About the College of Liberal Arts

Pink tree blooms on Northrop Mall

The College of Liberal Arts is committed to intellectual freedom, the pursuit of new knowledge, and the belief that the liberal arts are the foundation of academic learning.

CLA prepares students to be independent and original thinkers, to be innovators in their chosen fields, to create meaning in their lives and in their life’s work, and to become productive citizens and leaders in their communities and the world.

Established in 1868, the College of Liberal Arts supports the University of Minnesota's land-grant mission as home to disciplines in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. With 31 departments on the Minneapolis campus, it is the largest college in the University of Minnesota system.

About Our Future

Our vision is to transform the College of Liberal Arts into a destination college.

Achieving that vision requires an engaged community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and friends. To make that happen, CLA has put in place a Roadmap that focuses on four core goals.

  1. Readiness
    CLA alumni will be the most desirable graduates available.
  2. Research
    CLA will have a relentless focus on research and creative excellence.
  3. Diversity
    The CLA community will mirror the community at large.
  4. Engagement
    CLA will deepen a culture of engagement for our alumni, community, and state.

Nearly 100 faculty, staff, and students were involved in shaping the recommendations that created the College’s Roadmap and guide our future.

About Our Faculty

Fall 2022 - Explore Faculty Work

Tenured and tenure-track faculty 482
Faculty of color (tenured and tenure track) 24%
Female faculty (tenured and tenure track) 47%

Our faculty receive many prestigious awards. 

 

Graduate Students at a Glance

Graduate student enrollment in 2022 1,376
Number of graduate degrees awarded in 2021-22 370
Graduate students of color in 2022 16% 
International graduate students in 2022 34%

Graduate Program Rankings

A number of our graduate programs were ranked among the top of their peers both in the United States and the world. Highly-ranked programs depend on field-shaping faculty. See a list of awards and honors our faculty have won. 

 Program US News & World Report* (2023) Shanghai Ranking: Global* (2022) Shanghai Ranking: Among
US Public Universities
* (2022)
Macroeconomics    
Clinical Psychology 5    
Industrial-Organizational Psychology 7    
Audiology 10    
Sociology of Population 11    
Psychology 12 19 4
International Economics 13    
Statistics 13 21 8
Industrial Organization 16     
Economics 18  24 7
Social Stratification 18    
Speech-Language Pathology 20     
Sociology 24  27 12
Political Science 25  51-75 14
American Politics 27    
History 26     
English 32     
Fine Arts, Collectively 64    
Communications   22 14
Geography   51-75 7

* These ranking services do not rank all disciplines.

 

Undergraduate Students at a Glance

Undergraduate student enrollment in Fall 2022 12,631
Number of undergraduate degrees awarded in 2021-22 3,030
Students of color in Fall 2022 34%
Minnesota residents in Fall 2022 71%
Wisconsin residents in Fall 2022 12%
International students in Fall 2022 7%

About the Class of 2026

22,100 students applied for 2,715 undergraduate seats in CLA's class of 2026. Of those students who enrolled:

  • 63% graduated in the top 25% of their high school class
  • 36% are students of color
  • 63% are women
  • 28 is the average ACT score (56% score 28 or higher)
  • 25% are first-generation college students

Undergraduate Graduation Rates

For students who entered the College of Liberal Arts as freshmen.
4-year graduation rate: 72% 
5-year graduation rate: 80% 
6-year graduation rate: 82% 

Undergraduate Retention

Fall 2021 freshmen who returned to CLA for their sophomore year in fall 2022 88%
Students in the class of 2026 who took a full course load and are on track to graduate in 4 years 99%

 

Gifts to CLA for FY 2021-2022

Donors Dollars
7,272 $27,154,906