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Dakota State University

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Dakota State University Overview

Located in Madison, South Dakota, Dakota State University is a public institution. Madison is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life.

What Is Dakota State University Known For?

441 Undergraduate Awards
$23,263 Avg Cost After Aid
84% Acceptance Rate
  • Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Dakota State.
  • In 2017-2018, 72% of the faculty were full-time.

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Dakota State University Rankings

Dakota State landed the #398 spot in our 2022 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,587 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking.

These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.

Dakota State has been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#22 Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#78 Best Associate Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Dakota State.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Health/Medical Admin Services Associate Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#10 Best Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#29 Best Special Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#35 Best Allied Health Professions Associate Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#40 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#53 Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#56 Best Computer & Information Sciences Associate Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#68 Best Business Administration & Management Associate Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#104 Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#121 Best Business, Management & Marketing Associate Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Dakota State has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#3 Best Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician Schools College Factual
#5 Best Health & Medical Administrative Services Associate Degree Schools College Factual
#20 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies College Factual
#101 Best Allied Health Professions Associate Degree Schools College Factual
#140 Best Healthcare Schools Healthcare Degree Search
#158 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools College Factual

Where Is Dakota State University?

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Contact details for Dakota State are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 820 N Washington Ave, Madison, SD 57042-1799
Phone: 605-256-5111
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DakotaState

How Do I Get Into Dakota State?

You can apply to Dakota State online at: https://dsu.edu/apply.html

Admission Requirements for Dakota State

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank required
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program neither required nor recommended
Recommendations neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores considered but not required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into Dakota State?

84% Acceptance Rate
33% Of Accepted Are Women
11% Submit SAT Scores
The acceptance rate at Dakota State University is 84%. This means that is not quite as selective as some schools, but you'll still need to submit a good application if you want to be considered by the admissions department.

Approximately 66% of accepted students are men and 33% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 84%, and the acceptance rate for women is 83%.

Average Test Scores

About 11% of students accepted to Dakota State submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 500 and 610. Math scores were between 510 and 580.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Dakota State University  ( 500 to 610 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for Dakota State University  ( 510 to 580 )
200
800
Dakota State received ACT scores from 90% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 18 and 25. Math scores were between 19 and 26. Composite scores were between 19 and 26.

ACT English Scores for Dakota State University  ( 18 to 25 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for Dakota State University  ( 19 to 26 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for Dakota State University  ( 19 to 26 )
1
36

Can I Afford Dakota State University?

$23,263 Net Price
67% Take Out Loans
7.7% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of Dakota State is $23,263. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Dakota State, approximately 67% of students took out student loans averaging $7,649 a year. That adds up to $30,596 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Dakota State is 7.7%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you'll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans.

Dakota State University Undergraduate Student Diversity

1,495 Full-Time Undergraduates
29% Women
14% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 2,740 undergraduate students at Dakota State, with 1,495 being full-time and 1,245 being part-time.

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There are also 446 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 1,495 full-time undergraduates at Dakota State, 71% are male and 29% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Dakota State University students is as follows.

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 23
Black or African American 39
Hispanic or Latino 68
White 1,222
International Students 28
Other Races/Ethnicities 115

Geographic Diversity

South Dakota students aren't the only ones who study at Dakota State University. At this time, 22 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 25 countries are represented at Dakota State. The most popular countries sending students to the school are India, Nepal, and Nigeria.

Online Learning at Dakota State University

1,756 Took All Classes Online
2,440 Took At Least One Class Online
6.6% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
There are 13 bachelor’s degree and 6 master’s degree programs available online at Dakota State. In 2019-2020, 2,440 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Dakota State has changed over the last few years.

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This school is the 3rd most popular in South Dakota for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of Dakota State

The following table shows how Dakota State is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences #1 #1
Intelligence & Command Control Operations #3 #1
Writing Studies #10 #1
Medical Illustration & Informatics #10 #1
Information Technology #13 #1
Information Science #19 #1
Computer Information Systems #25 #1
Special Education #31 #16
Finance & Financial Management #31 #16
Health & Medical Administrative Services #31 #15
Accounting #31 #24
English Language & Literature #51 #7
Marketing #55 #33

Online Growth Rankings of Dakota State

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Dakota State University was 6.6%. This is the #786 largest growth rate of all schools that are mostly online. This refers to all students at Dakota State regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Dakota State majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Accounting 18%
Computer & Information Sciences 28%
Computer Information Systems 26%
Computer Software & Applications 61%
Computer Systems Networking 50%
Education 17%
Finance & Financial Management 33%
Health Professions 5%
Information Technology 31%
Instructional Media Design 63%
Marketing 36%
Special Education 13%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Dakota State ranks compared to all other mostly online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Dakota State.

Major Growth Rate Rank
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences #11
Intelligence & Command Control Operations #11
Medical Illustration & Informatics #26
Mathematics #52
Mathematics & Statistics #71
Information Science #103
Computer Software & Applications #110
Instructional Media Design #132
Finance & Financial Management #132
Special Education #176
Marketing #207
Information Technology #271
Computer Information Systems #296
Teacher Education Grade Specific #318
Health & Medical Administrative Services #441
Accounting #472
Liberal Arts General Studies #490
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities #490

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Dakota State University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Basic Certificate Associate’s Undergraduate Certificate Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Information Technology 7 10 0 102 0 28 9 156
Computer Information Systems 7 0 0 49 0 60 0 116
Information Science 0 6 0 18 21 13 7 65
Computer Software & Applications 1 0 0 45 0 0 0 46
Special Education 0 0 0 24 0 0 0 24
Liberal Arts General Studies 0 12 0 12 0 0 0 24
Business Administration & Management 0 4 0 16 0 3 0 23
Teacher Education Grade Specific 0 0 0 21 0 0 0 21
Health & Medical Administrative Services 0 8 3 9 0 0 0 20
Instructional Media Design 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 16
Allied Health Professions 0 12 0 3 0 0 0 15
Accounting 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 11
Marketing 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 11
Health & Physical Education 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 11
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 9
Statistics 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 9
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 8
English Literature (Other) 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 6
Finance & Financial Management 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3
Medical Illustration & Informatics 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3
Computer Systems Networking 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Writing Studies 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Mathematics 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Intelligence & Command Control Operations 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
General Physical Sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 18 52 3 368 21 123 16 601

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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