University of Minnesota Duluth Excel Certification Requirement
Labovitz School of Business and Economics · MO-210
Business Analytics students at LSBE have to show Excel proficiency one of two ways. The certification is the one that leaves you with something an employer recognises.
Requirement details verified against UMN Duluth’s own pages on August 26, 2026. Always confirm your deadline with Labovitz School of Business and Economics.
What UMN Duluth requires
The Labovitz School of Business and Economics states that completion of Level 1 Associate Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Certification, or completion of workshop series 1 and 2 offered by LSBE, is required for the Business Analytics major and minor.
The two routes are not equivalent in what they leave you holding. The workshop route satisfies LSBE and fulfils an LSBE Passport Program requirement; the certification route satisfies LSBE and also gives you a credential from Certiport that employers outside Duluth recognise.
LSBE's own workshops are built to lead to the exam rather than replace it — the school describes the Microsoft Excel Specialist series as designed to help you pass the Certiport Microsoft Office Specialist Excel certification, and requires both series before you sit it.
Level 1 Associate on Microsoft 365 Apps is the MO-210 exam, which is what our practice exams are built for. LSBE's second workshop series steps up to Microsoft Excel Expert, which is MO-211.
At a glance
Why passing on the first attempt matters
- If you take the certification route, the exam is the requirement — there is no partial credit, so an unprepared attempt costs you the attempt and sends you back to the workshops anyway.
- LSBE requires both workshop series before you can sit the exam through the school, so a failed attempt is expensive in time as well as in fees.
- The certification is the half of the either/or that follows you out of the university. The workshops satisfy the major; the credential is what a recruiter can verify.
- MO-210 is performance-based: you complete tasks in a live Excel workbook rather than answering multiple-choice questions about Excel. Reading about Excel does not prepare you for that.
LSBE's wording is an either/or: the Associate certification OR completion of workshop series 1 and 2 satisfies the requirement for the Business Analytics major and minor. We are not going to tell you the requirement forces you to certify, because it does not. What certifying gives you that the workshops do not is a credential Certiport issues and employers outside the university recognise.
The requirement as published attaches to the Business Analytics major and minor. Other LSBE students are welcome at the workshops but are not bound by this requirement. Check your own programme with an LSBE advisor rather than assuming it applies or does not.
How we help you pass MO-210
Our practice exams are timed, task-based and scored out of 1000 against a 700 pass mark, the same shape as the real exam. Your first one is free and needs no card — which makes it a cheap way to decide which of LSBE's two routes suits you.
You do the tasks in your own desktop Excel and upload the workbook. We grade what you did, task by task, and show you which tasks cost you points, so your next attempt is aimed at something specific instead of at studying Excel in general.
Our MO-210 exams are built from the official skills-measured outline rather than from someone's recollection of the exam, and our exam guide reproduces the objective domains and their weightings so you can see what is actually tested.
Workshop series 2 steps up to Microsoft Excel Expert, which is MO-211. We build full practice exams for that too, graded the same way, so the harder exam is not a step into the dark.
UMN Duluth Excel certification FAQ
Do I have to get certified for the Business Analytics major?
Not necessarily. LSBE requires either the Level 1 Associate Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Certification or completion of its own Excel workshop series 1 and 2. Both satisfy the requirement. The certification is the route that leaves you with a credential employers can verify.
Which exam is Level 1 Associate?
On Microsoft 365 Apps it is MO-210, the associate-level Microsoft Office Specialist Excel exam, which is what our practice exams are built for. LSBE's second workshop series covers Microsoft Excel Expert, which is MO-211.
Can I sit the exam without doing LSBE's workshops?
LSBE says you must complete series 1 and series 2 to take the certification exam through the school. A certification earned elsewhere is a separate matter — check with an LSBE advisor how they want an outside certification recorded.
Does this apply to every LSBE student?
As published, the requirement attaches to the Business Analytics major and minor. The workshops themselves are open to all LSBE students. Confirm your own programme's requirements with an advisor.
Is Excel Experts Certify affiliated with the University of Minnesota Duluth?
No. We are an independent Certiport Authorized Test Center and practice-exam provider. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of Minnesota Duluth or the Labovitz School of Business and Economics. Always confirm your own requirement with LSBE.
Sources
Every requirement, deadline and fee on this page comes from the pages below, read on August 26, 2026. UMN Duluth can change them at any time.
Excel Experts Certify is an independent practice-exam provider and a Certiport Authorized Test Center. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by University of Minnesota Duluth or the Labovitz School of Business and Economics. University names are used here only to identify whose requirement is described. This page is informational; your requirement, deadline and fees are whatever Labovitz School of Business and Economics says they are.
Walk into MO-210 knowing your score
Take a full, timed practice exam, upload the workbook you built, and get a score out of 1000 with per-task feedback. Your first one is free.
No credit card. Add the free exam to your cart on the practice exams page.