University of Minnesota Reviews

"The professors themselves are all incredibly wonderful resources and experts in their fields who put the needs of the students above the needs of the program. The difficulty often lies in the inconsistent communication between administrative staff and students/educators. Opportunities are often missed by students who are not already "in the know.""

"Its a top level program, however it is so expensive to fund. Even though they deliver top healthcare facilities, its tuition is incredibly high."

"Reputation, access to great faculty and interaction with a great peer network are all pros. Con would be the high price tag driven by the # of credits required to graduate"

"This is a wonderful program that offers specific information related to the field of art education. The professors are informed and also working in the field of education - so they understand what is really happening in our classrooms."

"Very holistic approach to the field of physical therapy, as students are exposed to academic, clinical, and research aspects throughout the curriculum."

"I like that the program is small and intimate amidst a vast campus so people can network and delve into the pool of skills with that personal element that invites more value than quantity."

"There needs to be more diversity in the program and at this school."

"Situated within a surprisingly diverse, active, environmentally-conscious metropolis, UMN students are poised to enjoy a high quality of living--if you work at it. The people are friendly--a usually meaningless generalization, but I think more true here than other places I've lived. The weather is abyssmal but I wanted that, i.e., to want to stay inside to study. Housing is overpriced but transportation is very good and getting even better with the light rail. You can live and work and study here without a car. Certain neighborhoods are very urbane and concerned with the arts (esp. the theatre community). Student financial aid at UMN is available but so complicated due to fellowship rules that I can't recommend their office as well-organized. My aid dropped suddenly for arcane reasons, and I know others who've had the same experience. Overall, university services are streamlined and responsive due to the Onestop system, which generally responds to any question I can come up with within five or six hours. The medical center is on campus and is easy to access. Security has recently become an issue, with many more crime alerts (including sexual assault) than I'd expected, coming from a campus where such alerts were rare."

"The funding is good for an MFA (a necessity, in my book), and the cost of living manageable. I can get through a school year on the stipend (modest living mandatory), but need a summer job to survive the other three months of the year. The other MFA students in the program are its biggest asset--UMN does a great job of selecting writers with a variety of styles, backgrounds, and approaches. This was important to me: I did not want to go to a program that tried to select or reinforce any one style of writing. Also, since (almost) everyone has the same funding package, there's less unhealthy competition. The program is cross-genre, which means it encourages (and in the case of one class, requires) you to work in a genre outside the one in which you were admitted. I've appreciated this, as work in other genres has informed and improved my work in my chosen track. The workload (teaching or TA-ing one class per semester) is doable, but challenging in terms of time management, especially the first year, in which you spend a lot of time figuring out how to teach. This will be the case at any program that offers GTA positions, and worse for those that have a "heavy" load. I'm personally grateful for the teaching component, despite its consumption of my otherwise-writing time. Not only does it allow for the program's full funding, it's a gateway to future employment. While UMN's Creative Writing program doesn't really offer other post-MFA job prep, it does as good of a job as I can imagine of prepping its incoming MFA students for their teaching role. This program is three years in length--a luxury, in my book. The quality of faculty teaching varies. I've had a few great experiences with teachers, one surprisingly terrible one. Regardless, don't expect to find a nurturing mentor among the faculty. They are (for the most part) primarily writers, secondarily teachers. I recommend focusing on developing strong relationships with peers, as they can be your best and most committed readers. As for Minneapolis, the city is a great locus for the arts. A chilly one, but a great one. The Loft Literary Center downtown is also an excellent summer and part-time post-graduate employment option."

"Pros: great city and good funding Cons: some of the faculty are pretty checked out/ do not offer constructive feedback for students"

"I am only part-way through the program, so my access to career advice is somewhat limited. While the funding could be better, the six-year package and faculty support make this a great program for my sub-field."

"Pros: Good funding, teaching experience. Cons: Apathetic faculty, inconsistent academic quality."

"The University of Minnesota offers students one of the best physical therapy programs in the country. Class sizes are small which allows for optimal learning."

"The DPT program incorporates, classroom, research, and clinical education into the curriculum right away. This offers students a complete and applicable understanding of the profession and the underlying theory, both current and future."

"I think the large network of surrounding companies makes it a very attractive program. The faculty also add great value die to their experience and commitment. "

"I love the physics program at the UMN. Now that a new physics and nano-science building has been finished the width and depth of programs/research areas will increase and make it even more competitive in the national scale. I work in the Fine Theoretical Institute and the faculty there are very good in what they do and are very helpful."

"The Twin Cities are an awesome place to live (well, Minneapolis, anyway), and the U of M is a good school. The quality of instruction is sort of limited by the quality of the students, though - this is not a top ten school, and the students here are not of the same caliber as those at top ten schools, so the instructors must teach to their audience, and as a result the courses are less rigorous than they might be elsewhere. There has been quite a lot of criminal activity around campus of late, but there are so many thousands of students, your chances are still pretty good not to get mugged."

"Pros: The UMN School of Public Health has extremely knowledgeable faculty and a wide array of professional development resources such as the alumni mentor program and academic adviser pairings. Academic expectations are very high and classes require a considerable amount of time and effort outside of class. Cons: The school provides fewer tools to help students find internships/field experiences than other graduate programs. Unfortunately, there have been increasingly high rates of criminal activity occurring near campus in recent months."

"The University of Minnesota's School of Social Work program is a competitive program that is both grounding in academics as well as practice-based knowledge. The Field Placement program has been a great experience, as the U has many connections with local nonprofits and human service organizations. There is a nice blend between macro and micro level knowledge."

"The program itself is incredibly valuable, one of the best veterinary schools. The biggest drawback of this program is the cost and how much debt each student graduates with in comparison to the salaries that they will be making."