North Dakota State University is distinctive as a student-focused, land-grant, research university.
North Dakota State University
NDSU excels in areas of innovative and technology-driven research, with more than $153 million in annual research expenditures as reported in the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey. NDSU has been listed in the Top 100 public research universities in the United States for research and development in agricultural sciences, psychology, and social sciences, based on reported research expenditures.
Main campus: Fargo, North Dakota, with Extension Service and Research Experiment Station locations across the state.
Mission
With energy and momentum, North Dakota State University addresses the needs and aspirations of people in a changing world by building on our land-grant foundation.
Vision
We envision a vibrant university that will be globally identified as a contemporary metropolitan land-grant institution.
Core values
NDSU is guided by the following key values and principles:
Land-Grant
We reflect and serve geographically and culturally diverse populations. We share institutional success across the university. We anticipate and welcome growth and service that will occur in ways yet to be conceived. We embrace our unique complexities as a land-grant university on the Northern Great Plains. We remain committed to serving people globally.
People
We derive strength and vitality from each other and from the diverse communities we serve. We envision an academic and social environment that is conducive to intellectual and personal development by promoting the safety and welfare of all members of the university community. We promote excellence through individuals participating in decisions and value cooperation for the common good.
Teaching and Learning
We provide a superior teaching and learning environment within and outside of the traditional classroom. We promote and value liberal, graduate and professional education in a collegial environment where divergent ideas can be shared. We foster an environment that promotes life-long learning with individually defined goals.
Ethics
We maintain our integrity through principled action and ethical decision-making.
Culture
We will be the land-grant university that we want to be by welcoming and respecting differences in people and ideas. We support the goals of the North Dakota University System and value collaboration with colleges and universities around the world. We foster accessibility to our programs and services.
Accountability
We have a special relationship with, and are accountable to, the people of North Dakota. We actively strive to contribute to our region's economic prosperity and to improve the quality of life.
Key Messages
North Dakota State University is a student-focused, land-grant, research university — an economic engine that educates students conducts primary research, creates new knowledge and advances technology. The university provides affordable access to an excellent education at a top-ranked research institution that combines teaching and research in a rich learning environment, educating future leaders who will create solutions to national and global challenges that will shape a better world.
Supporting Facts
Student-focused
- Teaching and research engage and involve students in an immersive learning environment.
- Academically rigorous programs set in a rich, diverse, supportive community.
- Ninety-six percent of students are full time, on campus.
- Courses taught to highest standards by highly qualified faculty, researchers and national experts.
- Faculty and staff focused on student success and on-time graduation.
- Graduates compete successfully, nationally and globally.
- Strong work ethic drives students, faculty, and staff.
Land Grant
- Combines access with affordability in an academically rigorous, demanding environment.
- Creates solutions to ever-changing real-world problems.
- Attracts and retains intellectual capital that benefits state, nation, and world.
- Distributes knowledge into the community via Extension Service.
- Forges meaningful, productive, collaborative relationships with business, industry, non-profits, government, and local and regional communities.
- Promotes faculty and student engagement in community service that enhances the public good.
- Creates an opportunity for advancement and success of the state’s citizens in the 21st century.
Research University
- Graduate and undergraduate students directly involved in world-class research.
- Top researchers in their disciplines teach students.
- Combines intellectual capital, resources, and vision, where ideas become opportunities.
- Attracts new undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, researchers and revenue to state and region.
- Creates and transfers new knowledge of advancing technology.
- Creates intellectual property, which creates new business opportunity and jobs.
- Broadens the economic base of state and region.