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Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in South Dakota

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in South Dakota

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

5 Colleges
$10,498 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$37,516 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service School for You

With 143 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, public administration and social service is the #20 most popular major in South Dakota.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in South Dakota ranking. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in South Dakota to see which programs offered the best value experiences for public administration and social service students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in South Dakota

Check out the public administration and social service programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best South Dakota Schools for Affordable Quality in Public & Social Service

#1

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD
$9,432 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named University of South Dakota the best value school in South Dakota for public administration and social service students. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at USD are $9,432 a year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of South Dakota Report

$7,524 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Mitchell Technical College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Mitchell Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Mitchell.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mitchell Tech are $7,524 per year. On average, public administration and social service graduates from Mitchell Tech take out $12,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

$6,718 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Area Technical Institute landed the # 3 spot on the list. LATI is a small public school located in the town of Watertown.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LATI are $6,718 per year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at LATI take out is $12,000.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, LATI is ranked #5 for overall quality for public administration and social service in South Dakota.

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#4

University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, SD
$19,900 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Sioux Falls helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in South Dakota. University of Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux Falls.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Sioux Falls are $19,900 per year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at University of Sioux Falls accumulate an average of around $29,790 in student debt.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Black Hills State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in South Dakota list. BHSU is a small public school located in the distant town of Spearfish.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at BHSU are $8,916 a year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at BHSU take out an average of $31,250 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Black Hills State University Report

Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 791
Minnesota 3,576
Iowa 832
Missouri 1,624
Nebraska 490
North Dakota 321

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Public Administration 16,905
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 73,813
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 5 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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