Bemidji State University Overview

Bemidji State University is a public institution situated in Bemidji, Minnesota. Bemidji is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life.

What Is Bemidji State University Known For?

• Although it may not be available for every major, the master's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Bemidji State University.
• For the 2017-2018 academic year, 61% of the faculty were full-time.

Bemidji State University Rankings

Bemidji State University is ranked #250 out of 2,587 schools in the nation for overall quality on our 2022 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.

Bemidji State University has been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#89	Best Graduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#234	Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Bemidji State University.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#1	Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#1	Best General Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#5	Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#24	Best Engineering Technologies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#26	Best Law Enforcement & Firefighting Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#26	Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#57	Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#77	Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#78	Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#146	Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Bemidji State University has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#50	Best Social Work Schools	College Factual
#52	Best Social Work Schools	College Factual
#78	Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools	College Factual
#90	Best Nursing Schools	Nursing Degree Search
#141	Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools	College Factual
#143	Best Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Schools	College Factual

Where Is Bemidji State University?

Contact details for Bemidji State University are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	1500 Birchmont Dr, Bemidji, MN 56601
Phone:	800-475-2001

How Do I Get Into Bemidji State University?

You can apply to Bemidji State University online at: https://www.bemidjistate.edu/admissions/apply/

Admission Requirements for Bemidji State University

Submission	Required?
High School GPA	required
High School Rank	required
High School Transcript	neither required nor recommended
College Prep Program	neither required nor recommended
Recommendations	neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores	required
TOEFL	required

How Hard Is It To Get Into Bemidji State University?

The acceptance rate at Bemidji State University is 69%, which is a sign that the school is fairly selective. While it may not be as hard to get into as other colleges, you should not take admission for granted.

Approximately 41% of accepted students are men and 59% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 71%, and the acceptance rate for women is 68%.

Average Test Scores

About 0% of students accepted to Bemidji State University submitted their SAT scores.Bemidji State University received ACT scores from 95% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 16 and 22. Math scores were between 18 and 24. Composite scores were between 19 and 24.

Can I Afford Bemidji State University?

The overall average net price of Bemidji State University is $18,435. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Bemidji State University, approximately 66% of students took out student loans averaging $8,414 a year. That adds up to $33,656 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Bemidji State University is 5.1%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

Bemidji State University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 4,165 undergraduate students at Bemidji State University, with 2,753 being full-time and 1,412 being part-time.

There are also 412 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 2,753 full-time undergraduates at Bemidji State University, 45% are male and 55% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Bemidji State University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	20
Black or African American	65
Hispanic or Latino	81
White	2,250
International Students	62
Other Races/Ethnicities	275

Geographic Diversity

Minnesota students aren't the only ones who study at Bemidji State University. At this time, 20 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 34 countries are represented at Bemidji State University. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Canada, Nepal, and China.

Online Learning at Bemidji State University

There are 11 bachelor’s degree and 5 master’s degree programs available online at Bemidji State University. In 2019-2020, 2,346 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Bemidji State University has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 10th most popular in Minnesota for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of Bemidji State University

The following table shows how Bemidji State University is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major	Tuition for In-State Students	Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Biological & Biomedical Sciences	#13	#4
General Biology	#13	#4
General Engineering Technology	#19	#1
Industrial Production Technology	#25	#4
Social Work	#31	#4
Engineering-Related Fields	#34	#4
Accounting	#37	#7
Sociology	#43	#7
Engineering Technologies	#61	#4
Social Sciences	#62	#4
General Education	#69	#7
Public Administration & Social Service	#75	#7

Online Growth Rankings of Bemidji State University

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Bemidji State University was 3.1%. This is the #1,600 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Bemidji State University regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Bemidji State University majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major	1-Year Growth Rate
Business Administration & Management	6%
Criminal Justice & Corrections	5%
General Engineering Technology	11%
General Psychology	14%
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting	5%
Psychology	14%
Special Education	29%
Teacher Education Grade Specific	9%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Bemidji State University ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Bemidji State University.

Major	Growth Rate Rank
General Engineering Technology	#19
General Biology	#55
Engineering-Related Fields	#103
Biological & Biomedical Sciences	#118
Social Work	#124
Sociology	#138
General Education	#168
Instructional Media Design	#247
Curriculum & Instruction	#263
General Psychology	#291
Engineering Technologies	#299
Special Education	#355
Social Sciences	#413
Psychology	#434
Public Administration & Social Service	#439

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Bemidji State University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Basic Certificate	Associate’s	Undergraduate Certificate	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	TOTAL
Business Administration & Management	0	0	0	194	0	14	208
Nursing	0	0	0	150	0	0	150
Teacher Education Grade Specific	0	0	0	88	0	0	88
General Psychology	0	0	0	71	0	0	71
Criminal Justice & Corrections	0	0	0	63	0	0	63
Teacher Education Subject Specific	14	0	0	41	0	1	56
General Biology	0	0	0	42	0	3	45
Accounting	0	0	0	43	0	0	43
Social Work	0	0	0	36	0	0	36
Health & Physical Education	0	0	0	30	0	0	30
Special Education	0	0	0	0	0	28	28
Liberal Arts General Studies	0	21	0	6	0	0	27
Wildlife Management	0	0	0	25	0	0	25
Natural Resources Conservation	0	0	0	22	0	0	22
General Engineering Technology	0	0	0	19	0	0	19
Design & Applied Arts	0	0	0	18	0	0	18
Chemistry	0	0	0	16	0	0	16
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology	0	0	0	12	0	0	12
Communication & Media Studies	0	0	0	12	0	0	12
General Education	0	0	0	0	0	11	11
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	0	0	0	10	0	0	10
Computer Science	0	0	0	8	0	0	8
Instructional Media Design	0	0	0	0	7	0	7
General English Literature	0	0	0	5	0	2	7
Ethnic Studies	0	0	0	7	0	0	7
Public Health	0	0	0	7	0	0	7
Information Science	0	0	0	6	0	0	6
Industrial Production Technology	0	0	0	6	0	0	6
Mental & Social Health Services	0	0	6	0	0	0	6
Political Science & Government	0	0	0	6	0	0	6
Music	0	0	0	6	0	0	6
Writing Studies	0	0	0	5	0	0	5
History	0	0	0	5	0	0	5
Romance Languages	0	0	0	4	0	0	4
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	0	0	0	4	0	0	4
Mathematics	0	0	0	3	0	0	3
Geography & Cartography	0	0	0	3	0	0	3
Economics	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
Sociology	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
Engineering-Related Fields	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Native American Languages	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
International Studies	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Management Information Systems	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Building Management & Inspection	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Curriculum & Instruction	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Electronics Engineering Technology	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Physics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
General Social Sciences	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Drama & Theater Arts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fine & Studio Arts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	15	21	6	979	7	59	1,087

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Image Credit: By GEO Tagging BSU under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.