South Dakota State University – Profile, Rankings and Costs

South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state’s largest university and is the second oldest continually operating university in the state, trailing the University of South Dakota which was founded in 1862. The university is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, which governs the state’s six public universities and two special schools.

South Dakota State University is a land-grant university founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act. This land-grant heritage and mission has led the university to place a special focus on academic programs in agriculture, engineering, nursing, and pharmacy, as well as liberal arts. It is classified among “R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity”. The graduate program is classified as Doctoral, Science, Technology, Engineering, Math dominant.

South Dakota State University

Former name	Dakota Agriculture College (1881–1904) South Dakota State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (1904–1964)
Type	Public land-grant research university
Established	February 21,1881; 143 years ago
Parent institution	South Dakota Board of Regents
Accreditation	HLC
Academic affiliations	Space-grant Sun-grant
Endowment	$213 million (2021)
Budget	$308 million (FY2022)
President	Barry H. Dunn
Provost	Dennis Hedge
Academic staff	622.81 (2021-2022
Total staff	2,034.41 (FTE)
Students	11,465
Undergraduates	9,717
Postgraduates	1,406
Other students	342 (professional)
Location	Brookings , South Dakota , United States 44°19′05″N 96°47′00″W
Campus	Remote town[4], 400.69 acres (162.15 ha)
Other campuses	Rapid City Sioux Falls
Newspaper	The Collegian
Colors	Yellow and blue
Nickname	Jackrabbits
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FCS – Summit League MVFC Big 12
Mascot	Jack the Jackrabbit
Website	sdstate.edu

History

The university was founded in the Dakota Territory on February 21, 1881, as Dakota Agriculture College. The first building, with funding from the territorial legislature, was built in 1883, six years before the State of South Dakota was formed. Numerous expansions were funded in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The name was changed in 1904 to South Dakota State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. In 1964, the name was changed to South Dakota State University. The name change was largely promoted by the Alumni Association. Initiated in 1962, this name change reflected the more comprehensive education offered at the university.

In 1923, SDSU’s instructional program was organized under five divisions: Agriculture, Engineering, General Science, Home Economics, and Pharmacy. In 1956, a Nursing program was established, and in 1957 a formal graduate school was formed. When the university changed its name in 1964, the colleges were renamed Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Home Economics, Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Graduate School. In 1974, the College of General Registration (now the College of General Studies) was formed. In 1975, the Division of Education was created. An Honors College was formed in 1999. Two colleges and seven departments combined in 2009 to create the College of Education and Human Sciences.

In 2017, the colleges which make up the university were revised and in some cases renamed to the following: College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; College of Education and Human Sciences; College of Nursing; College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Professions; Graduate School; Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering; University College; and Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College.

On May 23, 2016 (formal inauguration held September 29, 2016), Barry H. Dunn became the 20th President of South Dakota State University. Dunn and his wife are alumni of SDSU, and prior to becoming president, Dunn was the Dean of SDSU’s College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences.

The Hilton M. Briggs Library consists of more than 635,000 bound volumes, 315,000 government documents, 79,000 maps, and 1,800 journal titles (with 28,000 additional titles available online). Within the Briggs Library is the Daschle Research Library dedicated to former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (SDSU BA 1969), which houses his Congressional papers.

The University Student Union is at the center of campus and houses many amenities for both students and the public. The Union is the home to numerous meeting rooms, a ballroom, The Hobo Day Committee (homecoming committee), the University Program Council, Greek life the Students’ Association, The Collegian student newspaper, Student Legal Services, KSDJ 90.7 FM, Dining Services, four eating facilities, the University Bookstore, Card Services, and International Student Affairs.

SDSU awards associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and doctoral degrees. The university provides 175 fields of study. The university’s colleges and schools include College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; College of Education and Human Sciences; College of Nursing; College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Professions; Graduate School; Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering; University College; and Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College.

For 2021, U.S. News & World Report rated South Dakota State University as tied for the 144th best public university in the United States and tied as the 284th best university overall.

Awards and Rankings. South Dakota State University.

Political Science Alumni

U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle

U.S. Senator
Mike Rounds

U.S. Governor
Kristi Noem

A member of South Dakota’s current Congressional delegation, the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, and the current Governor of South Dakota are among the university’s alumni.

SDSU’s Department of Political Science has been successful in forming many of the state’s current and past congressional delegations. Currently, two of South Dakota’s three congressional members are alumni in U.S. Senator Mike Rounds and Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem.

Noem completed her political science degree while she was in Congress. Perhaps the most notable of the program is former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Former U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth has served as a professor of the program. The department helped train two Truman Scholars in 2004 and 2006 respectively, including Tony Venhuizen.

The Department of Military Science commissions officers into the United States Army and United States Air Force through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. The department’s cadets complete the requirements for a bachelor’s or graduate degree and are then commissioned as second lieutenants.

Some graduates have become general officers, including William E. DePuy, Jake Krull, Raymond W. Carpenter, Franklin J. Blaisdell, Mark A. Clark. Medal of Honor recipients Leo K. Thorsness and Willibald C. Bianchi attended the university.

Military Alumni

Medal of Honor recipient
Leo Thorsness

Medal of Honor recipient
Willibald C. Bianchi

U.S. General
William E. DePuy

The Department has produced two Medal of Honor recipients as well as a plethora of U.S. Generals.

South Dakota State University currently ranks among the Midwest’s top research universities, notably in the fields of agricultural science, biological science, and engineering. It is consistently listed in U.S. News & World Report‘s “Top 200 National Universities” in its college and university rankings. The campus is also home to the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence, a research and educational collaboration with United States Geological Survey Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science.

The GSCE focuses on basic and applied research in terrestrial remote sensing.^[24] SDSU was recognized in 2017 by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy as the seventh most productive university in the US (and 27th globally) for remote sensing research for the period 2011–2015.

The university operates the South Dakota state agricultural research stations around the state, such as the Antelope Range and Livestock Research Station near Buffalo. The Great Plains Writers Conference is a venue for significant regional authors or writers interested in the Great Plains. It was instituted at SDSU in 1976 for writing scholarship.

• Notable research achievements by alumni include:
• 
  Stephen Foster Briggs ’07 invented the Briggs & Stratton engine while a student at SDSU in 1906.
• 
  Gene Amdahl ’48 was the chief architect of the IBM 360 computer in 1964.
• 
  The first ethanol production facility in the United States was established at SDSU in 1979.

Alumni from the university’s research community notable for scientific achievements include:

• Stephen Foster Briggs, B.S. 1907, invented the Briggs & Stratton internal-combustion engine
• Theodore Schultz, B.S. Economics & Agriculture 1928, received the 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics
• Paul Middaugh, B.S., established the nation’s first on-campus research facility for ethanol fuel production in 1979
• Gene Amdahl, B.S. Engineering & Physics, 1948, developed the IBM 360 computer and later the IBM 704, IBM 709 computers, and Amdahl’s Law
• Aelred Kurtenbach and Duane Sander, electrical engineering professors, founded Daktronics, Inc.
• Carrie Buthe, B.S. Civil Engineering, served as a design engineer for the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System.

SDSU offers a variety of online programs. The university offers associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and certificate programs that students can complete online.

The residential halls on the campus of SDSU make up the densest concentration of people in South Dakota.

Roughly a dozen fraternities and sororities exist at SDSU.

The SDSU Marching Band, “The Pride of the Dakotas,” given the special name the Millennium Band in 2000 by the South Dakota State Legislature, has marched in the 1981 and 1997 Presidential Inaugural Parades in Washington, D.C.; A Capital Fourth in 2000 in Washington, D.C.; the 2003 and 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California; and the Korean War Monument Dedication at the state’s capital Pierre in 2004. In 2022, the marching band performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade^[34] the same season they would see perform at the FCS title game, seeing the football team win their first FCS National Championship.

The homecoming celebration, Hobo Day, has been dubbed “The Biggest One-Day Event in the Dakotas.” The celebration is typically held in October, tracing its origins back to 1907.

SDSU participates in athletics as a member of NCAA Division I. SDSU’s athletic conference affiliations include the Summit League for most sports, the Missouri Valley Football Conference (Division I FCS), the Big 12 Conference (wrestling) and Varsity Equestrian. The Jackrabbits have 19 varsity sports and numerous intramural and club teams. South Dakota State’s athletic mascot for both the men’s and women’s teams is the Jackrabbit, both the men’s and women’s sports teams are officially referred to as the Jackrabbits.

The Jackrabbits were NCAA Division II national champions in 1963; they have sinced joined the ranks of Division I.

Head coach Aaron Johnston took over the program in 2000. After becoming the first school transitioning to Division I to earn a postseason bid, playing in the WNIT in both 2007 and 2008, SDSU turned its focus to dominating the Summit League. The Jacks have won nine of the 13 conference tournaments they have played in. The program has played in ten NCAA Division I Tournaments, winning four games, highlighted by a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2018. The program also won first-round games in 2009 and 2015.

As of January 7, 2024, the Jackrabbits have appeared in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs 14 times with an overall record of 22–11. They were in the Championship game May 20, 2021, losing 23–21 to Sam Houston State. The Jackrabbits were semifinalists in 2017, 2018, and 2021. SDSU has an active streak of 12 consecutive postseason appearances at the FCS level, including the appearance in 2024.

Through 2022, this was accomplished by John Stiegelmeier, the school’s winningest head coach, after the program managed only one Division II playoff appearance (1979). Beginning in 2023, Jimmy Rogers became the head coach. Zach Zenner became the first Division I football player to record three consecutive seasons of 2,000 rushing yards (2012–14).

The program’s national standing persuaded ESPN’s College Gameday television show to come to the Brookings campus for a live broadcast of its show on October 26, 2019. The Jackrabbits won their first FCS National Championship following the 2022 season and won their second following the 2023 season on January 7, 2024.

A 19,340-capacity stadium opened in the fall of 2016. It is considered among the premier FCS Division I stadiums.

The Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center, located on the north end of the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, is the home of Jackrabbit football. It opened prior to the 2010 football season and houses an academic center equipped with study areas, computers, tutors and other educational aids for all South Dakota State teams.

The Sanford Jackrabbit Athlete Complex, a state-of-the-art indoor practice and competition facility, opened October 11, 2014. It is immediately north of and attached to the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center. The SJAC has bleacher seating for up to 1,000 spectators and can be used for track practice and track meets, football practice, softball and baseball practice, golf practice and other events within the SDSU athletic department. It includes 149,284-square foot facility and features an eight-lane, 300-meter track, one of only five collegiate indoor tracks of that size in the nation.

Graduates have joined South Dakota’s state government and Congress, including Kristi Noem, the state’s first female governor and a former U.S. representative, and current U.S. Senator Mike Rounds. Members of the South Dakota Supreme Court, former Chief Justice David Gilbertson and current Associate Justice Mark Salter, attended the university for their undergraduate degrees. David Gilbertson was the longest serving state Supreme Court chief justice, serving 19 years until retiring in 2021.

In the federal cabinet, Stephen Censky, former United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and in federal foreign service, former Governor of South Dakota Dick Kneip served as United States Ambassador to Singapore. Among alumni who are political figures are seven members of Congress, most notably Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Tom Daschle and first Lakota American Indian member of Congress Ben Reifel. Alumni of South Dakota State have occupied top positions in Wall Street and the rest of the business world, including CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Nizar Al-Adsani. In science and technology, alumni include IBM 360 inventor Gene Amdahl, “father of Amdahl’s law”, and Nobel laureate Theodore Schultz, “father of Human Capital Theory.”

• Notable South Dakota State University alumni include:
• 
  Theodore Schultz,
  B.S. Agriculture 1927,
  Nobel Laureate for Economics
• 
  Gene Amdahl,
  B.S. Engineering 1948,
  inventor of the IBM 360
• 
  Tom Daschle,
  B.A. Political Science 1969,
  Majority Leader of U.S. Senate
• 
  Mike Rounds,
  B.S. Political Science 1976,
  current U.S. Senator
• 
  Kristi Noem,
  B.A. Political Science 2012,
  current Governor of South Dakota
• 
  Stephen Censky,
  B.S. Agriculture 1981,
  13th United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
• 
  Adam Vinatieri,
  B.S. 1996,
  NFL kicker,
  4x Super Bowl champion
• 
  Jim Langer,
  B.S. Economics 1970,
  Pro Football Hall of Famer,
  2x Super Bowl champion
• 
  Dallas Goedert,
  B.S. 2018,
  current NFL tight end
• 
  Ben Reifel, “Lone Feather” (R)
  B.S. Agriculture 1932,
  first Lakota Indian member of Congress
• 
  Dick Kneip,
  B.A. 1945
  6th U.S. Ambassador to Singapore,
  25th Governor of South Dakota
• 
  David Gilbertson,
  B.S. Geography 1972,
  former Chief Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court