Learn more about Metro State

A student moves through the skyway in the background with flowering trees in the foreground.

Learn more or visit campus

Tour campus

Take our virtual tour or ask about making an appointment to visit campus in person.

Metropolitan State University

Since 1971, Metropolitan State University has been committed to meeting the higher education needs of the people from the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. We are a fully accredited, comprehensive university, a member of the Minnesota State higher education system, and offer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in more than 60 programs.

Metropolitan State’s flagship location is conveniently located along Mounds Boulevard between East Sixth and East Seventh Streets and overlooks downtown Saint Paul.

Photograph of Metropolitan State University’s Saint Paul parking ramp, shot from Maria Avenue on a bright and cloudless summer day.

Ample parking is available in our secure parking ramp, accessible from Maria and Bates Avenues.

Photograph of Metropolitan State University’s library and learning center taken from the labyrinth, West to East, on a late summer or early fall bright day with some leaves on the ground and trees turning from green to yellow.

Metropolitan State’s Library and Learning Center shares its space with the Saint Paul Public Library’s Dayton’s Bluff Branch, making it one of the few joint-use libraries in the country. The Library houses The Gordon Parks Gallery, which exhibits a variety of artwork multiple times per year and maintains the beautiful David Barton Community Labyrinth and Reflective Garden for use by students and community members.

Evening photograph of Metropolitan State University’s Jason R. Carter Science Education Center located on the Saint Paul Campus. Evening sky is dark blue with building light shining bright and remnants of taillights appearing as red streaks from cars driving by on East Sixth Street, West to East.

One of the newest buildings on our main campus, the Jason R. Carter Science Education Center, is dedicated to providing a state-of-the-art environment for learning in STEM programs and community educational programming. The building is dedicated to the memory of Jason R. Carter, a biochemistry student at Metropolitan State, who died of leukemia in May 2016. His parents, Diana and Robert Carter, and the Carter Family Foundation of Wayzata, Minn., worked with the University Foundation to provide a generous $2 million endowment through contributions in memory of Jason.

Photograph in Metropolitan State University’s Student Center where two female students are eating their lunches and a male student studying at the next table, with a gas fireplace within a brick wall burning a low flame in an otherwise decorated room with bright blue cushioned chairs, yellow backed and dark blue table chairs, and large windows where passersby can be seen walking towards campus and into the parking ramp.

Another of our newer buildings is our Student Center, which is home to the Student Life and Leadership Development department, our campus canteen, study rooms and spaces, as well as a fitness center for students, staff and faculty to focus on physical well-being.

Photograph of an African American male and a Caucasian female smiling, walking and talking on the grounds of Metropolitan State University’s library and learning center with the skyway shown that connects the library to the other building on the Saint Paul campus.

Metropolitan State teaches in four major locations: Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Saint Paul’s Midway, and Brooklyn Park. Day, evening, weekend, online, and hybrid classes are available and are also taught at many partnership institutions, including Minneapolis College, Normandale, and Saint Paul College.

Our Minneapolis Campus location, the Management Education Center, is home to our College of Management, which focuses on business, MBA, and DBA degrees. The Minneapolis Campus also houses the School of Urban Education, our innovative teacher education program dedicated to providing culturally competent and representative educators for our urban schools.

Photograph of the West side of Metropolitan State University’s Midway Center in the very early Spring, with yellow grass and bare trees; a man walks on the sidewalk toward the building from the parking lot.

Metropolitan State’s Midway Center offers a multitude of classes in most topics and is conveniently located between Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The Psychology Department is also located at the Midway location.

Photograph of the concrete sign outside Metropolitan State University and Hennepin Technical College’s Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Education Center building taken in the evening, early Spring with yellow grass and bare trees.

Metropolitan State and Hennepin Technical College partner in the Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Education Center to instruct all aspects of both fields of study. The facility has a full range of learning environments and is located in Brooklyn Park on the Hennepin Technical College campus grounds.

People working in Group Study Room four in the Student Center on Metropolitan State University’s Saint Paul Campus.

Study areas are located on all campuses.

Photograph of students walking in a well-lit corridor at one of Metropolitan State University’s locations; bright lights, reflects, and the blur of a student walking past.

Our long dedication to post-traditional students means many of our most popular offerings are available in the evening, on weekends, fully online, or in a hybrid of classroom and online instruction.

Photograph of a female nursing student wearing a coral colored hijab checking the pulse of a medical representation of a human subject lying in a hospital bed with the nursing instructor looking on.

Metropolitan State’s nursing program includes a state-of-the-art simulation center and practical experience opportunities through our many metro area medical facilities.

Photograph of a male nursing student checking the vision of a male nursing instructor in a replicated patient room within Metropolitan State’s Simulation Center on the Saint Paul Campus.

In addition, Metropolitan State is a core member of the MANE program, providing the opportunity for nursing education and advancement of credentials to practicing nurses throughout the state.

Photograph of two females wearing goggles and white lab coats examining a beaker with pink liquid in in one of the science labs in the Jason R. Carter Science Education Center on Metropolitan State University’s Saint Paul location.

Metropolitan State’s College of Sciences is the place to explore your understanding of the physical world through the study of biology, chemistry, physics, and ecology.

Photograph in a science lab in Metropolitan State’s Jason R. Carter Science Education Center on the Saint Paul, Minnesota Campus; an Asian American female student taking notes on the left working with an African American male student who is analyzing a slide in a microscope.

Students working in one of the science labs in the Jason R. Carter Science Education Center.

A female instructor stands in front of a projection; she points at black and white a diagram with two columns of circles and lines connecting the columns and various angles.

If your interest is in technology, the COS offers courses in computer programming, writing web and phone apps, networking, cyber security, and much more. Or, if you love mathematics, our math and statistics programs will provide you with the tools you need to solve problems in any job situation.

Photograph of an African American instructor, Dr. Denise Williams, leading a group of students in a day lecture class or workshop.

Metropolitan State’s smaller, more engaged class sizes mean that our students have access to real contact with instructors, allowing for relationship building toward academic growth.

Photograph of students gathered around large tables in a smaller meeting room using laptops or taking notes as they enjoy a discussion with the professor in a more non-traditional environment at one of Metropolitan State University’s teaching locations.

Smaller cohort groups often meet in the evening in non-traditional classrooms at any one of Metropolitan State’s locations or partner institutions.

Metropolitan State University happy graduates smiling and taking selfies of themselves in graduation regalia at Fall commencement 2019.

Each year, more than 1,500 students graduate with a Metropolitan State undergraduate or graduate degree. To date, Metropolitan State has more than 50,000 alumni making their educational journey work for them. CollegeNet’s 2019 Social Mobility Index ranks Metropolitan State in the top 3% nationally, and first in Minnesota, in enabling students to move from lower income strata into the middle class.