Since 1988, UMM has consistently appeared in Peterson's Guide to Competitive Colleges. Since 1989, UMM has ranked as one of the ten best liberal arts colleges in the midwest according to U.S. News and World Report. More recently, UMM has been celebrated in publications like Mother Jones for its activism and commitment to diversity. UMM is one of seven public institutions ranked by the Carnegie Foundation as a national liberal arts college. Twenty-seven majors are offered.
Students often assist faculty in research and professional activities.
UMM is built on a 100-year old campus, originally an American Indian boarding school and later an agricultural boarding high school. The college has grown from an initial enrollment of 238 students in 1960 to nearly 2,000 students, over 350 faculty and staff, and nearly 8,700 graduates. The student body is predominantly of traditional age. The 1998 median high school rank percentile of entering freshmen is 87. The college is one of four campuses of the University of Minnesota, the state's land grant and doctoral research institution.