A colorful building in Argentina.

For International Students & Scholars

Admission information

Minnesota English Language Program

International Student and Scholar Services

International Resources

Office of International Programs : Coordinates and promotes the internationalization of the U's teaching, research, and outreach.

China Center

Learning Abroad Center

 

Faculty around the world

University of Minnesota faculty members are investigating questions, solving problems, and sharing knowledge in all corners of the globe. Here is a sampling of where they are:

 

Map of the world. number 1 number 5 number 6 number 2 number 3 number 4

1. Arctic

Robert Blanchette is leading several different fungi research projects in the Arctic region. One of them involves the molds that are found in the wooden huts built by the explorers of the early 20th century in an effort to help develop plans for preserving these historic structures.

2. Tanzania

Craig Packer, a professor of ecology, evolution, and human behavior, studies lions in the Serengeti National Park. Among his research findings: female lions prefer males with long and dark manes and lion attacks are most common in districts with the lowest abundance of natural prey, such as zebra, or hartebeest, or the largest numbers of bush pigs.

3. Nepal

Barbara Frey’s research and consulting on human rights issues like torture and penal reform have taken her from Argentina to Nepal. In 2002, the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights appointed her to study how countries could prevent human rights violations committed with small arms and light weapons.

4. Papua New Guinea

George Weiblen, an assistant professor of plant biology, has been researching the flora of the Papua New Guinea's rain forests for the past 15 years. He speaks the local Melanesian pidgin and works with villagers to identify and classify a wide range of organisms.

5. Denmark

Behavioral geneticist Matthew McGue has played a pivotal role in launching several landmark longitudinal studies on late-life development with his Danish colleagues. In a twin study there, the researchers are trying to determine if a person's experiences and environment in middle age influence how they function at age 70, 80, and 90.

6. Peru

The dime-sized feet of a Tokay gecko pack enough sticking power to suspend a 250-pound man from a ceiling. Researcher Tony Gamble is mapping the evolution of these remarkable digits to help inform the work of scientists hoping to develop a synthetic gecko adhesive.

From its earliest days, the University of Minnesota has been international both in vision and in fact. Today, it has more than 4,000 international students and scholars from almost 130 countries, and it ranks 6th in the nation among research institutions in the number of students who study, work, intern, or volunteer abroad through its more than 300 programs in 67 countries.

 

Globetrotting U: The numbers

Mouse over a number to see what they mean.

2 is the number of American Indian languages you can learn at the U: Ojibwe/Chippewa and Dakota.

70 is the percentage increase of international student applications for fall 2008 over the year before.

5 is the number of languages starting with the letter “s” that are taught at the U: Sanskrit, Spanish, Sumerian, Swahili, and Swedish.

22 is the number of international students typically entering the U's Department of Economics graduate program, and they’re usually joined by only three or four students from the United States.

6 is the number of U alums who are world leaders or who are directly involved in running a country: Geir Hilmar Haarde, prime minister of Iceland (M.A. '77); Okyu Kwon, deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy of the Republic of Korea (M.A. '81); Luis Carranza Ugarte, Peru's minister of finance (M.A. and Ph.D. '96); Miguel Sebastian Gascon, Spain’s minister of industry, tourism, and trade (Ph.D. '85); Zvi Eckstein, deputy governor of the Bank of Israel (Ph.D. '81) and Fai-Nan Perng, governor of the Central Bank of China (M.S. '71).