University of Minnesota-Duluth

Public · Moderately Selective · MN

Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri (CC BY 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationMN · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads7,336

Student:faculty16:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate47.2%

6-yr grad rate64.7%

Drop-out rate18.9%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$15k

Out-of-state tuition$20k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity16.5%

Gender diversity48.8%

International1.2%

Identity—

Overview

Regional campus of the University of Minnesota system, set on a hillside above Lake Superior in Duluth. UMD operates with meaningfully more independence and its own identity than a typical branch campus, offering a full undergraduate experience distinct from the Twin Cities flagship. Its lakeside location shapes both its academic emphases and its student culture, drawing students from across the Upper Midwest who want a mid-sized public university experience.

Academics

Strengths include natural sciences tied to freshwater research through the Large Lakes Observatory, engineering, and pharmacy offered through the broader UMN system, along with well-established education and business programs. Because UMD sits at a scale between a small college and a major flagship, class sizes and student-faculty interaction tend to feel more personal than at the Twin Cities campus while still supporting real laboratory and research opportunities in the sciences.

Campus & student life

Lake Superior is inseparable from daily life — the Large Lakes Observatory studies it directly, and the surrounding North Shore shapes recreation from hiking to sailing. Long, cold winters have led the campus to be interconnected by indoor skyways and tunnels between buildings, a practical fact of life more than a novelty. Bulldogs hockey is the clear centerpiece of campus athletics and school spirit, drawing a level of local following unusual for a program outside the traditional Division I football conferences.

Getting in

Admission is credential-based, similar to other University of Minnesota system campuses, with a somewhat more accessible profile than the Twin Cities flagship. UMD attracts students specifically drawn to its size, lake setting, and hockey culture, and to sciences like environmental studies for which the Duluth location offers direct advantages.

Worth knowing

The connected-hallway campus design is a genuine daily-life feature, not a footnote — students can move between most academic buildings without going outside for much of the winter. The Large Lakes Observatory gives science undergraduates an unusually direct, hands-on connection to Lake Superior research.

d.umn.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate88.8%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1180–1350 · ACT 23–28

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying