The University of Minnesota’s flagship campus is located in Minneapolis/St. Paul, with buildings on both sides of the Mississippi River. A bridge connects the two areas of campus, and covered tunnels help protect against the fierce Minnesota winters. The student body is the fourth-largest in the nation, and undergraduates can choose among 147 different degree programs. The University aims to become one of the top three public research universities in the world within the next decade. It already boasts several high-ranking programs, including the chemical engineering (3rd in the nation), statistics (6th), and psychology (8th). U.S. News and World Report ranked its medical school 7th among primary-care schools.
The Golden Gophers are competitive in many Division 1 conferences. The men’s basketball team has won two national titles, and the football team’s annual clash with the Wisconsin Badgers is one of the longest-running rivalries in NCAA history.