North Dakota ranked as one of the top public colleges in the state from its early days. Founded as the North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890, it originally offered classes and programs designed for some of the more common jobs in the west. Though some students received training as teachers, others learned the basics of starting their own farms, working in textile and other manufacturing plants and even work in mines. It adopted its current name in 1960, but it remains committed to its past. Several of its campus buildings are on state lists and on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its main campus is in downtown Fargo, but it also operates a research and technology park that covers more than 50 acres. Students can also take classes on its NDSU Downtown campus or at one of its agricultural research centers. The university is known for its affordable classes, which cost less than other schools in the state and less than the national average. U.S. News & World Report included NDSU within the top 200 on its list of the nation's top colleges, and it appeared on similar lists released by Forbes and Washington Monthly. Across all campuses, NDSU has an enrollment rate of more than 14,000 students.
North Dakota State University Accreditation Details
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy is just one of the organizations that awarded accreditation to the degree programs available through North Dakota State University. NDSU also has accreditation from 14 other professional organizations, including the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology, Inc. (ABET), which accredited its programs in civil, mechanical, computer and other types of engineering. Some of the other accreditation that it holds comes from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, Commission on Allied Health Education Programs, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and National Association of Schools of Music. North Dakota State University also has its primary form of accreditation, which most call regional accreditation, from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS).
North Dakota State University Application Requirements
The way you apply to NDSU depends on whether you are a freshman or a graduate student. All incoming freshmen must use the online application and complete that application by August 1 before the fall semester starts. The university looks for students who maintained a GPA of 2.75 or higher in high school, which does not include advanced placement classes, and those who scored at least 22 on the ACT or at least 1100 on the SAT. Students also have a better chance of getting accepted if they submit a transcript that shows they took four years of English classes, three years of social science, lab science and math classes and at least one year of a foreign language. The online application for undergrads includes an email address and password component that lets students log in and out of the system to work on their applications.
Graduate students must also complete an online application and pay a fee of $35 when they submit that application. Though NDSU does not require that students take a specific number of classes, it does require that students have a minimum of a bachelor's degree before starting the programs of their choosing. The application includes a statement of purpose section that asks students to compose a short essay on their reasons for choosing NDSU, what they want to study and any experience they have in the field outside of school. The university also requires an official college transcript, scores from a graduate admissions exam like the GRE and three letters of recommendation. Those letters can come from former professors or employers.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of attending North Dakota State University varies based on where students live. North Dakota residents face tuition of around $7,000, but the cost for residents increases to more than $16,000 a year for tuition, fees and room and board. Tuition rates for Minnesota residents increases to around $7,700, and those living in a tuition exchange state pay just over $10,300 for tuition. Residents of all other states pay more than $18,000 a year for tuition. The university estimates that undergrads pay around $10,000 a year for room and board and other expenses.
NDSU charges a base rate of around $3,700 a year for North Dakota residents who take graduate classes, but this rate rises to around $4,700 for Minnesota students and more than $5,500 for students enrolled in the tuition exchange program, which is open to those living in western states. All other students pay around $9,900 a year for tuition. Graduate students may qualify for assistant jobs on-campus, but they can also take out student loans. Undergrads can file the FAFSA and find out if they qualify for loans, grants, scholarships or admission to the campus's work-study program.
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Psychology and Counseling Degrees
North Dakota State University offers psychology majors the chance to minor in either neuroscience or managerial psychology. Managerial psychology looks at how managers can effectively lead and work with others, while neuroscience deals more with the study of the human braid. The general psychology program consists of 122 credits, including 40 credits of general education courses that tackle subjects like health and wellness, statistics, research and writing. Students must also take 12 credits of introductory psychology courses and 15 credits of advanced electives like social psychology, biology, development psychology or personality. NDSU also allows students to gain credit for an independent research project or for an internship.
The counseling and psychology graduate programs available at NDSU include a program in counselor education, which is through its School of Education. Though it includes 60 credits of courses, students must also take a practicum and do an internship. Classes in the counselor education program include clinical mental health counseling, family counseling, assessment techniques and group counseling. NDSU also offers three programs for doctoral candidates that let them earn a doctoral degree in visual and cognitive neuroscience, health and social psychology or clinical science. The university generally only admits four students into each of those programs every year, but those students receive a lot of financial aid. While students will take some required classes, they will also gain experience through supervised fieldwork experiences that they do away from the North Dakota State University campus.