Best HVAC Schools in Minnesota (2026)

Minneapolis regulates this trade even though Minnesota does not, and the city's requirements are steep: four years of experience, 576 hours of documented classroom education, and a passed exam, with the schooling stacked on top of the experience instead of substituting for part of it. For someone planning a career inside the city, classroom hours with documentation behind them matter, and a two-year associate degree leaves exactly that kind of record.

Dunwoody reports a 100 percent career outcomes rate for the previous version of this program, drawn from its 2023-24 Career Services annual report, and a $64,000 average salary for its Construction Sciences and Building Technology A.A.S. category. Students also get one-on-one time with local employers, who explain what roles are open and what they want in hires, and graduate job titles range from building controls technician and building engineer to estimator, residential systems designer, and R&D technician.

Coursework goes past service calls into project management and estimating principles, including the software, and into fabricating and installing duct fittings, which supports design and installation roles as well as repair work. The commercial lab includes ten variable frequency drive stations along with make-up air units and power roof ventilators, the electrical and thermal science lab uses breadboards and air balancing testers, and student organizations include SkillsUSA and Phi Theta Kappa.

Sources: Minnesota HVAC school program, IPEDS.

Four award levels let students pick their depth at Minneapolis College: a 72-credit AAS degree, a 57-credit Residential and Commercial HVAC-R diploma, a 42-credit Residential HVAC diploma, and a 19-credit HVAC-R Generalist certificate. The program recently earned the highest-level accreditation from HVAC Excellence, a status held by only three programs in Minnesota, and all instruction is delivered on campus.

Coursework trains students to diagnose, repair, and maintain residential and commercial HVAC-R systems, including fabricating sheet metal and copper, plastic, and steel piping. Instructors cover advanced electrical controls, heat recovery ventilators, air cleaning devices, air measurement equipment, and carbon monoxide testing instruments, and the lab includes an indoor air quality and ventilation training house built inside the HVAC-R lab itself.

Students take the EPA exam, the OSHA exam, and employment ready exams from the ESCO Group during the program. Minnesota does not require a state-level license or certification for HVAC professionals, though mechanical contractors face bond requirements for gas, heating, cooling, and refrigeration work. The program also competes in SkillsUSA and has produced multiple state winners in the HVAC-R competition.

Sources: Minnesota HVAC school program, HVAC Excellence, OSHA, IPEDS.

Hennepin Technical College, a public college in Brooklyn Park, graduates about 29 HVAC students a year. Students learn to work on rooftop heat and cool units, ice cube machines, walk-in coolers and freezers, and display cases. The program holds HVAC Excellence accreditation and is affiliated with the Refrigeration Service Engineering Society, and eligible adults can get workforce services under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

Scheduling depends on start term. Brooklyn Park offers daytime and evening classes for a spring start but evening only for fall, while the Eden Prairie campus runs daytime for fall and evening for spring. The college states it cannot determine whether the program meets licensing requirements for any state, so rules in states that license HVAC work need confirming separately.

One HVAC school program covers all 2 campuses, so this description applies to each. Class times and local detail differ, so confirm with the campus you would attend.

Sources: Minnesota HVAC school program, HVAC Excellence, IPEDS.