The mission of Winona State University is to educate and enlighten our citizenry at a distinctive institution: a community of learners dedicated to improving our world.
Located in the beautiful bluff country of the Mississippi River Valley, the Winona campus is largely residential and primarily serves a traditional student age population, while the Rochester campus serves primarily non-traditional students. The Institute for Lifelong Education, headquartered on the Rochester campus, meets the needs of the non-traditional student on each campus and provides the structure for outreach activities compatible with the mission of WSU. Commonly-held principles help Winona State University prepare undergraduate and graduate students on both campuses. We value differences and work collaboratively, continuing a legacy of a century-and-a-half of service.
We are an exemplary arts and sciences institution with select professional and graduate programs anchored in a general education core. As a mid-sized public university, we are committed to retaining small class sizes and to challenging students by maintaining rigorous academic standards. Faculty and administration are involved with students, facilitate cooperative and active learning, provide prompt feedback, emphasize time on task, communicate high expectations, and respect our students’ diverse talents and ways of knowing. Faculty are dedicated to creating an optimal learning environment for students by using contemporary technology and by building learning communities which help students maximize their post-graduation successes. Students acquire the disciplinary expertise enabling them to pursue careers or enter graduate or professional schools. They learn the value of aesthetics and ethical integrity, along with the importance of becoming community leaders and furthering the public good.
Winona State University recognizes that many of the learning experiences of college occur outside the classroom. It therefore is committed to building and maintaining a caring community. On both campuses, community members strive for amicable relationships based on shared values and an affirmation of the principle of freedom of speech within an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect. Governed by collective bargaining agreements and guided by principled leadership, we respect diversity and collaborate to resolve issues that affect us all. We celebrate our common successes and our distinctive heritage.
We are committed to measuring results against self-defined and national standards. Through this ongoing assessment, one in which students, faculty, and staff participate, we will improve continuously and establish accountability for results. Thus, we shall reaffirm Winona State University’s social contract to provide educational benefits to the people of Minnesota, the nation, and the world.
Winona State University is primarily an undergraduate university, the oldest of the schools that constitute Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). It is not part of the University of Minnesota, the state's land grant institution. Founded in 1858 to train teachers, today it offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 10 pre-professional programs. Enrollment for fall 2007 was 8,274 students. It has several master's programs, most relating to nursing and education. WSU also offers a doctoral program in nursing. The original campus is in Winona, Minnesota, and there is a branch campus in Rochester, Minnesota (WSU Rochester Center). Pre-professional programs include medicine, law and dentistry. Its pre-medical program operates in conjunction with Mayo Medical School, affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Its school song is "Hail! Winona"
Winona State University is currently in the process of implementing a program dubbed the "Learning for the 21st Century Initiative." Previously it was called "The Winona Experience," which generated some controversy, and before that "The New University." This radical series of changes in University operation and structure seeks to better the vocational-education experience of each student.
WSU is also noted as being one of the earliest universities in the country to offer a "Laptop University" program. In this program each student, upon acceptance, is required to lease his or her choice of either an Apple Macintosh or Gateway (PC) laptop directly from the university. The purpose of this program is to increase the bond between education and technology. WSU's laptop program has been used as a model for many like it nation-wide.
Winona State University was founded in 1858 when the first Minnesota State Legislature established normal schools “to prepare teachers for the common schools of the state.” The first tax supported school west of the Mississippi River was established at Winona to train teachers for a new frontier. Citizens of Winona quickly supported the school with donations of more than $7,000 in money and land.
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| Percent of Students International: | 2% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 34% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) Basketball (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) Baseball (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | In-State | Out-of-State | |
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 6,673 | $ 10,619 | |
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 4,940 | $ 8,886 | |
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 1,733 | $ 1,733 | |
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,383 | 18% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 1,876 | 19% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 1,315 | 39% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 5,308 | 63% | |
Any Aid: |
81% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 81% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 97% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 21, Verbal: 19, Math: 19 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 24, Verbal: 24, Math: 25 |
| Application Fee: | $ 20.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Recommended |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Not Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
