Best Community Colleges in Minnesota

Riverland Community College serves students in southeast Minnesota across three campuses in Austin, Albert Lea, and Owatonna. Students can earn high school credits through postsecondary or concurrent enrollment, college credits, and job training certificates.

Riverland offers several associate degrees guaranteed to transfer to all seven Minnesota state universities, including accounting, chemistry, psychology, and theatre. Riverland's Business Flexspace program allows working adults to complete a degree in business administration online, one course at a time. The school also offers bachelor's degrees in elementary education and social work in cooperation with four-year colleges. Riverland's career training diplomas and technical certificates take as little as one semester to complete, and many include online course offerings.

The college sponsors more than 160 institutional scholarships. The school offers in-state tuition to international students and residents of bordering states.

Minnesota North College – Mesabi Range Virginia (formerly Mesabi Range College) serves about 1,700 students in northern Minnesota at locations in Virginia and Eveleth. Mesabi Range Virginia offers a variety of two-year degrees, including AA degrees designed for students planning to transfer to a four-year school and AAS degrees for those interested in directly entering the workforce upon graduation. Popular majors include liberal arts and practical nursing.

Mesabi Range Virginia also offers career preparation through 1-2 year diploma and certificate programs. These technical programs provide job training in areas such as carpentry, addiction studies, and human services. Some programs host online classes, including business operations and management and construction management.

The college follows an open-door admission policy. Many students qualify for and receive financial aid. The school awards more than $100,000 in institutional scholarships each year, and local Native American tribes offer scholarships to students who demonstrate tribal heritage.

Located in northern Minnesota's Iron Range, Minnesota North College – Hibbing (formerly Hibbing Community College) offers a variety of two-year degrees and online and on-campus technical programs. Hibbing graduates can enter the workforce directly or transfer their credits to pursue a four-year degree. High school students may also receive college credit through concurrent enrollment.

Career-training AAS programs at Hibbing include IT networking and security, law enforcement, culinary arts, and dental assistant. Students may select from a variety of transferable AA and AS degree options in the liberal arts, such as business, communication, chemistry, and psychology. Learners may also earn job training certificates and diplomas in areas such as law enforcement, culinary arts, and diesel mechanics.

Students have access to on-campus housing, college athletics, and a variety of campus services. Additionally, the school uses an open-enrollment policy.

Located west of the Twin Cities, Ridgewater College operates campuses in Willmar and Hutchinson. Ridgewater offers more than 100 programs, including associate degrees that transfer to any public university in the state, AAS degrees for those seeking immediate employment, and technical diplomas and certificates.

AA degrees in four areas meet qualifications for transfer to a Minnesota public university: communication studies, English, liberal arts and sciences, and psychology. AS degrees provide eight transfer pathways, including agricultural science and technology and early childhood education. The school's AAS degrees require at least 20 credits of liberal arts and sciences. Ridgewater also provides a fully online option for many programs and an opportunity to study abroad in Scotland.

Qualified Ridgewater students may benefit from more than $250,000 in institutional scholarships, as well as federal and state aid and work-study jobs.

Located in the northern Minnesota community of Grand Rapids, Minnesota North College – Itasca (formerly Itasca Community College) serves about 1,700 students annually. Itasca prepares graduates to transfer to a four-year university by offering two-year associate degrees. It also offers a variety of career and technical education programs, including AAS degrees in natural resources and industrial-technology process operations.

Itasca students may select from transferable AS and AA programs, such as accounting, business, psychology, and health sciences. Each of these tracks consists of 60 credits. Learners can also pursue opportunities in engineering, natural resources, coaching, and American Indian studies.

Itasca operates an active chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and offers a spring study abroad program in Denmark. Students may access some courses online, including a fully online geographic information systems certificate track. Interested students may apply online. Itasca provides nearly $400,000 in institutional financial aid annually.

Located just outside the Twin Cities in Bloomington, Normandale Community College is one of the state's largest community colleges, serving nearly 15,000 students. Local attractions include the school's Japanese Garden and the nearby Mall of America.

Normandale offers numerous associate degrees that include the 40-credit Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, which qualifies graduates for seamless transfer to the state's public universities and many private colleges. The school offers transfer pathways through AA and AS degrees in a variety of areas, including business, liberal education, and the sciences. Students pursuing an AA degree may select an area of emphasis, such as sociology or physics. In some cases, students may take advantage of four-year partner programs, transferring to another college to finish their bachelor's degree while still taking classes at Normandale.

Normandale also offers technical certificates that require 4-30 credits. These programs provide career training for jobs such as community health worker, casino operations worker, and nursing assistant.

Founded in 1967 to serve Minnesota's North Woods community, Minnesota North College – Rainy River (previously Rainy River Community College) boasts an 80-acre campus with buildings connected by heated walkways. Located near the U.S.-Canada border in International Falls, Rainy River oversees a variety of academic and technical programs.

Rainy River offers AA degrees in liberal arts and sciences, communication studies, English, and history, as well as AS degrees in exercise science and health science. The curricula of these two-year pathways include the requirements needed to transfer to a four-year university. Rainy River also offers technical certificates in professional truck driving, coaching, fitness, and healthcare. Through partner programs with other Minnesota colleges, Rainy River offers additional academic programs, such as addiction studies, early childhood education, and practical nursing.

Students interested in financial assistance may apply online for scholarships ranging from $200-$6,000.

With two locations in the Brainerd area, Central Lakes College provides liberal arts and career/technical educational pathways to students in central Minnesota. The school offers more than 70 programs, including an associate of arts honors degree and college courses for high school students.

CLC features affordable program options, including an associate of arts degree that requires no textbook purchases. The school also offers a variety of flexible online courses and career training programs. Some online classes give students the option to attend class meetings via web conferencing in real time. Available program offerings prepare students for careers in agriculture, business, education, information technology, law enforcement, manufacturing, media, transportation, and health.

CLC awards financial assistance to about 80% of its students. The school provides more than $350,000 in institutional scholarships each year.

Located in Minnesota's capital city, Saint Paul College offers 54 associate degrees and 74 technical certificates and diplomas. The school also oversees a dual-enrollment program that enables high school students to finish secondary school while starting college.

Programs at Saint Paul College fall into six divisions: business, career and technical education, health science, liberal and fine arts, human services, and STEM. Liberal arts programs include AA degrees that learners can transfer to a four-year university; participants can choose from specializations in communication, criminology, public affairs, and history. STEM programs include college transfer pathways in biology and chemistry, as well as technical certificates in computer animation and web design.

All students receive free tutoring and academic resources from the school's tutoring center, as well as access to 24/7 online tutoring. Saint Paul College offers many online and hybrid courses.

Situated in Brooklyn Park -- a northern suburb of Minneapolis -- North Hennepin Community College offers more than 60 college transfer and career training programs -- online and on campus. Through Minnesota's bachelor's degree partnership program, NHCC also provides a dozen bachelor's degrees in cooperation with four universities. Students may earn bachelor's degrees in gender studies, nursing, exercise science, and special education, for example.

At NHCC, students can complete the first two years of college by earning associate degrees in areas such as economics, business, and psychology. Alternatively, a variety of AAS degrees and technical certificates in areas such as business and computer science prepare graduates to directly enter the workforce. NHCC's program offerings also include a leadership program that gives students the chance to gain leadership skills and experience. To help students succeed, NHCC offers students access to free peer tutoring sessions and 24/7 online tutoring services.