  minnesota state university moorhead (msum) is a four-year, public university located in moorhead, minnesota. the school has an enrollment of 6,624 students and 266 full-time faculty members. msum is a part of the minnesota state colleges and universities (mnscu) system. msum is located on the western border of minnesota on the red river of the north in moorhead; across the river lies fargo, north dakota. ==history== the plans for what would become msum were laid down in 1885, when the minnesota state legislature passed a bill declaring the need for a new state normal school in the red river valley, with an eye on moorhead. the state senator who proposed the bill, state senator solomon comstock, donated  and appropriated the funds that would go to form moorhead normal school, which opened in 1888. in 1921, the state authorized the school to offer the four-year bachelor of science degree in education in order to satisfy the need for high school teachers in northwest minnesota, and the school became moorhead state teachers college. with the entrance of world war ii, the college entered into a contract with the army air corps to train aviation students. after world war ii, enrollment swelled to more than 700 students and the school diversified and broadened into both a liberal arts and professional curriculum. the school began offering a bachelor of arts degree in 1946 and graduate programs by 1953. as a result of the broadened offerings, by 1957 the name was changed to moorhead state college. in 1969, the school joined a cooperative cross-registration exchange with neighboring concordia college and north dakota state university, creating the tri-college university. the school continue
Buildings_and_structures_in_Clay_County,_Minnesota Education_in_Clay_County,_Minnesota Education_in_FargoaMoorhead Educational_institutions_established_in_1887 Minnesota_State_University_Moorhead Moorhead,_Minnesota North_Central_Association_of_Colleges_and_Schools Universities_and_colleges_in_Minnesota Visitor_attractions_in_Clay_County,_Minnesota