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

# University of South Dakota

Vermillion, 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 | $51,926 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $37,336 – $70,894 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,782 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 60% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $24,422 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 76% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.34× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $23,926 | derived |

**60% 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 $17,500 (≈ 34% 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 $24,185 to $110,722 across 34 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $110,722 | $112,617 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $88,473 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $78,587 | $25,845 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | First Professional Degree | $65,801 | not reported |
| Human Services, General. | Master's Degree | $62,759 | $34,542 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $60,693 | $115,835 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $58,011 | not reported |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,541 | $26,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,262 | $24,966 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $56,040 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Associate's Degree | $53,863 | $14,947 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $52,161 | $18,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $47,746 | $44,897 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $46,986 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $46,027 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $45,434 | not reported |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,484 | $20,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,992 | $22,750 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $43,296 | $29,750 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,367 | $25,500 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $40,918 | $41,595 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,667 | $25,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,144 | $25,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,003 | $20,824 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,775 | $21,125 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,756 | $23,488 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,109 | $21,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,704 | $23,625 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,694 | $25,850 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,236 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,202 | $23,625 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,457 | $26,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,373 | $27,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,185 | $21,843 |

## 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 University of South Dakota by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?219471

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