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

# South Dakota State University

Brookings, 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 | $55,070 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $38,252 – $78,622 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $16,246 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 62% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $24,636 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 80% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.29× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $27,070 | derived |

**62% 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 $16,246 (≈ 30% 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 $27,268 to $110,688 across 35 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $110,688 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $79,691 | $46,000 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,698 | not reported |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,007 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,229 | $27,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,372 | $23,500 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,268 | $23,250 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,551 | $21,185 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,985 | $26,500 |
| Agricultural Mechanization. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,155 | $22,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,967 | $21,500 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,213 | $22,125 |
| Agriculture, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,717 | $19,500 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,411 | $22,000 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,797 | $21,349 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,627 | $24,068 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $39,284 | $40,952 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,858 | $20,162 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,698 | $24,499 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,656 | $18,250 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,087 | $25,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,916 | $26,062 |
| Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,450 | $21,852 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,969 | $24,250 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,721 | $27,000 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,287 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,161 | $23,250 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,069 | $24,313 |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,803 | $24,312 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,041 | $20,250 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,016 | $24,769 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,640 | $22,562 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,973 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,661 | $25,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,268 | $25,875 |

## 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 South Dakota State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?219356

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