Saint Cloud State University

Old Main Building and Stearns House, St. Cloud State University, 1874 St. Cloud State was founded in 1869 as the Third State Normal School . At the time, the school consisted of just one building, the Stearns House, a former renovated hotel purchased by the state Legislature for $3,000. The faculty included five members, led by Principal Ira Moore. Of the first 50 students, 40 were women. As more women enrolled and the Old Main building opened in early 1874, the Stearns House was fully converted into a women’s dormitory later that year. Male students later formed a boarding club and found a house near campus, which was supervised by a matron. [ 7 ] In 1898, the school offered a junior college curriculum. In 1914, the school dropped its secondary education program. The Legislature authorized a name change in 1921 to St. Cloud State Teachers College . In 1957, the word "Teachers" was dropped. The first bachelor's degrees were awarded in 1925. In 1975, St. Cloud State became a university comprising five colleges and a graduate school. [ 8 ] Applied doctoral degrees were first offered in 2007. [ 9 ] Enrollment at St. Cloud State dropped from roughly 18,000 in 2010 to roughly 10,000 in 2024. [ 10 ] Of these, only about 5,000 were traditional full-time students, the rest being part-time students, including about 2,500 students under 18 enrolled in PSEO courses. [ 11 ] This steep decline led to financial problems including a net loss of $18 million in 2023 [ 12 ] and a budget deficit of $14.4 million in 2024. [ 10 ] This led the university to make severe budget cuts, including cutting 42 degree programs, 50 minors, 54 full-time faculty, 42 staff, four administrative positions, [ 10 ] eliminating football, and heavily scaling back student events like homecoming. [ 11 ] About 52% of the College of Education and Learning Design and 42% of the College of Liberal Arts programs were eliminated as part of this effort.

[ 10 ] To help slow the enrollment decline and increase revenue, the university signed a contract with Academic Partnerships to increase its online course offerings for nontraditional students. [ 13 ] It also plans to remove numerous unused buildings and structures to decrease management costs. [ 12 ] [ 14 ] Previous school names Third State Normal School 1869–1873 State Normal School at St. Cloud 1873–1921 St. Cloud State Teachers College 1921–1957 St. Cloud State College 1957–1975 St. Cloud State University 1975–present

Quick facts Academic rankings, Regional ... Academic rankings Regional U.S. News & World Report [ 15 ] 86 National Forbes [ 16 ] 583 Close The university offers over 200 majors, minors, and pre-professional programs in six colleges and schools. [ 17 ] SCSU is the only Minnesota university that offers an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited manufacturing engineering program. It also provides ABET-accredited electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science programs. [ 18 ] The School of Graduate Studies offers more than 60 graduate programs and certificates, including specialist, Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Master of Engineering Management, Master of Music and Master of Science. Ed.D. doctoral degrees are offered in Higher Education Administration and Educational Administration and Leadership. [ 19 ] Colleges and schools St. Cloud State offers more than 200 undergraduate programs, more than 60 graduate programs, and three doctoral programs of study in seven colleges and schools. The Miller Center delivers library and information technology services. College of Science and Engineering [ 20 ] College of Liberal Arts [ 21 ] College of Education and Learning Design, [ 22 ] CAEP -accredited College of Health and Wellness Professions [ 23 ] Herberger Business School, [ 24 ] AACSB -accredited School of Computing, Engineering, and Environment [ 25 ] School of Arts [ 26 ]

More information Race and ethnicity, Total ... Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023 [ 27 ] Race and ethnicity Total White 61% Black 13% International student 12% Hispanic 6% Asian 4% Two or more races 4% Unknown 1% Economic diversity Low-income [ a ] 33% Affluent [ b ] 67% Close At the start of each academic year, students are invited to "Mainstreet," a showcase for student organizations, campus services, and community connections. [ 28 ] Students are encouraged to participate in its more than 250 student organizations, including the Investment Club, which runs a student-managed investment portfolio. [ 29 ] There are roughly ten Greek houses . [ 30 ]