coeducational institution of higher learning, situated on Lake Bemidji in Bemidji, Minnesota, U.S. It is one of seven institutions in the Minnesota State University system. Bemidji State University was founded in 1919 as Bemidji State Normal School. All the normal (teacher-training) schools in the state university system became teachers colleges in 1921, when they were granted the right to award four-year degrees. In 1957 they were designated state colleges, having received the right to grant master's degrees in 1953. In 1975 the schools all gained university status. Student enrollment at Bemidji State University is approximately 5,000.

Bemidji State University awards two associate degrees, bachelor's degrees in more than 50 programs, and master's degrees in 9 programs in colleges of arts and letters, professional studies, and social and natural sciences, as well as the School of Integrative Studies. Reflecting the local environment, the university's facilities include an aquatic biology laboratory on Lake Bemidji; the Center for Environmental, Earth, and Space Studies; and the C.V. Hobson Forest. The Arrowhead University Center, which uses several campuses in cities throughout northeastern Minnesota, is a joint effort of Bemidji and other institutions to offer access to degree programs.