Minnesota State University at Mankato Reviews

"The graduate program that I am enrolled in has been an amazing learning experience thus far. The professors are all extremely competent and have a strong care for their students. The way the courses are structured provides students the opportunity to delve into the class material and grow as people as well as in a way that allow students to make strong bonds as friends. I would highly recommend this program to anybody who has a passion for helping and working with students. The only con I would have for the College Student Affairs program is the the coursework. I feel as though it could be more meaningful in the sense that it seems a little bit looked over."

"Financial aid is incredibly difficult to procure."

"I am privileged to be part of an exciting graduate program that lets me learn and bring my talents and skills to the table. Taking those talents and skills by enriching them to perfection to take on the world by storm. I will walk into an audition, casting call, or job interview with the "I can and I will do" attitude and not be intimidated by my surroundings. The Masters of Arts in Theatre program is preparing me for that, and I pleased of the current progress. GO MAVS!!!"

"The graduate program at MNSU is very well organized. Every one of the professors shows sincere interest in the well being of the graduate students. Each professor will go out of their way and make time in their busy schedule to assist a graduate student at any time. The greatest negative aspect of the graduate program at MNSU is the funding available for thesis research. In order to pay for tuition, a teaching assistantship needs to be obtained. This takes up the majority of the time that would generally be used for working on thesis research. If funding was available, students would not have to spend time on teaching and can focus on their thesis."

"CACREP Accredited program. Which has highly experienced and knowledgeable staff, that are available to you. Classes are open environments, facilitating and challenging our learning."

"The program provides the ability to continue education within a subject matter that applies to you, rather than trying to make yourself apply to it. Faculty emit the same ideas we learn, and students fit the mold as well."

"I attended Minnesota State University at Mankato when it was Mankato State University. It was 11,700 students at the time, most of which were full-time. The college I attended was the College of Math, Physics, and Engineering. Because its roots were the Mankato Teaching College, the most mature programs at the college are primary and secondary education teaching degrees. Their Electrical and Mechanical Engineering programs were Bachelor's only at the time, although they've added a Master's since then. Best opportunity: One of the reasons I chose this over U of M or other large engineering programs was the quality of the professors and the access you had to them. There were several former Honeywell engineering fellows in the faculty of the school, which brought a level of pragmatism that was hard to find at bigger schools. I planned to get a job when I graduated so actually having a program that valued the skills required to be successful in an engineering role was great. I had professors (associate or full) for every class in my four years, including the required business classes. My graduating class was 34 EE's, if I recall correctly. That's unheard of at larger schools. Challenge: Top employers often don't recruit at MSU because of the small program. At the time, both IBM and Microsoft were recruiting at the school but the rest of the companies that had job fairs and regular recruiter visits were local companies from southern Minnesota. That made connecting with a top-tier company a challenge, which means there's not a multi-generational network of graduates like a Stanford, Harvard, or Notre Dame has. It is more challenging to find your initial job as a result but the education was great so it works itself out over time. Great value: When I started, they were on the quarter system and the credits were $42/credit and you needed 160 to graduate. That was $800/quarter for tuition and $700/quarter for books or $4,500/year. It's $7,558/year in 2013-2014 now, according to their website. That's a REALLY good value for a great degree."

"I have enjoyed everything about this new program!"

"I chose this program because I was looking for intensive studies in technical communications. The program gives students a lot of options within the discipline to learn the exact tools they hope to use in the future. The professors are very helpful, especially when you're trying to decide how to best attain your personal goals. Most of the classes focus on discussion and debate rather than assignments and tests, which really helps students to think critically about the topics but also connect with peers. I don't feel that this program has very many negatives, but if I had to choose one, it would be there isn't much support for students to finish the program in less than 2 years."

"The professors in this program are extremely encouraging to all their students and actually want you to learn the information. It might mean having a lot of homework and reading to do, but it's completely worth it when you remember the material later on in your schooling."

"Within the Education department, the Counseling and Student Personnel (CSP) Graduate program is excellent. The faculty are knowledgeable within the field, and are incredibly helpful and supportive of the students. The program is CACREP accredited and the Play Therapy certification is accredited as well. Because this is a public university, the price is low, which adds an incredible value because the quality of the education is high. In the CSP program, you not only grow as a professional but also as a person which supports the viewpoint that you are only as good of a counselor as you are a person. This program values balance, experience and reflection as key components in education as a counselor."