Mission Statement


The mission of the Graduate School Office of Admissions is to efficiently and effectively process all applications for admission and applications for readmission/change of status for over 200 graduate programs and to provide support and information to students, faculty, staff, and other constituents.

We fulfill this mission by:

  • Providing top quality service to prospective graduate students, student applicants, currently enrolled graduate students, faculty, program staff, university colleagues, and higher education partners throughout the United States and abroad.
  • Processing over 16,000 applications annually for more than 200 graduate programs on the Twin Cities, Duluth, and Rochester campuses.
  • Issuing the student visa form I-20 for all 2,594 international graduate students currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota.
  • Authenticating and reviewing domestic and international transcripts and credentials.
  • Managing the Apply Yourself online admission system - including the development, maintenance, and assessment of numerous automated processes from database systems and providing training and support to each graduate program.
  • Managing the myU Portal view for admitted graduate students.
  • Developing and maintaining computer systems and resolving software issues for department/program users.
  • Coordination of workshops and trainings related to Graduate Admissions.
  • Student recruitment to support the University of Minnesota and its commitment to enrolling a diverse student population by attending graduate and professional school fairs and receptions in Minnesota, the Upper Midwest Region, nationally, and internationally.
  • Providing online resources for applicants and graduate programs.
  • Outreach programs to inform prospective students to consider graduate study by participating in research and other academic projects outside of their regular coursework, selecting an appropriate graduate program, preparing the best possible graduate school application, funding graduate work through assistantships and fellowships, choosing recommendation providers, etc.
  • Participation on campus-wide, regional, and international task forces and committees.