Maskay guide

How to study at Minneapolis College: admission, tuition, English and programs

Admission steps, published 2026–27 tuition, scholarships, academic English and practical guidance for choosing a Minneapolis College program and site.

Minneapolis College is a public, open-admission two-year college in downtown Minneapolis and part of the Minnesota State system. Its main campus sits beside Loring Park, while one highly specialized program teaches inside Delta Air Lines’ maintenance facility at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport. That distinction matters: most students begin with the downtown Student Services Center, but aircraft-maintenance students attend classes at the airport site. This guide explains the application steps, the current published price, English-language support, aid and the route from a program list to a realistic study plan.

New students apply online, submit a high-school transcript or GED, review course placement and register. The application fee is $20; Minneapolis College accepts specific fee-waiver forms, including approved counselor-submitted forms and waivers for eligible military-affiliated applicants. Applications are accepted for fall, spring and summer, and the college describes its admissions as rolling, but a selective program can have separate deadlines and entry steps. Students transferring prior credits should request official transcripts from every college attended. Start with the college’s new-student application checklist and ask admissions which documents your intended program needs.

For 2026–27, Minneapolis College lists general-education tuition at $193.85 per credit and online tuition at $198.60. A $30.76-per-credit set of student, technology, life, health and student-center fees is added; 15 standard in-person credits therefore come to about $3,369 for one semester before books, transport, housing or program-specific expenses. The college’s two-semester estimate is $6,738 in tuition and fees, plus separately estimated books and living costs. Courses in areas such as nursing, dental assisting, aircraft maintenance, fashion, welding and cinema may carry higher differential rates. The college does not apply separate resident and nonresident tuition rates, although international applicants follow a separate admissions process. Use the current cost and aid page to price a proposed schedule rather than treating an annual estimate as an individual bill.

Financial aid starts with the FAFSA or, for students who qualify, the Minnesota Dream Act Application. The college says it awards more than $500,000 in scholarships each year; awards have distinct requirements for program, credits, residency, grades or life circumstances. For example, its Srok Memorial ESL Scholarship is for Minnesota residents who completed at least one semester of the college’s ESOL sequence, register for at least 12 credits and meet a 3.0 GPA threshold. Minnesota’s North Star Promise is a last-dollar tuition-and-fee program for eligible state residents with adjusted gross income below $80,000, satisfactory academic progress and no prior bachelor’s degree; differential tuition is not fully covered. Deadlines change by aid year, so submit the FAFSA or state application and confirm the current cycle with financial aid. The college’s scholarship directory and North Star Promise guide explain current eligibility.

Students who need more English before a career or transfer course can be assessed for ESOL reading, writing, listening and speaking. Minneapolis College’s College Readiness page describes intensive classes and a computer-based language classroom supported by the Academic Success Center. Placement may lead to college-level ESOL courses or, for students who need earlier foundational work, community adult-education classes off campus. International students also have a separate English-proficiency and admissions process; the college says ESOL study can add as many as three semesters depending on placement. That makes a placement conversation important before estimating the total time or cost. Review the English and college-readiness options and the course-placement process.

The A–Z program list includes more than 100 degree and certificate pathways across business, liberal arts, information technology, design, health, human services and skilled trades. Examples include accounting, cybersecurity, nursing, dental assisting, architectural technology, HVAC, welding, CNC machining and aircraft maintenance. A two-year associate degree often requires about 60 credits, but prerequisites, course sequencing, part-time enrollment and selective admission can extend the calendar. The aircraft-maintenance A.A.S. is a concrete exception to a simple two-year estimate: it requires 83 credits over six continuous semesters, including summers; its 68-credit diploma follows the same cohort schedule. Courses meet Monday through Thursday and the program admits a cohort once each fall. See the college’s program directory and the linked program page before mapping credits to a start date.

The downtown campus at 1501 Hennepin Avenue occupies an urban cluster of buildings beside Loring Park. Student services, advising, registration and financial aid are centered at the main site; Helland Center adds study and lounge areas, a student health clinic, student organizations and Amy’s Pantry. A fitness center and gymnasium are also listed among campus recreation facilities for current students. The college identifies nearby Metro Transit Route 4 and the METRO E Line; it has a parking ramp, while street parking is metered. The airport instruction site is inside Delta Building C at 7500 Airline Drive and is not a second general-purpose campus; its access and course schedule are tied to the aircraft program. The downtown campus profile and aircraft-maintenance site profile give the separate addresses and map routes.

The institution’s history combines two strands: vocational education traces to the Girls Vocational School founded in 1914, while the community-college predecessor opened in 1965. The two merged in 1996 as Minneapolis Community and Technical College; “Minneapolis College” is now the public-facing name, while the longer legal name remains in formal use. The result is a public college with transfer study and career training under one system, and a close connection between classes, downtown services and employer-facing technical facilities. A prospective student can make the first visit more useful by bringing prior transcripts, asking whether a program is selective, checking how placement affects course sequence and getting a written estimate for the exact credit load.

Bottom line

Check current details and choose according to your budget, time and way of travelling.

Verification

Sources & references

Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.

  1. Official website of Minneapolis College — Main Campus ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  2. Official website of Minneapolis College — Main Campus ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  3. Official website of Minneapolis College — Main Campus ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  4. Official website of Minneapolis College — Main Campus ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  5. Official website of Minneapolis College — Main Campus ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  6. Official website of Minneapolis College — Main Campus ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  7. Official website of Minneapolis College — Main Campus ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  8. Official website of Minneapolis College — Aircraft Maintenance at Delta Building C ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  9. Official website of Minneapolis College — Aircraft Maintenance at Delta Building C ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  10. Official website of Minneapolis College — Aircraft Maintenance at Delta Building C ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  11. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  12. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  13. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  14. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  15. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  16. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  17. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  18. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  19. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  20. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  21. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  22. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  23. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  24. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  25. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  26. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  27. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  28. Official website ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.

  29. Minneapolis College official logo ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Official full wordmark downloaded from the college site; placed on the institution’s official violet brand color so it remains visible in the profile’s white logo tile.

  30. T Building and Skyway photo ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    Official photograph captioned by the college as the T Building and Skyway; optimized locally as WebP.

  31. Minneapolis College official logo ↗ Primary source Minneapolis College · Accessed October 26, 2026

    The institution-wide official wordmark is shared with its airport instruction site.