MANKATO STATE UNIVERSITY

coeducational institution of higher learning in Mankato, Minn., U.S. It is the most comprehensive of the seven universities in the Minnesota State University system. Mankato State comprises six undergraduate colleges, including a college of allied health and nursing, and a graduate college. In addition to specialist's degrees, it awards associate and bachelor's degrees; at the graduate level, master's degrees are offered in about 60 programs. Campus facilities include the Trafton Science Center and Memorial Library. Total student enrollment is approximately 16,500. Mankato State University was founded in 1867 as Second State Normal School. All of the normal (teacher-training) schools in the system became teacher's colleges in 1921, when they were granted the right to award four-year degrees. In 1957 they were designated state colleges, having been authorized to grant master's degrees in 1953. In 1975 the schools all gained university status. By 1979 Mankato State had relocated campus operations from the valley region near the Minnesota River to a highland area overlooking the city.