South Dakota State University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a self-contained town.

Overview

South Dakota State University, or SDSU, was established in 1881 as a land-grant university known as Dakota Agriculture College. The name school was renamed South Dakota State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in 1904, and SDSU acquired its present name in 1964.

South Dakota's flagship university and largest comprehensive institution sits on a campus in Brookings that encompasses more than 250 acres. But four off-campus attendance centers allow students to take courses away from the main campus: University Center in Sioux Falls; Capital University Center in Pierre; West River Graduate Center, in Rapid City; and Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown.

The university offers a number of undergraduate degrees, master degrees, and doctoral degrees in 200 majors, minors and other programs. As of Fall 2008, SDSU enrolled 11,995 students.

The academic units of the college are as follows:

• College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences
• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Education and Counseling
• College of Engineering
• College of Family and Consumer Sciences
• College of General Studies
• College of Nursing
• College of Pharmacy

SDSU has approximately 20 varsity teams known as the Jackrabbits. The university competes in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I in the North Central Conference; the football team participates in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The men's teams include wrestling, basketball, track and field, football, golf, tennis, swimming and diving, cross country, and baseball. The women's teams include softball, soccer, basketball, cross country, equestrian, volleyball, and many more.

There are 217 student organizations on campus and a Greek life.

Notable SDSU alumni include Gene Amdahl, inventor, physicist, architect of the IBM 360; Tom Daschle, former Majority Leader of the United States Senate; William E. DePuy, U.S. Army general and first commander of TRADOC David Gilbertson, Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court; Jim Langer, elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987; Mike Rounds, South Dakota governor; Vernon L. Schramm, professor of biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; Theodore Schultz, winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics; Adam Timmerman, former guard for the NFL's St Louis Rams; Rod Dehaven, 2000 Olympic Marathoner; Albert W. Schlim, founder of Oyster Point, Va.; and Bryce Peterson, holder of world's land-speed record on snow skis as of 2007.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in nutrition and exercise therapy, conservation and resource management, medicine, nursing and emergency medicine, landscaping and horticulture, agricultural science and management, design, animal science and care, family and social work, and engineering technician.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Unusually high availability of athletic financial aid.
• Large number of students.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Affordable tuition & fees.
• High yield: the portion of accepted students who enroll.
• Numerous part-time students.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Intensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Tuition and Financial Aid (2009-2010)

Financial Aid

South Dakota State participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

In 2009-2010, 93% of students received financial aid of some sort.

(Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.)

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to South Dakota State University:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 11,995 in 2009-2010 (9,988 full-time equivalent).

About 49% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 51% of the class.

Undergrads are 87% of enrolled students, graduate students are 13%, and those seeking first-professional graduate degrees represent 1%.

Students under 25 years old represent 78% of the student body. About 4% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 96% are full-time and 4% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

Room and Board

South Dakota State provides on-campus housing for 3,642 of its 9,988 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

School sports include football (Missouri Valley Conference), basketball (Mid-Continent Conference), baseball (Mid-Continent Conference), and track (Mid-Continent Conference).

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 174 male students received the aid (men were 59% of those receiving aid) and 123 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 41% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

South Dakota State offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship & Professional Practice).

The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is STEM Dominant.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT (70 awarded)

• Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations
• Agricultural Economics
• Agricultural Mechanization
• Agriculture

ANIMAL SCIENCE AND CARE (93 awarded)

• Animal Sciences
• Dairy Science

ART STUDIES (5 awarded)

• Visual and Performing Arts

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (0 awarded)

• Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (14 awarded)

• Computer Software Engineering
• Computer and Information Sciences

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (73 awarded)

• Environmental Science
• Natural Resources Management and Policy
• Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management

CONSTRUCTION TRADES (12 awarded)

• Apparel and Textile Marketing Management

DESIGN (34 awarded)

• Graphic Design
• Interior Design

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (101 awarded)

• Agricultural Teacher Education
• College Student Counseling and Personnel Services
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Early Childhood Education and Teaching
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Music Teacher Education
• Technical Teacher Education

ENGINEERING (150 awarded)

• Agricultural/Biological Engineering and Bioengineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Engineering Physics
• Engineering
• Engineering/Industrial Management
• Mechanical Engineering

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (90 awarded)

• Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
• Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engr Technology/Technician
• Industrial Safety Technology/Technician
• Manufacturing Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (131 awarded)

• Consumer Economics
• Family Resource Management Studies
• Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies
• Human Development and Family Studies

HOSPITALITY (9 awarded)

• Hotel/Motel Administration/Management

LANDSCAPING AND HORTICULTURE (68 awarded)

• Agronomy and Crop Science
• Applied Horticulture/Horticulture Operations
• Landscaping and Groundskeeping
• Plant Sciences
• Range Science and Management

LIBERAL ARTS (393 awarded)

• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• General Studies
• Geography
• German Language and Literature
• History
• International/Global Studies
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Speech and Rhetorical Studies

MATHEMATICS (26 awarded)

• Computational Mathematics
• Mathematics
• Statistics

MEDIA (50 awarded)

• Journalism

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (10 awarded)

• Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist

MEDICINE (129 awarded)

• Pharmaceutics and Drug Design (MS, PhD)
• Pharmacy (PharmD [USA], PharmD or BS/BPharm [Canada])

MUSIC (3 awarded)

• Music Management and Merchandising
• Music

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (344 awarded)

• Family Practice Nurse/Nurse Practitioner
• Nursing Science (MS, PhD)
• Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (98 awarded)

• Athletic Training/Trainer
• Health and Physical Education
• Health and Physical Education/Fitness
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies

SCIENCE (143 awarded)

• Biochemistry
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Microbiology
• Physics

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (102 awarded)

• Counseling Psychology
• Psychology

TRANSPORTATION (14 awarded)

• Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science and Technology
• Aviation/Airway Management and Operations
• Flight Instructor