General Information of Interest

The University

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The University of Minnesota is one of America's major research universities. It regularly ranks among the top ten in the United States in receipt of federal grants for research and development, and its Graduate School was recently ranked among the six best in American public universities .

Established in 1869, the University of Minnesota is a land-grant institution that comprises a network of five campuses throughout the state -- in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses), Duluth, Morris, and Crookston -- and numerous research stations.

The Twin Cities campus, by far the largest in the University system, is really two campuses -- one in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul.

The Minneapolis campus is further divided by the Mississippi River into East and West bank, each with a distinctive character. On the East Bank are the more traditional, older buildings and grassy, tree-lined central mall, the College of Pharmacy, the Institute of Technology the health sciences complex and the biomedical library. The West Bank features newer University buildings, housing the Law School, the School of Music, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Also on the West Bank are the main library, the Carlson School of Management, and the studio arts and theater buildings.

The St. Paul campus is situated in a pleasant residential neighborhood. Located here are the Colleges of Agriculture, Biological Sciences, Forestry, Home Economics, and Veterinary Medicine. Much of the University's married student housing is located near the St. Paul campus.

Regular Campus Connector buses run between the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses have athletic facilities open to students for indoor and outdoor sports -- swimming, tennis, golf, softball, soccer, basketball, handball and squash. The University golf course is adjacent to the St. Paul campus.

The Academic Health Center

Founding legislation for the University of Minnesota medicine and science among five original academic disciplines. Over the past century and a half, medicine and science evolved into the Academic Health Center, one of the most comprehensive health education and research centers in the United States.

It is comprised of seven schools and colleges of medicine, public health, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine as well as allied health programs in physical therapy; occupational therapy, medical technology, health information science, and mortuary science, and interdisciplinary efforts, such as the Masonic Cancer Center and the Biomedical Engineering Institute.

The schools of the Academic Health Center educate 70 percent of Minnesota's health care professionals. Each year, 5,000 students are enrolled in professional and graduate programs.

The Twin Cities

Minneapolis and St. Paul -- known as the Twin Cities -- are growing centers of commerce and industry with major corporate headquarters in electronics, computers, food processing and milling, retailing, medicine, transportation, and forest products industries.

The Twin Cities offer numerous entertainment and cultural activities. In Minneapolis, the nationally renowned Guthrie Theater presents classics, musicals, drama, and comedy. The theater district near the University's Minneapolis campus alone boasts seven theaters, four of them on campus. Moviegoers can find much variety -- from current to classic to foreign films. Musical activity flourishes, led by the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Opera Company. The Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts house enjoyable collections and attract many of the nation's finest exhibitions. Other metropolitan highlights include touring Broadway musicals, high-quality local and national dance performances, the Science Museum of Minnesota (with its Omnitheater), historic Fort Snelling, the Minnesota Zoo, and the Mall of America.

For major league sports fans, Minnesota teams include the Twins (baseball), Vikings (football), Timberwolves (basketball), and the Wild (hockey) plus Big Ten intercollegiate competition.

Minnesota

Sharing its northern border with Canada, Minnesota is a patchwork of lakes andrivers, forests and croplands. Minnesota's varied terrain ranges from rich prairie farmland in the south to rugged forests in the north. There are some 900 lakes, 500 parks, and three great rivers -- the Mississippi, the Minnesota, and the St. Croix -- in the eight-county metropolitan area. Popular diversions from study and research in the summer include swimming, canoeing, sailing, water skiing, hiking, and cycling. Winter offers cross-country skiing, skating, ice fishing, snowshoeing, and winter camping.

Minnesota's changes of seasons are enjoyed by natives and newcomers alike. Summer is warm and pleasant with lots of sunshine; autumn is cool and breathtakingly colorful; winter brings a beautiful white crispness; spring returns with mild temperatures and welcome green landscapes.