Which South Dakota State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Mathematics graduates leave with a median of $18,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 35 South Dakota State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does South Dakota State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $9,299 a year, and $12,809 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $19,841 a year.

How many South Dakota State programs report graduate pay?

35 bachelor's programs and one associate's program at South Dakota State report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

South Dakota State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

South Dakota State University
Public university
Brookings, SD
9,198 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

35 South Dakota State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Construction Engineering Technology pays the most in the first year ($77,949), and Hospitality Management the least ($32,512). The median program pays $43,904. South Dakota State also has one associate's program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$9,299Per year. Out-of-state $12,809

Average net price after aid$19,841Per year

Graduation rate62%Within 6 years

Admission rate98%Of applicants

All 35 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in South Dakota" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across South Dakota. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in South Dakota
1	Construction Engineering TechnologyGraduates a year not reported	$77,949	$74,022	$25,000	1st of 1
2	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 12 graduates a year	$73,770	$101,471	$22,748	2nd of 4
3	NursingAbout 290 graduates a year	$71,758	$72,893	$28,000	2nd of 7
4	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 27 graduates a year	$69,255	$81,806	$31,000	1st of 1
5	Civil EngineeringAbout 47 graduates a year	$69,129	$77,672	$27,000	1st of 2
6	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 72 graduates a year	$67,791	$85,669	$27,000	2nd of 2
7	Plant ScienceAbout 36 graduates a year	$58,787	$67,485	$23,125	1st of 1
8	Agricultural BusinessAbout 34 graduates a year	$51,222	$62,893	$22,557	1st of 1
9	AgricultureAbout 60 graduates a year	$49,781	$47,334	$20,000	1st of 1
10	Agricultural MechanizationAbout 17 graduates a year	$47,492	$71,449	$22,000	1st of 1
11	MathematicsAbout 16 graduates a year	$46,520	$57,178	$18,000	1st of 1
12	Advanced Legal StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$45,770	Not reported	$26,718	1st of 1
13	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 42 graduates a year	$45,625	$51,722	$26,000	2nd of 4
14	Business EconomicsAbout 87 graduates a year	$45,123	Not reported	$23,573	1st of 1
15	Family and Consumer EconomicsAbout 15 graduates a year	$44,891	$51,775	$23,789	1st of 1
16	Animal ScienceAbout 101 graduates a year	$44,844	$56,528	$23,162	1st of 1
17	EconomicsAbout 4 graduates a year	$44,663	$64,860	$26,062	2nd of 2
18	EntrepreneurshipAbout 5 graduates a year	$43,904	$52,826	$26,031	1st of 1
19	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 33 graduates a year	$43,563	$48,310	$29,731	1st of 3
20	Teacher EducationAbout 67 graduates a year	$43,530	$43,496	$25,937	7th of 8
21	ArchitectureGraduates a year not reported	$41,781	$61,118	$27,000	1st of 1
22	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 53 graduates a year	$41,019	$53,427	$25,500	1st of 4
23	SociologyAbout 21 graduates a year	$40,236	$45,610	$26,000	1st of 1
24	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 22 graduates a year	$39,795	$50,823	$27,000	1st of 1
25	Wildlife ScienceAbout 37 graduates a year	$39,483	$47,857	$24,798	1st of 1
26	CommunicationsAbout 22 graduates a year	$39,173	$45,065	$25,500	1st of 2
27	Recreation ManagementAbout 23 graduates a year	$38,076	$49,651	$25,093	1st of 1
28	EnglishAbout 11 graduates a year	$37,252	$46,053	$25,200	1st of 3
29	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 56 graduates a year	$37,123	$48,955	$24,500	1st of 1
30	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 31 graduates a year	$35,944	$50,581	$27,000	1st of 2
31	PsychologyAbout 81 graduates a year	$35,425	$48,296	$25,608	3rd of 5
32	Political ScienceAbout 22 graduates a year	$34,337	$50,433	$25,000	2nd of 3
33	HistoryAbout 18 graduates a year	$33,135	$51,355	$26,977	1st of 2
34	BiologyAbout 83 graduates a year	$32,940	$58,408	$27,000	3rd of 4
35	Hospitality ManagementAbout 7 graduates a year	$32,512	$52,337	$27,000	1st of 1

Program names link to the program's own page, and South Dakota ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five South Dakota programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

One associate's program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in South Dakota" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across South Dakota.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in South Dakota
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 66 graduates a year	$20,704	$46,957	$12,000	1st of 1

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Construction Engineering Technology$77,949
Computer and Information Science$73,770
Nursing$71,758
Medical Laboratory Science$69,255
Civil Engineering$69,129

Lowest median debt

Mathematics$18,000
Agriculture$20,000
Agricultural Mechanization$22,000
Agricultural Business$22,557
Computer and Information Science$22,748

Largest programs

NursingAbout 290 graduates a year
Animal ScienceAbout 101 graduates a year
Business EconomicsAbout 87 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 83 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 81 graduates a year

Common questions

Construction Engineering Technology graduates earn a median of $77,949 in their first year, the most of 35 South Dakota State bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of South Dakota rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels