SAINT CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY

coeducational institution of higher learning in St. Cloud, Minn., U.S.; it is one of the campuses in the Minnesota State University system. Saint Cloud State comprises colleges of Business, Education, Fine Arts and Humanities, Science and Technology, and Social Sciences. It awards one associate degree, three bachelor's degrees, and three master's degrees in more than 30 subjects; it also offers preprofessional programs. The Central Minnesota Historical Center is based at the university. Total student enrollment is approximately 16,000. Saint Cloud State University opened in 1869 as Third State Normal School; initially, most of the students were women. In 1898 it began offering a junior college curriculum, and by 1914 it had discontinued secondary education. All of the normal (teacher-training) schools in the state university 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 received the right to grant master's degrees in 1953. In 1975 the schools in the system all gained university status.