota Morris $12,804
University of Minnesota Crookston $13,010
Concordia University, St. Paul $24,400

Winona State University $8,320
Concordia University, St. Paul $8,550
Southwest Minnesota State University $8,748
Minnesota State University, Mankato $8,836
Bemidji State University $8,909
St. Cloud State University $9,127
University of Northwestern – St. Paul $9,360
Concordia College $9,638
Bethany Lutheran College $9,900
North Central University $10,260

Table of Contents

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?

Minnesota’s Best Overall

How do we determine Minnesota's best colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

A liberal arts college is a school that puts a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. We’ve identified 24 liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. To be ranked among the best liberal arts colleges in Minnesota, schools must fully accredited institutions.

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2023

Build your own college rankings

Minnesota’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Your Area of Interest

Frequently Asked Questions About Research Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Online Colleges

In pursuing a bachelor’s degree, you will need to choose between three kinds of schools: research universities, liberal arts colleges, and online colleges.

Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students.

Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines.

Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you? If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel.

Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well.
Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.

Learn more about research universities by reading about the best research universities in the US.

Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree.

Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students.

Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom).

Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships and make walks across campus more fun. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers.

Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.

Learn more about liberal arts colleges by reading about the best liberal arts colleges in the US.

Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available.

Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degrees you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no distinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online.

Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whether you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college.

Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands.

Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain.

Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands of balancing work and life, or because the online college affords them the chance to attend a better school without moving.

If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are asynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc.

The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors.

Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions.

If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.

2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2024 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2023. That’s because we took a fundamentally different approach. For 2024 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

Check out our directory of liberal arts colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top liberal arts schools in every state.

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2024

10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota

Colleges and Universities in Minnesota

What are Minnesota’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Minnesota 2023

Career Outlook for degree at Carleton College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Macalester College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at University of Minnesota Duluth

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Hamline University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at St. Olaf College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Gustavus Adolphus College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at St. Cloud State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Concordia College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Augsburg University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at University of Minnesota Morris

Career Outlook for degree at College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Winona State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Bemidji State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at University of Minnesota Crookston

Career Outlook for degree at Southwest Minnesota State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at University of Northwestern – St. Paul

Career Outlook for degree at North Central University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Bethany Lutheran College

Career Outlook for degree at Dunwoody College of Technology

Career Outlook for degree at Concordia University, St. Paul

Career Outlook for degree at Crown College

Minnesota’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Your Area of Interest