Surgical Technology Admission Requirements
Start: Fall 2025
Location: Moorhead campus
Round 1 application deadline: May 15, 2025
Round 2 application deadline: August 1, 2025
Thank you for your interest in the Surgical Technology program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. This program is designed to prepare students to care for patients and participate as active members of the perioperative team. Graduates will have the entry-level knowledge to assist physicians, anesthesiologists and registered nurses throughout the perioperative experience; demonstrate proficiency with sterile techniques; prepare and use surgical equipment, instruments and supplies; and demonstrate an understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and microbiology.
- The following biology courses have a five-year recency requirement, meaning they must have been taken within five years of the programs start date. For Fall 2025 admission, courses will need to be taken Fall 2020 or later to be valid.
- BIOL 2260/2261 Human Anatomy & Physiology I Lecture/Lab
- BIOL 2262/2263 Human Anatomy & Physiology II Lecture/Lab
- BIOL 2267/2268 Medical Microbiology Lecture/Lab
- General education courses required for the Surgical Technology AAS degree may be completed at any of the M State campuses or online.
- Students who complete the M State application process and have graduated from high school or earned a GED certificate will be accepted into the college for general education courses. Acceptance to the college is not a guarantee of admission into the Surgical Technology program. Admission to the core program is based on competitive eligibility admission criteria outlined below.
- There are 20 available seats for the Fall 2025 Surgical Technology program.
- You may apply before all the prerequisite courses are complete, but your application will not be reviewed until all prerequisite coursework is complete with a grade of C or higher.
- The Surgical Technology program curriculum information is available at Surgical Technology.
We are pleased you are considering M State and look forward to receiving your application. We strongly encourage you to discuss the admission and program requirements with one of our academic advisors.
Admission
Applicants who meet all requirements for admission will have the greatest chance of being admitted into the program. Students are encouraged to submit the program application even if they are in the process of meeting all the requirements for admission to the program. If the application deadline has passed, check this page to see if applications are still being accepted.
Students must have all math, English and prerequisite coursework complete, meeting the GPA minimum.
If there are more eligible applicants than seats available, applicants will be ranked by prerequisite course GPA, and the top applicants will be admitted. If an applicant does not accept their seat, it will be offered to the first person on the wait list.
In the case of one or more ties, an earned grade in BIOL 2262 Anatomy and Physiology II Lecture will be used as a tie-breaker.
If seats are available after the application deadline review, a secondary deadline will be posted and will be reviewed after summer term.
The Surgical Technology program application is separate from the M State application. You must be accepted to M State to access the Surgical Technology program application and be considered for admission to the program.
New to M State - Follow the admissions checklist at Admissions.
Returning to M State - Submit an online application for admission at Admissions. If you have attended another college since you last attended M State, you will also need to request the official transcript be sent to records@minnesota.edu. They may also be mailed to the M State Processing Center.
M State Processing Center
1414 College Way
Fergus Falls, MN 56537
Students should allow up to six weeks for transfer work to be received, evaluated and entered onto their Degree Audit Report. Transfer courses will not count toward admission to the program until they have been evaluated by the M State transfer specialist and successfully transferred.
Current M State student - If you are currently attending M State, you will not need to update your application to the college.
You must submit the Surgical Technology program application to be considered for admission to the program. Please read and understand eligibility criteria before applying.
Applicants must complete all developmental English and/or math courses with a grade of C or higher. Placement in these courses may be determined by ACT, SAT, Accuplacer assessment or high school GPA. Guided self-placement for students who do not have an ACT, SAT, Accuplacer or high school GPA waiver on file cannot be used for surgical technology applicants.
Complete the Accuplacer test to determine which, if any, English and/or math developmental courses you need to complete. Sign up for Accuplacer at Placement Testing.
Transfer students may have previous coursework to satisfy developmental coursework and therefore may not need to test.
High school graduates are encouraged to register for college general education courses while they pursue acceptance into the program. GED completers must supply the college with a GED transcript or certificate to gain acceptance.
Each student who has submitted a complete admissions file by a posted deadline will receive an email from M State indicating acceptance into the program, placement on the program waiting list or current ineligibility for the program. Please provide your current email address on your program application.
Applicants will be notified within 30 days after the application deadline.
Eligibility
Students must meet the following eligibility criteria.
Applicants must earn a C grade or higher and a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher in the program prerequisite courses:
- ENGL 1101 College Writing
- BIOL 2260 Anatomy and Physiology I Lecture*
- BIOL 2261 Anatomy and Physiology I Lab*
- PSYC 2222 Lifespan Development
- HLTH 1116 Medical Terminology*
- SURT 1200 Introduction to Surgical Technology
*Course must have been completed within five years prior to the program start date. For the Fall 2025 start, the course must have been taken Fall 2020 or later.
Math scores on the Accuplacer/ACT or high school GPA must place the student into Math 1020 Intermediate Algebra or higher. Students testing into developmental math must complete the highest level developmental course with a grade of C or higher prior to starting the program.
Reading scores on the Accuplacer/ACT or high school GPA must place the student into ENGL 1101 College Writing. Students testing into developmental English must complete the course(s) with a grade of C or higher, along with ENGL 1101, prior to starting the program.
Calculate grade point average for certain courses:
Additional program requirements for accepted students
Correspondence from the college will provide more information related to the following. However, program applicants are encouraged to consider these requirements ahead of time.
Surgical Technology students will be required to have a laptop. The cost will be in addition to the cost of tuition, fees and books. The required computer specifications can be found at minnesota.edu/degrees/475.
Current American Heart Association BLS CPR/AED (Healthcare Providers) certification must be completed by August 1 and remain current throughout. Students are to upload documents to Castlebranch.
Accepted Surgical Technology students are required to have a cleared Minnesota Department of Health background study by August 1 to be eligible to start classes in the fall. The cost of the background study is $54.50. Students are responsible for the cost.
Accepted students who choose not to complete the background study or who do not clear may not be permitted to attend clinical experiences or service-learning opportunities. In such cases, the college cannot guarantee alternative learning opportunities, which ultimately will affect the students’ ability to complete the program.
Accepted Surgical Technology students are required to have a cleared National Background Check by August 1 to be eligible to start classes in the fall, even if they have completed a National Background Check for employment. National Background Checks are completed through a third-party vendor. Instructions and codes will be provided via official M State email from Joel Hoffman. The cost of the background check is $47.75. Students are responsible for the cost.
Accepted students who choose not to complete the background study or who do not clear may not be permitted to attend clinical experiences or service-learning opportunities. In such cases, the college cannot guarantee alternative learning opportunities, which ultimately will affect students’ ability to complete the program.
Students are required to register as an Unlicensed Assistive Personnel-Surgical Technology Student through the North Dakota Board of Nursing. This registry will take place during the first week of fall semester. The cost includes an application fee of $60 and a background check fee of $41.25.
Health forms, supporting documentation and American Heart Association BLS CPR/AED (Healthcare Providers) documentation are required to be uploaded to Castlebranch by August 1. Information regarding Castlebranch will be sent via M State email to all accepted Surgical Technology students.
Students are required to sit for the national certification exam in their last fall semester at a cost of $247.
If you experience any issues with the application, please call 877.450.3322 or email info@minnesota.edu.
