Top Minnesota Colleges and Universities

From a huge public university like the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities to a small liberal arts college like Macalester, Minnesota offers a great range of options for higher education. The top Minnesota colleges listed below vary greatly in size and mission, so I have simply listed them alphabetically rather than force them into any sort of artificial ranking. The schools were chosen based on factors such as academic reputation, curricular innovations, first-year retention rates, six-year graduation rates, selectivity, financial aid and student engagement. Carleton is the most selective college on the list.

Bethel University

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Enrollment: 4,016 (2,964 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: Comprehensive evangelical Christian private university
Distinctions: Minutes from downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis; high graduation rate; 67 majors to choose from; popular programs in business and nursing; new commons building; good financial aid; NCAA Division III athletics
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Bethel University profile

Carleton College

Location: Northfield, Minnesota
Enrollment: 2,105 (all undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private liberal arts college
Distinctions: Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; 9 to 1 student/faculty ratio; one of the nation's ten best liberal arts colleges; beautiful campus with a 880-acre arboretum; extremely high graduation and retention rates
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Carleton College profile

College of Saint Benedict / Saint John's University

Location: St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota
Enrollment: Saint Benedict: 1,958 (all undergraduate); Saint John's: 1,849 (1,754 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: women's and men's Catholic liberal arts colleges, respectively
Distinctions: The two colleges share a single curriculum; 12 to 1 student/faculty ratio; median class size of 20; NCAA Division III athletics; strong graduation and retention rates; strong job and graduate school placement rates; Saint John's has an impressive 2,700-acre campus
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Saint John's University profile and the College of Saint Benedict profile

College of St. Scholastica

Location: Duluth, Minnesota
Enrollment: 4,351 (2,790 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private Benedictine Catholic university
Distinctions: 14 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 22; campus features attractive stone architecture and a view of Lake Superior; popular programs in business and the health sciences; NCAA Division III athletics
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the College of St. Scholastica profile

Concordia College at Moorhead

Concordia College Moorhead. abbamouse / Flickr

Location: Moorhead, Minnesota
Enrollment: 2,132 (2,114 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Distinctions: 13 to 1 student/faculty ratio; 78 majors and 12 preprofessional programs to choose from; popular biological and health science programs; easily cross-registration program with North Dakota State University and Minnesota State University at Moorhead; NCAA Division III athletics
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Concordia College at Moorhead profile

Gustavus Adolphus College

Location: Saint Peter, Minnesota
Enrollment: 2,250 (all undergraduate)
Type of Institution: private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Distinctions: Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; 11 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 15; students can choose from 71 majors; good financial aid; high graduation and retention rate; NCAA Division III athletics
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Gustavus Adolphus College profile

Hamline University

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Enrollment: 3,852 (2,184 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church
Distinctions: Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; strong undergraduate legal studies program; 14 to 1 student/faculty ratio; good financial aid; NCAA Division III athletics
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Hamline University profile

Macalester College

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Enrollment: 2,146 (all undergraduate)
Type of Institution: liberal arts college
Distinctions: Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; 10 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 17; diverse student population; high retention and graduation rates; one of the country's best liberal arts colleges; NCAA Division III athletics
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Macalester College profile

St. Olaf College

Location: Northfield, Minnesota
Enrollment: 3,040 (all undergraduate)
Type of Institution: private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Distinctions: Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; 12 to 1 student/faculty ratio; featured in Lauren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives; high graduation and retention rates; good financial aid; NCAA Division III athletics
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the St. Olaf College profile

University of Minnesota (Twin Cities)

University of Minnesota Pillsbury Hall. Mulad / Flickr

Location: Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota
Enrollment: 51,579 (34,870 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: large public research university
Distinctions: Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; membership in the Association of American Universities for strong research programs; member of the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference; many strong academic programs, especially in economics, the sciences, and engineering; one of the country's best public universities
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the University of Minnesota profile

University of Minnesota (Morris)

Location: Morris, Minnesota
Enrollment: 1,771 (all undergraduate)
Type of Institution: public liberal arts college
Distinctions: 13 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 16; strong student - faculty interaction; popular programs in business, English and psychology; high rate of graduate school attendance; good financial aid
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the University of Minnesota Morris profile

University of St. Thomas

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Enrollment: 9,920 (6,048 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private Catholic university
Distinctions: 15 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 21; largest private university in Minnesota; member of a consortium with Augsburg, Hamline, Macalester, and St. Catherine; good financial aid
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the University of St. Thomas profile

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Grove, Allen. "Top Minnesota Colleges and Universities." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/top-minnesota-colleges-and-universities-788318. Grove, Allen. (2023, April 5). Top Minnesota Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/top-minnesota-colleges-and-universities-788318 Grove, Allen. "Top Minnesota Colleges and Universities." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/top-minnesota-colleges-and-universities-788318 (accessed May 29, 2025).