“Home of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences — North America's largest civilian flight-training university.”
The University of North Dakota (UND) is the state's flagship research university, founded in 1883 in Grand Forks — six years before North Dakota achieved statehood. With a Carnegie R1 high-activity research classification and a 550-acre campus on the Red River of the North, UND serves roughly 13,000 students across ten degree-granting colleges and offers more than 225 academic programs. Its School of Medicine and Health Sciences is the state's only medical school, and its John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is the largest non-military aviation and aerospace-education program in the United States. UND is best known internationally for aviation. The Odegard School operates a fleet of 120+ training aircraft at Grand Forks International Airport — the largest civilian flight-training fleet in North America — and produces a significant share of pilots entering the major U.S. airlines each year. Beyond aviation, Odegard houses programs in unmanned aircraft systems (UND was among the first U.S. universities to offer a UAS major), air-traffic control, airport management, space studies, atmospheric sciences, earth system science, and computer science. Other distinctive strengths include petroleum and chemical engineering, nursing, business analytics, and an unusually strong psychology program. UND is a NASA Space Grant institution and a North Dakota EPSCoR research hub. Student life in Grand Forks is quintessential Upper-Midwest college-town: residential, affordable, and tight-knit, with extremely cold but spectacular winters. UND fields NCAA Division I athletics, and Fighting Hawks hockey — winners of eight national titles — is the beating heart of school spirit at the Ralph Engelstad Arena, one of the premier college hockey facilities in the country. Over 250 student organizations, a revitalized downtown Grand Forks, and low cost of living round out the experience. For international students, UND offers dedicated International Student Services, a large community of aviation students from more than 60 countries, extremely competitive tuition for a U.S. flagship, and clear OPT/STEM OPT pathways through its STEM-designated aviation and engineering programs.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceThe deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$10,951
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$15,570 – $28,000
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
The nation's largest civilian aviation-education program, operating 120+ training aircraft at Grand Forks International Airport. Home to commercial aviation, air-traffic control, airport management, UAS, atmospheric science, and space studies.
ABET-accredited engineering programs with particular strength in petroleum, chemical, and mechanical engineering, supported by significant North Dakota energy-industry research funding.
Home to UND's highly-regarded undergraduate nursing program, social work, and nutrition and dietetics.
AACSB-accredited business programs emphasising analytics, entrepreneurship, and energy-industry management.
North Dakota's only medical school, training the state's physician workforce alongside a growing complement of health-science graduate programs.
The university's largest college, covering the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, fine arts, and communication.
4 years
UND's flagship program: integrated professional-pilot training using a 120+ aircraft fleet, FAA Part 141 training, and direct pathways to major U.S. airline partnerships (Delta, United, Republic, SkyWest).
4 years
One of the first and most comprehensive UAS degrees in the country, with hands-on flight of drones at Grand Forks Air Force Base ranges.
4 years
Distinctive program funded by North Dakota's Bakken oil-patch economy with strong industry ties and high starting salaries.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $15,570
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
