Study in Minneapolis, The United States

About Minneapolis

Minneapolis is the largest city in Minnesota, with 435,246 residents in 2025 according to the Minnesota State Demographic Center. Together with neighbouring St. Paul (313,112 residents) it forms the Twin Cities, the state's main urban area, on the banks of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwest.

For students, Minneapolis is above all the home of a very large public research university. It suits those who want a full degree with a wide choice of subjects, and it is also the base of a study abroad programme in Spain run by the same university.

Studying in Minneapolis

Our directory lists three entries in Minneapolis: one university and two study abroad programmes. The University of Minnesota was founded in 1851 near Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi. Its Twin Cities campus, which spans Minneapolis and St. Paul, is Minnesota's only land-grant university and has more than 50,000 students. The U.S. Department of Education's College Navigator counts 56,666 students, 41,303 of them undergraduates, and a student-to-faculty ratio of 17 to 1. The university is one of five in the country with schools of engineering, medicine, law, veterinary medicine and agriculture on a single campus. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and teaching is in English.

The university's Learning Abroad Center organises study abroad for its own and other students. One of its programmes is in Toledo, Spain, the walled city that was home to Roman, Jewish, Visigoth, Moorish and Christian civilisations. Students can go for a semester, an academic year, a May session or a summer session, with courses taught in Spanish and English and housing in a homestay, a residence or an apartment. The fall semester runs from early September to mid-December and the spring term from mid-January to early May. Participants need at least two semesters of university Spanish, and both University of Minnesota students and students from other universities can apply for a scholarship offered with the Fundación Ortega-Marañón, the programme's partner in Toledo.

International degree students in Minneapolis come on an F student visa. With the Form I-20 issued by the university's international student office, they apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate. According to EducationUSA, the academic year usually runs from September to May, and international students may work on campus for up to 20 hours a week in their first year.

Cost of living for students

College Navigator gives the University of Minnesota Twin Cities' tuition and fees for out-of-state undergraduates as $38,362 in 2024-25, and $13,856 for food and housing on campus. International students should check the university's own estimate for the current year.

Public transport is run by Metro Transit, with local and express buses, light rail, bus rapid transit and commuter trains. An adult fare on local buses and METRO lines costs $2 and is valid for two and a half hours; an all-day pass for buses and light rail costs $4.

Getting around and daily life

Buses and light rail link the university with downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. The city's own transport pages present public transit as an affordable and connected way to get around the Twin Cities.

Winters are long and cold. At Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, the 1991-2020 normals of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information give an average temperature of 16.2 °F (about −9 °C) in January and 74.3 °F (about 24 °C) in July, when average daily highs reach 83.4 °F (about 29 °C). Students arriving from warm countries need proper winter clothing.

Frequently asked questions

Which university is in Minneapolis?

Our directory lists the University of Minnesota, a public university founded in 1851 whose Twin Cities campus has more than 50,000 students.

Can I study in Spain through a university in Minneapolis?

Yes. The University of Minnesota's Learning Abroad Center runs a programme in Toledo, Spain, for a semester, a year, a May session or a summer, with courses in Spanish and English.

How cold is Minneapolis in winter?

Very cold: the average January temperature at the airport is 16.2 °F (about −9 °C), according to NOAA's 1991-2020 normals.

How much does a bus or light rail ride cost?

An adult fare on Metro Transit's local buses and METRO lines is $2 for two and a half hours, and an all-day pass costs $4.