The start of the fall semester is an exciting time on the Morris campus as students return to the classroom on Wednesday, August 20.
While official enrollment data will be released later in September, Chancellor Janet Schrunk Ericksen is happy to note that applications to UMN Morris were up 30% for the 2025-26 academic year.
Projections place the new class of students at UMN Morris up 20% from last year, with around 270 new high school students and 60 transfer students. Most of the first-year students (73%) are Minnesota residents, with about half coming from the Twin Cities metro area. About a third of UMN Morris students (34%) will be the first in their family to complete a four-year degree, with over a third (37%) of our new first-year students participating in NCAA Division III athletics.
Ericksen credits the hard work put in by Morris faculty and staff, particularly the admissions staff, to increase awareness about the world class education offered at UMN Morris. Gains are seen on the retention side as well with first- to second- year retention steadily increasing over the past four years.
"We are committed to continuing our efforts to raise the profile and awareness of the outstanding student opportunities and outcomes at the University of Minnesota Morris—and we’re working on just that."-Chancellor Janet Schrunk Ericksen
Ericksen also points out strong interest from new and prospective students in UMN Morris’s Degree in Three program, which provides students with a pathway to complete a degree in any major in three years. This flexibility means students can join the workforce or attend graduate school ahead of their peers and save approximately $20,000 in college costs.
Another initiative on campus is to ensure that students have clear and effective pathways to UMN Morris from Tribal and community colleges, as well as pathways to continue their education beyond Morris. These include professional degrees at other UMN campuses, including VetFAST, pharmacy, nursing, 4+1 with the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences for a master’s in applied economics, and 4+1 with the College of Science and Engineering for a master’s in industrial and systems engineering and a master’s in data science operations research.
UMN Morris is also participating in the Minnesota Office of Higher Education’s Direct Admission program, through which seniors from 245 Minnesota high schools receive direct admission to college.
Beginning this fall, UMN Morris is participating in direct admissions through the Common Application. The Common App targets first generation and low- and middle-income students and is open to students in Minnesota and surrounding states.
“UMN Morris continues to play a vital role in providing bright students, many from traditionally underserved backgrounds, with access to a rigorous liberal arts education in the public sector,” Ericksen said.