Our academic programs provide students with transformative experiences to improve the human condition through critical thinking and inquiry, collaboration, imagination, empathy, and service. These experiences translate to innumerable career opportunities after graduation.

Computer screen. Designates degree is also available online.

Aging Studies

Minnesota State Mankato's innovative Aging Studies program prepares students to have a meaningful impact on society by supporting individuals as they age.

American Indigenous Studies

American Indigenous Studies (AIS) provides a broad and interdisciplinary understanding of Indigenous Americans, especially the Dakota peoples, and their respective ways of life in the past, present, and future.

Anthropology

At Minnesota State Mankato, students explore each of the four sub-fields of anthropology—archaeology, biological, sociocultural and linguistic—and interact with faculty who have worked in the field around the world.

Applied Leadership Online

The Applied Leadership program is an online program designed to prepare students to advance in their current career or enter a new career field. The core areas of skill development center on communications in organizations, leadership, critical thinking and decision-making.

Art & Design

Our program is devoted to the development of concepts, attitudes and skills in the visual arts within a broad university curriculum of liberal arts orientation.

Cognitive Science

Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary inquiry concerned with understanding the nature and development of such intelligent capacities as perception, language, reasoning, learning and problem-solving, whether these capacities are realized in biological or artificial systems.

Communication and Media

The study of communication and media prepares students to become engaged, knowledgeable, and ethical communicators, advocates, and storytellers. We inspire students to embrace media technologies, create diverse stories, think critically about social relations, and foster the public good.

Corrections

A Corrections major prepares students for work in the criminal justice system. The major is built on a foundation of sociological & criminological theory and evidence-based practice. Through academic and experiential learning the program promotes the values of social justice, respect, and tolerance.

Creative Writing

The creative writing curriculum assumes that writing and reading are complementary activities. So, students read some of the best literary works of the past and present while exploring issues of craft and genre that will allow them to take their writing to a new level.

Criminal Justice

The Criminal Justice program is for students who want to serve in one of the governmental or social institutions tasked with enforcing laws and serving communities affected by crime.

Dance

Our Dance Program is a dynamic and growing field of study that provides students with a rich program of study, multiple degree options, diverse performance opportunities and off-campus events. Students receive a comprehensive education grounded in a liberal arts education.

Earth Science

Earth Systems Science is an interdisciplinary field of study focusing on our planet’s connected natural systems of the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, and our place in the cosmos.

Economics

The Economics program offers students a general and useful degree that suits many different career goals, yet it is also flexible enough to allow students interested in research at the undergraduate level to learn the skills to develop a solid and original quantitative paper.

English

English students learn the flexible thinking, creativity, and empathy that the current job market demands and global citizenship requires. Our classes cultivate the adaptable skills of reading and writing, creative and literary thinking, analysis and research, and cutting-edge presentation skills.

Ethnic Studies

Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary program, academically committed to promoting multicultural and ethnic knowledge, skills and values both within and outside the United States and to preparing our students for effective participation in culturally diverse global communities.

Film & Media Studies

Students in Film and Media Studies look at all aspects of film and media, including aesthetic, creative, critical, cultural, technical, and theoretical perspectives.

French

More than 300 million people speak French on all five continents. It is also the most popular second language after English, and the third-most widely spoken language in the United States.

Gender & Women's Studies

The Gender & Women's Studies program at Minnesota State University, Mankato contributes to feminist and social concerns through undergraduate and graduate degree programs and courses. We appeal to a wide variety of disciplines, professions, research interests, and ideological perspectives.

Geographic Information Science

The Geographic Information Science (GISc) program provides a cost-effective educational option for international students who are seeking a higher degree in GISc.

Geography

Geography studies the interactions between people and our environment, and it uses cutting-edge geospatial technologies to solve real-world problems. Geospatial technologies provide students with skills in high demand in the workforce.

German

More than 220 million people speak German worldwide and the German program prepares its students to thrive as global citizens in a diverse world. Students acquire language proficiency and cultural competence that provide insight into the culture, literature, and history of German-speaking countries.

Health Communication

Health Communication combines coursework from majors such as Communication and Media, Technical Communication, and Applied Health Sciences to create a major tailor-made for students' interests and career goals.

History

Our programs in History prepare students for the future by helping them understand how the past affects the present and develop critical thinking and rhetorical skills. Our graduates are poised to become leaders, teachers, lawyers and more.

Humanities

The Humanities Program examines common issues, ideas, and themes that run throughout different cultures and throughout human history. Students will study the roles of human expression in shaping how individuals and cultures understand their connections to each other and to the world.

Interdisciplinary Studies

The Interdisciplinary Studies degree is designed to give students an opportunity to create their own programs and earn an undergraduate degree.

International Relations

The International Relations degree offers students the opportunity to study the way countries and governments interact with each other on the global stage and how those interactions affect other countries.

Liberal Arts & Sciences (AA Degree)

This Associate of Arts (AA) degree is intended for those students who wish to pursue a two-year balanced program of liberal education.

Music

Our program reaches beyond expectations, both creatively and academically, and students gain hands-on experience in professional settings. Find your passion creating music, performing on stage, managing behind-the-scenes business details, or educating the next generation.

Music Industry

There are numerous opportunities in the growing music and media industries. The business emphasis focuses on creative entrepreneurship and strategic marketing. The songwriting/audio production track offers students a creative career perspective on the industry.

Nonprofit Leadership

The Nonprofit Leadership Program (NPL) prepares students for careers and service in the ever-growing nonprofit sector. This interdisciplinary program can be completed online, and students on or near campus can select from a greater number of courses that are part of the program.

Philosophy

Philosophy uses both logical reasoning and creative imagination to investigate some of the most fundamental questions about the human experience and the nature of reality. Our students become independent and critical thinkers who are equipped to excel in any profession.

Policing Studies

The Policing Studies program offers students an accredited Bachelor of Science degree to pursue employment or a minor to explore the field of study.

Political Science

Political Science focuses on the politics and policy of the United States. Students can direct their studies to study particular policy issues like racial & ethnic policy or environmental policy, or look at US policies comparatively with international politics and policy.

Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the effects of individual, social, physiological, developmental, and environmental factors on thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Public Relations

We prepare students to become engaged, knowledgeable, and ethical communicators, advocates & storytellers. We inspire students to embrace media technologies, create diverse stories, think critically about media institutions & foster the public good by advancing socially responsible communication.

Scandinavian Studies

The Scandinavian Studies Program offers students an opportunity to combine Norwegian or Swedish languages with study of the greater Nordic cultural region. It provides students with a familiarity of Scandinavian heritage and history.

Social Studies

The Social Studies Education major is the step along the way to becoming a licensed 5th-12th grader Social Studies teacher. This is an accredited program and prepares future teachers to teach subjects such as history, geography, economics, political science, psychology and sociology.

Sociology

The sociology program at Minnesota State, Mankato leads to careers in academic and applied settings including human services, government, business, nonprofit organizations and social action organizations.

Spanish

Close to 500 million people speak Spanish and 20 countries have it as their official language. Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the U.S., giving you a local and a global advantage when it comes to job and business opportunities, travel, and life experiences.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Our program trains students to teach English learners in a variety of contexts, including higher education, K-12, and abroad. The program also prepares students for careers in non-teaching areas, such as language program administration, curriculum and assessment development, and support services.

Technical Communication

Technical communication classes will teach you to communicate ideas and information effectively. We typically study how people communicate at work and we focus upon making documents that are clear, concise, accurate, thorough, and easy for the audience to use.

Theatre Arts

Our program offers an array of opportunities exploring a wide range of dramatic literature and movement possibilities in three performance venues. We provide students the highest caliber of training in theatre and the southern Minnesota region with a multifaceted, high-quality theatrical experience.

Urban and Regional Studies

The Urban and Regional Studies Institute offers interdisciplinary, national award-winning, accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs oriented toward examining and understanding the broad range of problems and challenges associated with the nation's urban and regional areas.

World Languages & Cultures

Proficiency in another language opens doors to opportunities in many professional fields. Students acquire knowledge and skills in global citizenship, diversity, and critical thinking with local and worldwide relevance. We also offer study-abroad opportunities to enhance the learning experience.