---
title: Dakota State University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Madison, SD
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Dakota State University

Madison, SD · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $50,970 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $36,497 – $69,547 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,250 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 51% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $25,753 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 72% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.28× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $22,970 | derived |

**51% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $14,250 (≈ 28% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $25,986 to $91,122 across 9 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Master's Degree | $91,122 | not reported |
| Information Science/Studies. | Master's Degree | $69,795 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,973 | $20,059 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,983 | $24,000 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,967 | $19,343 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,694 | $27,625 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,841 | $20,508 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Associate's Degree | $36,834 | not reported |
| Computer Software and Media Applications. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,986 | $27,000 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Dakota State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?219082

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/dakota-state-university-sd.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`