About
Minerva University is renowned for its radical reimagining of higher education, replacing traditional lecture halls with real-time, active-learning digital seminars and sending undergraduate cohorts to live and study in up to seven major global cities—including San Francisco, Seoul, and Berlin—over four years. Academically, the curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary problem-solving, critical thinking, and empirical analysis, with particularly strong, practical offerings across computational sciences, business, and social sciences. The student culture is intensely diverse, tight-knit, and self-reliant, as students forgo conventional campus amenities like athletics and dining halls in favor of direct urban immersion, independent living, and local civic projects alongside an international peer group.
Wikipedia:Minerva University is a private residential university headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was established in 2012 by Ben Nelson and opened in 2014 as Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute, becoming Minerva University in 2021. A portion of classes are conducted remotely but it is not a fully accredited residential university like other traditional universities. Undergraduate students live together in residences in different cities each year, beginning in San Francisco and returning there for graduation. As of August 2026, they live in Tokyo for their sophomore year, Buenos Aires for their junior year, and Berlin for their senior year.
Location
Cost & aid
Outcomes
Admissions
Wondering if Minerva University is the right fit for you?
SchoolScout builds a personalized college list — reach, match, and safety schools — tailored to your profile, grades, and goals. Get financial aid estimates, scholarship guidance, and deep dives on every school.
Essay prompts
If Minerva University asks for supplemental essays, the prompts are in the Common App.
The personal essay is separate: see the Common App essay prompts.
Student Body
Varsity sports
No data. This school isn't in the U.S. Department of Education's athletics (EADA) file, so we can't list its teams. That doesn't mean it has none.
Institutional
Wondering if Minerva University is the right fit for you?
SchoolScout builds a personalized college list — reach, match, and safety schools — tailored to your profile, grades, and goals. Get financial aid estimates, scholarship guidance, and deep dives on every school.