University Facts

• College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
• College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Education and Human Sciences
• College of Natural Sciences
• College of Nursing
• College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions
• Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering
• Graduate School
• Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College

A public, land-grant institution, SDSU was founded in 1881, authorized by the Dakota Territorial Legislature and is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents. The South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station at SDSU was established and linked to the university in 1887 under the federal Hatch Act to conduct research that “concerns agriculture and the home.” In 1914, SDSU Extension was added by the Smith-Lever Act to “provide information to the people of the State.” Both the Agricultural Experiment Station and SDSU Extension are administered by the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

The SDSU Jackrabbits compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level in all sports, including the Football Championship Subdivision. Jackrabbits teams play in The Summit League, with the exception of football, wrestling and equestrian. SDSU is a member of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Big XII Conference as an affiliate member for wrestling.

Named the 33rd safest college town by SafeWise (2022), Brookings (pop. 23,993) is just 55 miles north of Sioux Falls on Interstate 29, 200 miles from Minneapolis and 400 miles east of Rapid City and the Black Hills. Students from communities in Nebraska, North Dakota and Iowa also find SDSU within an easy day’s drive.

Total Enrollment - 11,505

Fall 2023 enrollment showed the incoming first-time freshmen class recorded an average high school GPA of 3.56, and 39% of the class registered scores of 24 or higher on the ACT.

*includes both Undergraduates & Graduate level Pharm.D., DNP and PPVM students.

A near-record class of first-time students — 2,275 — and record retention from students’ freshmen to sophomore year of 82.9% increased South Dakota State University’s fall 2023 enrollment to its highest number in five years at 11,505.

Notes

1. Unduplicated headcount with multiple majors being prorated
2. Includes non-degree-seeking students ^[↵2]
3. Includes Doctor of Nursing Practice ^[↵3]
4. Includes Doctor of Pharmacy ^[↵4]
5. Graduate Programs have been moved to the appropriate colleges ^[↵5]

*Unduplicated by level

*Aligned to US Department of Education requirements

*Includes Professor of Practice; Associate and Assistant Professor of Practice.

• 1,243 graduate students, most of whom are engaged in faculty-led research, are enrolled in 39 master’s degree programs, 16 doctoral programs and two professional programs in seven colleges.
• Faculty provide scientific leadership in three state research centers: the Haarberg Center for Drug, Disease and Delivery Research; the Center for Biologics Research and Commercialization; and Biosystems Networks and Translational Research (BioSNTR). In addition, SDSU researchers play a key role in the South Dakota Biofilm Science and Engineering Center, the South Dakota Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage and the South Dakota Center for Understanding and Disrupting the Illicit Economy.
• SDSU is also home to the North Central Regional Sun Grant Center, the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence and the Ethel Austin Martin Program in Human Nutrition.
• Earlier this fall, the POET Bioproducts Center, located in the Research Park at SDSU, officially opened, bringing the region’s leading bioprocessing scientists from SDSU and South Dakota Mines together with industry partners to scale up innovative biotechnologies and diversify South Dakota’s economy.
• Precision agriculture, a focal point at SDSU, brings together researchers from computer science, statistics, engineering, remote sensing and agriculture, as well as industry partners to increase the profitability and sustainability of agriculture in the region.
• Undergraduate students are encouraged to get involved in research through the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Day, the South Dakota Legislative Poster Session, and through the Journal of Undergraduate Research. Students in the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College conduct original research as a part of their graduation requirements.

Total Research Expenditures — FY2023 — $74,066,481 (24% increase from FY22)

South Dakota State University is home to SDSU Extension, the outreach arm for South Dakota’s 1862 land-grant university. SDSU Extension serves as a lifelong network that provides farmers, ranchers, agribusiness, families, youth and communities with research-based information and education to positively impact their quality of life, economic viability and environmental surroundings. Core educational programs are offered in the areas of:

• 4-H youth development.
• Agriculture and natural resources.
• Community vitality.
• Families, food and wellness.

Faculty are located on the SDSU campus or at the West River Research and Extension facility in Rapid City. Field specialists offer statewide programming from one of eight regional centers located across South Dakota. At the community level, 4-H youth program advisers and family and community health educators work from county or tribal Extension offices.

SDSU Extension relies on technology to offer educational programs to citizens. Combined with traditional face-to-face methods of learning, citizens can access our online learning portal at SDSU Extension.

South Dakota State University is home to the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Faculty scientists carry out research on campus and at seven stations strategically located across the state. New discoveries are made available to the people of South Dakota, commodity groups and industry through the educational programs of SDSU Extension. Agricultural Experiment Station research programs directly support student education in the colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; Natural Sciences; Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; and Education and Human Sciences.

Seventy-seven percent of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station resources are directed to five critical issues that are vital for South Dakota and the region:

• Regenerative livestock systems (21%).
• Regenerative agronomic systems (23%).
• Natural resources and environmental systems (14%).
• Food systems, nutrition, health and well-being (11%).
• Family, youth and communities (8%).

• Nathan D. Lukkes, executive director and CEO 
• Tim Rave, president 
• Jeff Partridge, vice president 
• Douglas Morrison, secretary 
• Judy Dittman 
• Randy Frederick 
• James Lochner 
• Randy Rasmussen 
• Pam Roberts 
• Brock Brown, student regent

• Barry H. Dunn, Ph.D., president.
• Dennis Hedge, Pharm.D. provost and vice president for academic affairs.
• Michaela Willis, Ph.D. vice President for student affairs and enrollment management.
• Tracy Greene, J.D. vice president and general counsel, vice president, human resources.
• Mike Holbeck, Ph.D. vice president for finance and budget.
• David Overby, vice president for technology and security.
• Daniel Scholl, D.V.M., Ph.D. vice president for research and economic development.
• Karyn Weber, chief of staff.