South Dakota State University

Public · Moderately Selective · SD

Photo: AlexiusHoratius (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationSD · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads9,198

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate46%

6-yr grad rate62.4%

Drop-out rate16.2%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$9k

Out-of-state tuition$13k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity15.8%

Gender diversity54.3%

International4.2%

Identity—

Overview

South Dakota State University in Brookings is the state's land-grant university, offering a friendly, low-cost Upper Midwest college-town experience. Its identity is deeply rooted in agriculture, and that heritage still shows up in campus traditions today, from research farms to a dairy program whose products students can actually buy on campus. As the state's largest university, it carries a land-grant mission of applied research and outreach that touches farms and communities across South Dakota.

Academics

Agriculture, pharmacy, nursing, and engineering are the university's signature strengths, each benefiting from the land-grant mission's emphasis on applied, practical training tied to the region's economy. The pharmacy program in particular stands out for a university of its size, and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences maintains research farms and experiment stations that give students direct field-level involvement rather than classroom-only instruction. Engineering, especially civil and agricultural engineering, also draws directly on the state's farming and infrastructure needs.

Campus & student life

Brookings offers a classic, low-key Midwestern college-town setting, and the campus dairy bar, a legacy of the university's dairy science program, is a beloved campus institution known for its ice cream made from milk produced by the university's own herd. Jackrabbits athletics, with a football program that has climbed to real national prominence at the FCS level, give campus life a genuine competitive spirit. Student life is friendly and community-oriented, without the intensity or anonymity of a big-city campus.

Getting in

Admissions are accessible and moderately selective, with the university drawing heavily from South Dakota and the surrounding Upper Midwest, and particular strength in attracting students interested in agriculture, pharmacy, or engineering given those programs' hands-on reputations. The application process is straightforward, without heavy reliance on essays, and the university is known for being a dependable, low-cost option relative to many other regional universities.

After graduation

Agriculture and engineering graduates are well placed across the Upper Midwest's farming, agribusiness, and infrastructure sectors, and pharmacy graduates have a strong regional placement record in South Dakota and neighboring states. The alumni network is tightly concentrated in the Upper Midwest, reflecting the university's land-grant mission of serving the region directly.

Worth knowing

SDSU's dairy science heritage isn't just historical trivia, it's a living part of campus culture through the dairy bar, which sources milk from the university's own research herd. Its low overall cost, combined with genuinely strong programs in pharmacy and engineering, makes it a notably affordable option among land-grant universities in the region for students who don't need a big-city setting.

sdstate.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate98.3%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1060–1240 · ACT 19–25

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying