University of Minnesota Graduate School

What University of Minnesota Graduate School does

The University of Minnesota Graduate School is an administrative unit of the University of Minnesota — a public research university governed by the Board of Regents — that centralizes graduate education services across the Twin Cities (Minneapolis) and Duluth campuses. Established in 1905, it coordinates admissions, fellowships and awards, academic and professional development, diversity initiatives, and policy for 130+ research-based master's and doctoral programs and approximately 870 graduate fellows. Its primary customers are prospective, incoming, and current graduate students (including 3,000+ international students from over 130 countries), with secondary stakeholders including faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and partner institutions.

The Graduate School's core product portfolio combines structured programming with digital tooling. Core academic support includes GEAR 1 (first-year orientation), GEAR+ (continuing-student resources), the Graduate School Essentials framework (with separate STEM and Humanities/Social Sciences PhD tracks), the Individual Development Plan (IDP) tool delivered via Notion/Google Docs templates, the Three-Minute Thesis competition, and the Accelerate Coursera-based professional development series. Complementary offerings include the Institute for Innovation and Change (innovation/entrepreneurship cohort program), the Graduate School Diversity Office (Community of Scholars Program, DOVE Fellowship, First-Year Institute), GraDis (disability affinity group), and Grad InterCom (international student programming). Technology delivery relies on Canvas LMS, third-party platforms (Coursera, Notion), and standard university web infrastructure.

The Graduate School does not operate a commercial revenue model. Its financial flows — tuition (per-credit, residency-tiered), fellowships/grants (administered for ~870 fellows), and graduate assistantships ($27.00–$29.42/hr minimum) — are pass-through within the University of Minnesota system rather than independent revenue capture. Distribution is hybrid: two physical campuses serve as the primary channels, supplemented by national recruiting events (graduate program fairs, McNair Scholars Visitation Program welcoming 300+ prospective students annually), the Graduate Recruitment Ambassadors peer network, email/SPARK e-zine communications, and the grad.umn.edu website. Leadership transitioned to Dr. Elisia L. Cohen as Vice Provost and Dean effective June 15, 2026.

Name

University of Minnesota Graduate School

Legal name

University of Minnesota Graduate School

Website

https://grad.umn.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1905

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The University of Minnesota Graduate School is a public-university administrative unit, established 1905, that centralizes admissions, fellowships, and academic/career programming for 130+ research-based graduate programs across Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, serving prospective, incoming, and current graduate students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Graduate Education Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAAAF

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Public Research Universities

SECONDARYEDAHALAD

Online Graduate Schools (Master’s & Doctoral Programs)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Distance & Online Universities

Keywords

• Graduate education
• Doctoral programs
• Research university
• Fellowship administration
• Academic professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: The Graduate School operates as part of the University of Minnesota system. Tuition costs vary by school year, number of credits, and residency status (Minnesota residents or reciprocity agreement states receive reduced tuition compared to non-residents).
2. Fellowship Funding Administration: The University supports approximately 870 graduate fellows. The Graduate School administers University-wide fellowships and grants for prospective, incoming, and current students based on academic merit. Additional funding comes from external fellowship coordination including Fulbright Awards and NSF Graduate Research Fellowships.
3. Research and Teaching Assistantships: Graduate assistantships where students are employed to teach and conduct research while pursuing advanced degrees. Current minimum Graduate Assistant rate is $27.00/hr to $29.42/hr.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The University of Minnesota Graduate School is an administrative unit of the University of Minnesota that administers graduate admissions, fellowships and funding, academic and professional development programs, and diversity initiatives for over 130 research-based master's and doctoral programs across its Twin Cities and Duluth campuses. It supports approximately 870 graduate fellows and serves a diverse graduate student population including 3,000+ international students from 130+ countries.

Product overview

The University of Minnesota Graduate School operates as a central administrative unit offering a coordinated portfolio of programs and services for graduate education. The core offerings include GEAR (Graduate Education Resources) with GEAR 1 for first-year students and GEAR+ for continuing students; Graduate School Essentials providing phase-by-phase frameworks for doctoral students; Individual Development Plan (IDP) tools for career and academic goal-setting; Three-Minute Thesis competition for research communication skills; Accelerate Coursera-based professional development; and the Institute for Innovation and Change for multidisciplinary innovation training. Supporting services include the Admissions Office, Fellowships and Awards administration, the Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO), GraDis for disabled/neurodivergent students, and Grad InterCom for international students. The school serves students across Twin Cities and Duluth campuses with over 130 research-based graduate programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GEAR (Graduate Education Resources) Online orientation and resource platform for graduate students consisting of GEAR 1 for incoming first-year students and GEAR+ for resources beyond the first year, covering research, writing, teaching, transferable skills, and job search.
• Graduate School Essentials Framework for understanding expectations of doctoral students at every phase of graduate school, with separate tracks for STEM and Humanities/Social Sciences PhDs.
• Individual Development Plan (IDP) Planning tool to help graduate students break down their journey into clear short- and long-term goals with steps for achievement, available via Notion or Google Document templates.
• Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Research communication competition challenging graduate students to present their thesis significance in three minutes with a single static slide.
• Accelerate: Professional Development with an Advanced Degree Free, self-paced Coursera series offering professional development courses for UMN graduate students and postdocs.
• Institute for Innovation and Change Multidisciplinary community that cultivates mindsets and skillsets to turn ideas into action, recruiting annual cohorts of graduate students and postdocs to learn innovation and change methodologies.
• Graduate School Admissions Office Central admissions office assisting students throughout the admissions process including applications, transcripts, financial aid, visa support, and outreach programs for all research-based graduate programs.
• Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administers University-wide fellowships, grants, and awards including the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, Distinguished Master's Thesis Competition, Excellence in Teaching Award, and external coordination for Fulbright and NSF Graduate Research Fellowships.
• Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) Leads and coordinates recruitment, funding, retention, and graduation initiatives for diverse graduate and professional students, with signature programs including the Diversity of Views and Experience (DOVE) Fellowship for Indigenous and/or People of Color students.
• GraDis (Graduate Disability Affinity Group) Affinity group supporting disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent graduate students with events, community building, and accommodation resources.
• Grad InterCom Year-round programming including workshops, webinars, social events and resources specifically designed to support international graduate students at UMN.

Quantifiable outcome

• 870 graduate fellows supported by the University
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Technological Leadership InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Institute for Innovation & Change is sponsored jointly by the Technological Leadership Institute and the Graduate School, cultivating mindsets and skills to turn ideas into action through a multidisciplinary community of impact leaders.
• Center for Educational Innovation (CEI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CEI to provide International Teaching Assistant and Preparing Future Faculty programs for graduate students and postdocs.
• University LibrariescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity Libraries partner to offer wide variety of collections and services supporting graduate students with coursework and research.
• Center for WritingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent Writing Support from the Center for Writing offers collaborative one-to-one writing consultations to help graduate student writers develop confidence and effective writing strategies.
• Beyond the ProfessoriateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional development platform affiliated with the University that helps graduate students and postdocs launch meaningful careers.
• ImaginePhDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in humanities and social sciences.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley Graduate Division: Graduate division serving one of the largest U.S. public research universities, with comparable fellowship management, professional development offerings, and large international student body.
• Ohio State University Graduate School: Public Big Ten graduate school with parallel fellowship administration, GEAR-equivalent professional development, and large-scale admissions operations serving a similarly structured state research university.
• Pennsylvania State University Graduate School: Large public research university graduate school with similar fellowship pipelines, diversity fellowships (e.g., Bunton-Waller), and centralized GEAR-equivalent orientation and IDP tools.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School: Public Big Ten graduate school administering research-based master's and doctoral programs, fellowships, and diversity recruitment for a large state research university — directly comparable in scale, mission, and structure to UMN Graduate School.
• University of Texas Graduate School: Public university graduate school with centralized fellowship administration, recruiting events (e.g., McNair-equivalent), and professional development resources at comparable scale.
• University of Illinois Graduate College: Centralized graduate college administering fellowships, diversity initiatives, and professional development for a large public research university — analogous administrative scope and program breadth.
• UCLA Graduate Division: Graduate division at a major public research university with centralized admissions, fellowship administration, and diversity programming for a similarly broad portfolio of research-based graduate programs.
• University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School: Centralized graduate school at a major public research university offering similar fellowship administration, professional development, and diversity programs across a comparable range of doctoral and master's programs.

Others

• Coursera: Online learning platform that powers UMN's Accelerate professional development series; an enabling partner rather than a direct competitor but increasingly relevant as online graduate education expands.

Broad incumbents

• Cornell University Graduate School: Graduate school at a major Ivy-adjacent research university offering comparable fellowship administration, professional development (IDP), and diversity initiatives for a similarly broad research portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/umn_gradschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/umngradschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University of Minnesota Graduate School