Click here to access the 2021 First Gen Institute Program!

What is the First Generation Institute?

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities is home to a significant first-generation student community, with 26.3% of undergraduates reporting that neither parent received a 4-year college degree. Systemwide, more than 1 in 4 (29%) enrolled undergraduate students are the first person in their family to seek a Bachelor’s degree across five U of M campuses.

This conference seeks to empower participants to recognize and affirm the intersectional identities of first-generation college students, examine the complex challenges and opportunities inherent to their experience, and explore practices that invite faculty and staff to take collective ownership of students who are first in their family to go to college. A critical question we seek to explore is not whether our students are ready for college but how our institutions are preparing to be student-ready for our increasingly diverse and intersectional student population.

The inaugural First Generation Institute took place in November 2018.