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What is the College of Education & Human Development at the University of Minnesota?
The College of Education & Human Development (CEHD) is the education, human development and human-services college at the University of Minnesota, based on the Twin Cities campus. Its own framing is "Problem solvers. Advocates. Leaders." — a college that prepares teachers, counselors, researchers and nonprofit or community leaders rather than a single professional track.
What it offers
- Undergraduate study: 10 majors grouped into four themes — Education, Business, Wellness/Health and Social Sciences.
- Graduate study: 30+ degree programs, with research woven into the curriculum; students work alongside faculty researchers.
- Research infrastructure: 25 research centers and institutes.
- Scale and culture: described as a "people college" within a Big Ten public university — a smaller community with closer faculty contact. CEHD reports that 41% of its students are first-generation.
Who it suits
- A high-school student who wants to teach or work in youth development but also wants a large university's course range and sports/student-life scale.
- A working professional in a school, clinic or nonprofit seeking a master's or doctorate without leaving the Twin Cities workforce.
- A prospective researcher in learning, development or family studies who wants to join funded research early.
Practical trade-offs
- Strength: the education-to-career pipeline. CEHD runs a dedicated Career Services team that places students with local schools, hospitals, businesses, nonprofits and college athletics, and it leans on an alumni network for mentoring, internships and jobs.
- Consideration: fields like teaching and human services often pay less than business or tech roles, and licensure requirements vary by state — check program-specific licensure before committing.
- Consideration: a smaller college inside a large university means fewer majors to choose from, so confirm your intended field exists here before applying.
Next step
Start with the program list rather than the college overview: pick the undergraduate major or graduate degree closest to your goal, then check its admission requirements, licensure or fieldwork components, and typical time to completion. If you're local, ask Career Services which employers recruit from that specific program — that answer usually matters more than the college's overall reputation. Compare against the university's broader offerings at University of Minnesota and, for a cross-town alternative, University of St. Thomas.
Which undergraduate majors are offered at CEHD and how do they differ?
CEHD offers 10 undergraduate majors, organized into four broad themes: Education, Business, Wellness/Health, and Social Sciences. The college frames all of them around improving lives and helping others across different stages of life, so the practical difference between majors is less about prestige and more about which setting and age group you want to work with.
The four themes and what they tend to lead toward
- Education: The most direct path to teaching, school-based roles, and educational support. Best suited to students who want to work in classrooms, schools, or educational organizations.
- Business: For students interested in how organizations, training, and human development intersect with business functions. Useful if you want to work in corporate learning, human resources, or mission-driven organizations rather than a traditional classroom.
- Wellness/Health: Oriented toward health, well-being, and human services. A good fit if you want to work in hospitals, clinics, community health, or wellness settings.
- Social Sciences: Broader study of people, behavior, and society. This can lead to human services, nonprofits, research, or graduate study rather than a single licensed profession.
How to choose between them
The key decision criterion is the setting and population you want to work with, not just the subject you enjoy. Ask yourself:
- Do I want to be in a school or classroom? Look hardest at Education.
- Do I want to work in health or wellness settings? Wellness/Health is the closer match.
- Do I want to work with organizations, training, or management? Business may fit better.
- Am I more interested in understanding people and society, with a range of career paths? Social Sciences gives more flexibility but often requires graduate study for specialized roles.
The page also notes that CEHD has a dedicated Career Services team that connects students to local schools, hospitals, businesses, nonprofits, and Big Ten college teams, so career outcomes vary by major rather than following one uniform path.
A useful next step
Visit the undergraduate programs page at CEHD and compare the specific major requirements side by side, especially field experience or licensure requirements, since those are often what most sharply separate the Education and Wellness/Health majors from the Business and Social Sciences options.
What graduate programs does CEHD provide for working professionals or researchers?
CEHD provides more than 30 graduate degree programs, and the page frames them around two broad audiences: experienced professionals seeking advancement and researchers looking to innovate. The distinguishing claim is that all graduate programs are "imbued with our own original research," so graduate study is tied to faculty research activity rather than taught in isolation. The college also reports 25 research centers and institutes, which is the practical infrastructure behind that promise.
What the page actually says
- Scale: 30+ graduate degree programs.
- Orientation: Preparation for "a rapidly changing world," with study alongside "experienced researchers working on the forefront of knowledge in their fields."
- Research depth: 25 research centers and institutes.
- Setting: A "Big Ten university, small college feel," described as the "people college," with faculty and staff contact as a selling point.
- Community: 41% first-generation students, plus an alumni network used for mentoring, networking, internships and jobs.
- Outcomes: Career Services helps place graduates with local schools, hospitals, businesses, nonprofits and Big Ten college teams, across the Twin Cities, Minnesota, the nation and internationally.
Which audience each path suits
| Your situation | What to weigh |
|---|---|
| Working professional seeking a credential or advancement | Whether the program's schedule and format fit alongside a job; the page does not list delivery modes, so check the individual program page |
| Researcher or future academic | Faculty research activity and access to the 25 centers and institutes matter more than the college's overall size |
| Career changer | Career Services and the alumni network are the relevant supports; ask how they work for graduate students specifically |
| Someone wanting a small-college experience inside a large public university | The "people college" positioning is the main draw, but confirm cohort size in your intended program |
A useful next step
Start with the graduate programs listing and filter by your goal, then check two things the overview page does not answer: whether your target program offers a part-time, evening, hybrid or online option, and which research centers or faculty labs accept graduate researchers. If you are weighing CEHD against another school, compare faculty research fit and program format before comparing rankings. The University of Minnesota's main site, University of Minnesota, and the college's own pages at CEHD are the places to confirm program-level details.
How does CEHD support students in finding internships and jobs after graduation?
CEHD supports internship and job searches mainly through a dedicated Career Services team, an active alumni network, and employer connections that grow out of its location in the Twin Cities. The college describes Career Services as working with students across the full major-and-career development process, preparing them for hiring by local schools, hospitals, businesses, nonprofits, and Big Ten college teams, with graduates working across Minnesota, the U.S., and internationally.
Two mechanisms do most of the work:
- Career Services: help with the career development process itself—exploring what a major can lead to, preparing application materials, and getting ready for hiring in education, human services, health, business, and nonprofit settings.
- Alumni network: CEHD describes alumni as locally, nationally, and globally connected and willing to mentor and network, which is where internships and first jobs often come from informally.
A practical way to use this as a student
Career support works best when you start before your final semester. A realistic sequence:
- In your first or second year, use Career Services to connect your major to actual roles rather than waiting until graduation.
- Ask alumni in your target setting—a school district, hospital, or nonprofit—about how they got their first position and what supervisors look for.
- Treat internships as the primary hiring pipeline, since local employers in the Twin Cities tend to hire from relationships they already have.
The main trade-off is that a large public university requires you to initiate contact; the "small college feel" depends on you actually using advising, alumni, and career staff rather than expecting outreach. If you are comparing options, ask each program how many students complete an internship, which employers hire graduates, and how early career coaching begins—those answers matter more than general placement claims. For official program and career details, see College of Education & Human Development.
What research opportunities are available for students at CEHD's centers and institutes?
Research opportunities at CEHD are organized mainly through its research centers and institutes, where students work alongside faculty on applied questions in education, human development, and related fields. The college lists 25 research centers and institutes, and its graduate programs are described as “imbued with our own original research,” meaning research participation is built into graduate study rather than offered only as an optional extra.
What that looks like in practice
- Graduate research training: Master’s and doctoral students study with experienced researchers working at the forefront of their fields, according to the college. This is the most direct route to sustained research involvement.
- Undergraduate research exposure: Undergraduates choose from 10 majors across education, business, wellness/health, and social sciences. Research opportunities for undergraduates are not detailed on the page, so prospective students should ask departments directly about assistantships, lab placements, or thesis options.
- Center- and institute-based work: With 25 centers and institutes, projects tend to be interdisciplinary and often connect to schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and community organizations in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Who benefits most
Prospective graduate students who want a research-active advisor and a funded project should prioritize CEHD’s centers and institutes over general program brochures. Undergraduates seeking a first research experience will need to be more proactive, since the college’s public overview emphasizes majors and community rather than a centralized undergraduate research pipeline.
A useful next step
Identify two or three centers whose topic matches your interest, then email a faculty member affiliated with each. Ask specifically: whether openings exist for student researchers, what the time commitment is, and whether the role is paid, credit-bearing, or volunteer. That single question usually separates a genuine opportunity from a general invitation to get involved.
For program-level details, start with the college’s own pages at CEHD and compare faculty profiles before reaching out.
How does CEHD create a small-college community within a large Big Ten university?
CEHD frames its answer with a deliberate identity: it calls itself the "people college" and pairs that with "Big Ten university, small college feel." The mechanism is scale plus structure. Within a large public research university, CEHD is a smaller academic unit, so students encounter the same faculty and staff repeatedly, and the college explicitly says it wants students to feel part of a community rather than "just a number."
The concrete building blocks named on the page:
- A defined academic home. Ten undergraduate majors grouped into four themes — Education, Business, Wellness/Health, and Social Sciences — plus 30+ graduate degree programs. A bounded set of programs means students in a given major share many courses and instructors.
- Faculty access. The college emphasizes connecting with faculty and staff, and notes that graduate programs are "imbued with" the college's own research, so students study with researchers active in their fields.
- A peer and alumni network. CEHD describes an alumni network that is local, national and global, with alumni available for mentoring and networking, which extends the community past graduation.
- Dedicated career support. A Career Services team works with students across the major and career development process, connecting them to schools, hospitals, businesses, nonprofits and college teams.
- A first-generation presence. The page reports that 41% of students are first-generation, which matters for community: shared experience among a large subgroup can make a big institution feel navigable.
Who this fits, and who it may not
| Reader | Why it works | Trade-off to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Prospective undergrad choosing between a small liberal arts college and a Big Ten school | Gets a smaller college's relationships with a large university's resources | You still navigate a big campus for housing, recreation, general education and many student services |
| Working professional seeking a graduate degree | Research-active faculty and 25 research centers and institutes | Graduate community depends heavily on your specific program and lab, not the college as a whole |
| First-generation student wanting mentorship | Peer community plus alumni mentoring and career services | You must actively opt into mentoring and networking; it is not automatic |
How to test the claim yourself
Community is the kind of thing a website can assert but only a visit can confirm. A useful next step: pick two or three specific majors you are considering and ask each program's advising office a concrete question — how large are the core courses, how often do undergraduates work with faculty on research, and what does the alumni mentoring match actually look like in practice. Then compare notes with the college's own framing at College of Education & Human Development. If the answers differ sharply between programs, that tells you the "small college feel" is strongest in particular departments rather than uniform across CEHD.
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