Graduate Student Handbook

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The Twin Cities

The Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, provide major advantages to graduate students. The metropolitan area of 2.5 million people offers dynamic downtowns within minutes of campus, sophisticated educational and cultural institutions, and progressive political and corporate leadership. Clean and attractive, the two cities combine personable and cosmopolitan features in an urban setting with countless lakes and recreational opportunities.

Graduate students benefit directly from this environment’s quality of life and its strong support of education. The education systems in Minnesota, especially in the Twin Cities, are among the finest in the United States, and Minnesota’s high school graduation rate is one of the highest in the nation. Minneapolis (the largest city in Minnesota) and St. Paul (the state capital) are growing centers of commerce and industry, with major corporate headquarters and manufacturing centers for electronics, food processing and milling, retailing, medicine, transportation, graphic arts, and forest products. Thirty-six Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters in the Twin Cities. With its highly educated work force, excellent transportation services, and low energy costs, the Twin Cities economic outlook is bright. Many students use city resources for conducting research and finding internships, part-time work, or eventual careers.

Twin Cities cultural and recreational programs have earned fine reputations. The artistic communities are especially vigorous, with such institutions as the Tyrone Guthrie Theater, Ordway Music Theatre, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Museum of American Art and dozens of professional and community theatre groups. Other special attractions include the Science Museum and Omnitheater, Minnesota Zoological Garden, Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, State Fair, Renaissance Festival, Valleyfair, Minneapolis Aquatennial, St. Paul Winter Carnival, Mall of America, and major league football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. The Twin Cities are national leaders in producing popular entertainment, especially music, comedy, and filmmaking. The Loft sponsors workshops, readings, and other activities for emerging and established writers. For information on current events, pick up a copy of the free weekly tabloids, City Pages, The Rake, or Skyway News, or check other local media.

The vast networks of parks and lakes in the cities provide beautiful areas for strolling, jogging, biking, canoeing, sailing, fishing, cross-country skiing, or skating. For information on travel plans, visit the Minnesota Office of Tourism at www.exploreminnesota.com.

Neighborhood associations are generally very active in the Twin Cities. Their services and activities include newsletters, social events, community improvement projects, and advice on problems involving community and city government.
Associations may be able to help you find food co-ops and social services. For information on your neighborhood, call the Minneapolis Office of Public Affairs (612-673-2491) or St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development (651-266-6700) or www.stpaul.gov/depts/ped/ .

Seasons

Contrary to myth, Minnesota winters do not last year round. The Twin Cities enjoy a full four seasons, with normal high temperatures ranging from 83 in July to 20 in January (for hourly weather reports, you can call Weather Line at 763-512-1111). Adaptability is the key, and making the most of outdoor activities in each season is, perhaps, what Minnesotans do best. The ability to ride with the seasonal changes may have something to do with why Minnesotans are among the heartiest and healthiest citizens in the nation, living longer than residents of most other states in the continental United States.

To its residents, the Twin Cities stand for the beauty of the fall colors along the Mississippi, the pleasant summer days cruising the Minneapolis chain of lakes, the brisk cross-country skiing along the Minnesota Zoo’s Tundra Trail, or the joy of watching a spring thaw at Minnehaha Falls. But winter alone is what makes Minnesota famous throughout the rest of the world. And, as you might expect, Minnesotans are proud of their wintry heritage. If you’ve got warm clothing you’ll do just fine in a Minnesota winter, and you might even enjoy it!

Although Twin Citians are proud of their winter survival skills, they have a real talent for escaping the elements altogether. Their ingenuity has led to networks of skyways in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul that keep you warm and dry. Several tunnels and skyways connect buildings on campus also.

Your car may not want to start on particularly cold mornings. Winterize it early. Use thin oil, make sure your battery is strong, and go heavy on the antifreeze. During snow emergencies, you may need assistance to move your vehicle. Joining a motor club with towing service is not a bad idea.

On rare occasions, classes are cancelled in severe weather. If weather conditions are bad enough to make travel dangerous, tune in to a local radio station for an official closing announcement. Closings during the day are announced at all University offices, but your best bet is to check at the nearest college office or student union.

To fully appreciate fall, spring, and summer in the Twin Cities, you must experience winter. But to fully appreciate life in the Twin Cities, you only have to have lived somewhere else.

 “I was to find the Minneapolis and St. Paul I had left nearly a generation earlier quite changed, yet blessedly unspoiled. Nearly doubled in size, both cities remain uncrowded; though more industrialized, they still breathe clear air; more successful, they cultivate humility; more worldly than ever, they still talk to strangers. And each, I found, still stubbornly maintains its own identity. Hailing from the Twin Cities is more fun than having just one hometown, twice as much. Between the two there is something for everybody.”

Thomas Abercrombie, National Geographic

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