Private nonprofit · College

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Minneapolis, Minnesota · Large city

48.5%
Admit rate
$29,926
Avg net price
51%
Graduation rate
$40,873
Median earnings

Minneapolis College of Art and Design is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Minneapolis, Minnesota (large city setting), enrolling 705 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 705 undergradsLarge citySelective · 48% admitCold wintersSnowy

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Minneapolis College of Art and Design's admitted students.

Admit rate
48.5%
SAT (mid 50%)
1130–1340
Avg GPA (est.)
3.40

Enter a test score to see where you land against Minneapolis College of Art and Design's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Minneapolis College of Art and Design's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. Two Indigenous nations inhabited the area now called Minneapolis. Archaeologists have evidence that since 1000 AD, they were the Dakota (one half of the Sioux nation), and, after the 1700s, the Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa, members of the Anishinaabe nations). During the Gilded Age, the Walker Art Center began as a private art collection in the home of lumberman T. B. Walker, who extended free admission to the public. Around 1940, the center's focus shifted to modern and contemporary art. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To Great Lakes shore
135 miles
Nearest airport
6 miles to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport / Wold–Chamberlain Field (MSP) · major hub

How Minneapolis College of Art and Design compares

Selectivity48.5%

More selective than 85% · #6 most selective of 35 in Minnesota

SAT average1161

Higher than 49%

Graduation rate51%

Higher than 42% · #28 of 39 in Minnesota

First-year retention75%

Higher than 44%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,873

Higher than 16% · #36 of 38 in Minnesota

Average net price$29,926

Cheaper than 16% · #36 cheapest of 39 in Minnesota

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 59%

Undergraduate enrollment705

Larger than 28%

Percentiles compare Minneapolis College of Art and Design with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Minnesota.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

816students
  • Undergraduate70586%
  • Graduate11114%

Undergraduates by gender

705undergrads
  • Women46666%
  • Men23934%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White64%
  • Black5.8%
  • Hispanic12%
  • Asian6.4%
  • Other or multiracial11%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
705
Graduate enrollment
111
Student–faculty ratio
12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
42%
First-generation students
21%
Students over 25
6%
Median family income
$52,219
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$76,617
Endowment
$57,981,930

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 169 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Minnesota65%
  • Other U.S. states33%
  • International1.8%

A regional draw: about 65% of first-years come from Minnesota, the rest from elsewhere.

2% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
48.5%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
1130–1340
SAT average
1161
SAT reading
600–710
SAT math
530–630
ACT composite
21–29
Average GPA (estimated)
3.40

Cost

In-state tuition
$45,484
Room & board
$13,360
Books & supplies
$3,800
Total cost of attendance
$59,972
Average net price
$29,926

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
51%
Graduated on time (4 years)
40%
First-year retention
75%
Transferred to another college
28%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$35,198
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$40,873
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
75%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
63%

About 12% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
40%
Low-income (Pell)
74%
First-generation
63%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
389
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
55%
Housing charge (year)
$7,610
Meal plan (year)
$4,000
Application fee
$50

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
6.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
3
Property offenses (2022–2024)
13

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (831 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

5.3reported offenses a year
1.0 violent a year4.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
2.3
Motor vehicle theft
2.0
Fondling
0.3
Robbery
0.3
Aggravated assault
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$23,662
$30–48k
$23,905
$48–75k
$26,550
$75–110k
$33,038
$110k+
$34,345

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$115,253

$26,550/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$23,185
average award, among those who get one

Minneapolis College of Art and Design discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $23,185. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 160 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$40,873
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
66%
Out-earn a HS grad
51%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$40,238
Men
$42,989

Men out-earn women by $2,751 (7%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
83°F
Winter low
8°F
Annual rain
34.4″
Annual snow
40.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lower ST Anthony Falls, MN US station (2 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Minneapolis College of Art and Design side by side →

Colleges near Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.