Colleges

Colleges in South Dakota

South Dakota has 10 four-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates: 6 public and 4 private. The largest is South Dakota State University, with 9,198 undergraduates.

School	City	Type	Undergrads	Acceptance rate	SAT middle 50%	In-state tuition	Avg. net price	Grad rate
South Dakota State University	Brookings	public	9,198	98.3%	1060–1240	$9,299	$19,841	62.4%
University of South Dakota	Vermillion	public	5,439	98.8%	1125–1315	$9,432	$19,858	59.9%
Dakota State University	Madison	public	2,071	88.1%	1190–1440	$9,654	$21,057	51.3%
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology	Rapid City	public	2,071	79.9%	1140–1340	$10,500	$20,183	53%
Augustana University	Sioux Falls	private	1,965	67.8%	1150–1370	$40,160	$23,894	73%
Black Hills State University	Spearfish	public	1,928	96.3%	965–1135	$8,764	$15,911	42.6%
Northern State University	Aberdeen	public	1,273	93%	980–1160	$8,845	$15,812	48.9%
University of Sioux Falls	Sioux Falls	private	1,218	82.9%		$21,750	$21,383	62.9%
Mount Marty University	Yankton	private	697	42.6%		$34,600	$22,227	52.4%
Dakota Wesleyan University	Mitchell	private	670	73.4%		$33,790	$19,735	48.3%

A blank cell means the school did not report that figure. Net price is the average cost after grants for students receiving federal aid. Graduation rate is within six years.

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Frequently asked questions

How many colleges are in South Dakota?

10 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges with at least 500 undergraduates, 6 public and 4 private, according to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Community colleges, for-profit schools, and online-only schools are not counted.

What is the hardest college to get into in South Dakota?

By acceptance rate, Mount Marty University (42.6%), Augustana University (67.8%), Dakota Wesleyan University (73.4%), South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (79.9%), University of Sioux Falls (82.9%) are the most selective.

What is the cheapest public college in South Dakota?

Black Hills State University has the lowest published in-state tuition and fees of the public four-year colleges here, at $8,764 a year. That is the sticker price before financial aid.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Institution-Level Data (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release. These are federal figures. Schools with a linked profile have also been checked against their own filings; the others have not.