Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPublic

Minnesota State University - Mankato

Mankato, Minnesota·Public, 4-year or above·Plains·mnsu.edu
6-yr Graduation
54%
—
Total enrollment
15,271
peer median 9,993
Avg net price
$19,139
+$2.5k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
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AdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeCommon Data Set

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
9,098
9,098 candidates competed
Admitted
8,046
88.4% acceptance rate
Enrolled
2,364
29.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
54%
4-year graduation
35%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
53%
Full-time retention
80%

Pell equity

9.6pp gap
Pell recipients
47%301 of 643
Non-Pell (all)
57%975 of 1722
Subsidized loan, no Pell
54%307 of 566
No Federal Aid
58%668 of 1156

Non-Pell students graduate at a 9.6-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 231 Title IV programs, 60 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 170 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
231
Passing
60
26.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
0.4% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.4%
-0.2pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

231programs
  • Passing60 · 26.0%
  • No Data170 · 73.6%
  • Failing1 · 0.4%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
4
Watch
3
Safe
53
No data
170

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

61
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-11.8%
$32,199 vs $36,491
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+1.5%
$62,812 vs $61,854
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+4.0%
$37,959 vs $36,491
Communication and Media Studies
Master's Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+4.6%
$60,662 vs $58,014
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+7.6%
$53,250 vs $49,483
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
+13.3%
$52,554 vs $46,391
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Master's Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+16.6%
$60,121 vs $51,545
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+24.4%
$45,379 vs $36,491

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

3
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+1.5%
+$958
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+4.0%
+$1,468
Communication and Media Studies
Master's Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+4.6%
+$2,648

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

45
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
62%
$19,974 debt · $32,199 earn
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
57%
$35,852 debt · $62,812 earn
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
57%
$30,000 debt · $52,554 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
53%
$25,850 debt · $48,632 earn
Special Education and Teaching
Bachelor Degree · Education
52%
$26,697 debt · $51,630 earn
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
50%
$24,095 debt · $47,822 earn
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
49%
$22,384 debt · $45,688 earn
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
48%
$24,958 debt · $51,618 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1940Next review Aug 2036
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1916

Programmatic accreditations · 11

Action history · 15

  1. Jan 2026Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Sep 2025Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
  3. Jan 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Hygiene (DH)
  4. Dec 2023Voluntary Withdrawal Received
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
  5. May 2022Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$12,339
$30–48k$12,750
$48–75k$15,137
$75–110k$18,921
$110k+$22,798

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$19,139
+$2,495vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $16,644
Federal loans
40.4%
In-state tuition
$9,572
Out-of-state
$18,942

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 3,636 students received $20.1M in Pell grants, alongside $48.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,636
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$20.1M
$20,085,397 total
Direct Loans
$48.1M
8,707 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

3k
’20
3k
’21
3k
’22
3k
’23
4k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$11.3M
2,904 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$20.3M
4,625 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$10.6M
729 loan awards
Parent PLUS$5.2M
376 loan awards
Grad PLUS$679K
73 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 3,462 borrowers who entered repayment, 43 (1.2%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.2%
-1.1pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
3,462
Defaulted
43
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.5%
2017
4.4%
2018
3.6%
2019
1.2%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at MNSU

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs172
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,776 total completions
01Health Professions
70725.5%
02Business
64823.3%
03Education
36913.3%
04Liberal Arts
2318.3%
05Psychology
1696.1%
06Parks/Recreation
1575.7%
07Computer Sciences
1344.8%
08Transportation
1314.7%
09Engineering
1204.3%
10Biological Sciences
1104.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
15,271
12-mo unduplicated
19,026
Undergraduate
16,611
Graduate
2,415

Gender split

Men
41%7,795
Women
59%11,231

Race / ethnicity composition

White
70.8%
Non-resident
9.1%
Black
6.2%
Hispanic
6.2%
Two or more
3.7%
Asian
3.2%
Unknown
0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.0%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
635
329 M · 306 W
Women athletes
48.2%
Athletic aid
$3.5M
Total student aid
Budget
$19.2M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.8M
$1.6M
Recruiting expense
$127K
$64K
Head-coach salaries
$120K
$82K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 12

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
163 M · 233 W
$1.4M
Football
112 M · —
$2.1M
Ice Hockey
29 M · 25 W
$4.7M
Swimming and Diving (combined)
— · 47 W
$527K
Baseball
43 M · —
$487K
Soccer
— · 43 W
$726K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.61
9 offenses · 14,709 students

3-year trend

0.692 yrs ago1.171 yr ago0.61Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
36
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
42
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
14
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
5

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
3
Fondling
3
Motor vehicle theft
2
Burglary
1

By location

9total
  • On campus9

Includes 4 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
7
Dating violence
11
Stalking
18 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Sexual orientation3
  • Race2
  • Gender1
  • National origin1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs11
Liquor0290

Residence-hall fires

  • McElroy Residence Community3 fires
    CookingDamage $0-$99
  • McElroy Residence Community3 fires
    CookingDamage $0-$99
  • McElroy Residence Community3 fires
    CookingDamage $0-$99

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
21.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
518

MNSU vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions MNSU selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectMinnesota State University-Mankato
54%—15,271$19,139Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Saint Cloud State University
39%94.8%10,732$13,529Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
University of Minnesota-Duluth
65%88.8%9,253$18,743Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Southwest Minnesota State University
44%62.2%8,214$15,291Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Minnesota State University Moorhead
57%58.8%4,386$17,997Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
University of Central Missouri
54%63.8%12,857$14,462Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median54%63.8%9,993$16,644

Institutions like MNSU

Explore the federal data for institutions in MNSU's comparison group.

IPEDS

MNSU Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Institutional Analytics and Strategic Effectiveness
Reports to Division of Student Success and Engagement
Phone
1-507-389-1000
Address
Mankato, MN 56001

Institutional Analytics and Strategic Effectiveness serves as the official source of data about the University's students, faculty, and staff; its programs and their effectiveness; its resources; and its peer institutions.

Visit IR office page
Team
2 members
  • Lin Chase
    Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning
  • Jennie Cashin
    Institutional Effectiveness and Planning Analyst

Common Data Set

MNSU's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.

Total enrollment
14,482
12,548 UG · 1,934 grad
6-yr graduation rate
52%
First-year retention
74%
Student–faculty ratio
22 to 1
Est. net price (aided)
$16,488
after avg need-based grant
01

Affordability & Value

Cost of attendance

G
Total$23,734
Tuition
$8,85637%
Fees
$1,0885%
Room & board
$10,60645%
Books
$1,0424%
Other
$2,1429%

Total sticker cost of attendance is $23,734 (2023-2024).

Sticker vs. net price

G+H
Sticker COA
$23,734
Net (aided)
$16,488
Avg need grant
$7,246

Sticker $23,734 → about $16,488 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($7,246); 76% of demonstrated need is met.

Where grant aid comes from

H1
Federal48.3%
State38.8%
Institutional8.0%
External5.0%

8% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.

Graduate debt

H4/H5
Grads with debt
70%
Avg debt
$28,818

70% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $28,818 on average.

02

Outcomes & Equity

Graduation & retention

B
6-yr grad rate
52%
Retention
74%

6-year graduation rate 52%; first-year retention 74%.

Equity: Pell graduation gap

B4
All students52%
Pell recipients98%

Pell-grant recipients graduate 46 pts above the overall rate (98% vs 52%).

03

Academic Experience

Class-size distribution

I3
2-9 students172
10-19 students267
20-29 students307
30-39 students233
40-49 students111
50-99 students78
100+ students21

37% of classes have under 20 students; 8% have 50+.

Faculty profile

I
Student–faculty ratio
22 to 1
Faculty with terminal degree
74%
Women faculty
48%

Key faculty indicators.

Degrees by discipline

J
Business/marketing22%
Health professions and related programs18.7%
Education7%
Engineering6.3%
Parks and recreation5%
Psychology4.8%
Biological/life sciences4.5%
Communication/journalism3.8%

STEM-dominant: ~17% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.

04

Student Body & Diversity

Undergraduate race/ethnicity

B2
White, non-Hispanic72.2%
Nonresidents8.4%
Black or African American, non-Hispanic5.7%
Hispanic/Latino5.2%
Asian, non-Hispanic3.6%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic3.5%
Race and/or ethnicity unknown1.0%
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.3%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic0.0%

Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.

International students

B2
International UG
1,062
Share
8%

8% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).

Undergrad vs graduate

B1
Undergraduate
12,54887%
Graduate
1,93413%

12,548 undergraduates and 1,934 graduate students.

05

Transfer Path

Transfer admissions

D1
Applied
2,729
Admitted
1,959
Enrolled
982

2,729 transfer applicants → 1,959 admitted (71.8%) → 982 enrolled

Source publications

Frequently asked questions about Minnesota State University-Mankato

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about MNSU.

What is the graduation rate at Minnesota State University-Mankato?

Minnesota State University-Mankato reports a 6-year graduation rate of 54% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Minnesota State University-Mankato?

Minnesota State University-Mankato reports a total enrollment of 15,271 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Minnesota State University-Mankato?

The average net price at Minnesota State University-Mankato is $19,139 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Minnesota State University-Mankato?

Minnesota State University-Mankato's yield rate is 29.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Minnesota State University-Mankato located?

Minnesota State University-Mankato is located in Mankato, Minnesota 56001.

Who runs Institutional Research at Minnesota State University-Mankato?

Minnesota State University-Mankato's IR work is done by the Institutional Analytics and Strategic Effectiveness, which reports to Division of Student Success and Engagement.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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