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Best Master's Degree Schools in South Dakota

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2023 Best Master's Degree Schools in South Dakota

8 Schools Ranked

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamp with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Master's Degree Schools in South Dakota to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in South Dakota to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

Top Master's Degree Schools in South Dakota

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

Mount Marty University

Yankton, South Dakota
$9,650 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Mount Marty University the best school in South Dakota for students working on their master’s degree.

One thing to take note of is that Mount Marty does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 91% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Mount Marty University Report

#2

Augustana University

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
$36,696 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Augustana University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in South Dakota list.

Online graduate courses are available at Augustana Sioux Falls, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 80% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read More…

#3

Northern State University

Aberdeen, South Dakota
$6,736 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northern State University is a great place for students working on their master’s degree.

NSU does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2019-2020 about 84% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read More…

#4

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota
$9,384 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent master’s degree programs at South Dakota State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in South Dakota.

One thing to take note of is that South Dakota State does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 45% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on South Dakota State University

#5

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, South Dakota
$7,118 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 8 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, University of South Dakota landed the # 5 spot on the list.

Online graduate courses are available at USD, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 58% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read More…

#6

Dakota State University

Madison, South Dakota
$6,731 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Dakota State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their master’s degree.

Dakota State does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 96% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full Dakota State University Report

#7

University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

With a ranking of #7, University of Sioux Falls did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their master’s degree.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at University of Sioux Falls. In 2019-2020 about 75% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read full report on University of Sioux Falls

#8

Black Hills State University

Spearfish, South Dakota
$8,916 Average Tuition & Fees

Black Hills State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at BHSU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 86% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Black Hills State University Report

Best Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

View Best Master’s Degree Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 8 schools only.

References

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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