About

Points of Pride

Strong Outcomes - 2019-20 Graduates

Placement: 97% of graduates are placed in jobs within their career field or have been accepted to graduate school, including medical school.

Average Starting Salary: $66,150
Our starting salary information is based on actual numbers reported by graduates. This information differs from College Scorecard information because our data includes all students, not just those who received some form of federal financial aid.

Employers: 177employers in 35 States plus Japan

Top Employers of Graduates

Prestigious Awards

Fulbright Scholars (2)
David LaPorte, 2016; Broc Kokesh, 2018

Goldwater Scholars (4)
Andrew Farke, 2003; Jesse Hinricher, 2015; William Trevillyan, 2018; William Jackson “Jack” Carpenter, 2019

Udall Scholars (3)
Vaughn J Vargas, 2014; Tyler Rust, 2015; DeVaughn Pearson, 2016

Truman Scholars (1)
Vaughn J Vargas, 2016

Boren Award (1)
Tyler Borgwardt, 2017

Critical Language (1)
Lucas Lindholm, 2016

Female RMAC Women of the Year (2)
Janelle Strampe, 2015; Megan Rohr, 2017

2x NCAA Google Academic All-American (1)
Justin Barkow, 2017 & 2018

First place in Governor’s Giant Vision Business Competition, Student Division (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020)

South Dakota Mines Professor SD Entrepreneur of the Year (2018)
*Read the article here.

Outstanding Alumni

South Dakota Mines has over 20,000 alumni
Nearly 200 business owners
Over 500 CEO's and Senior Executives

Check out our #RockinBosses

University Rankings

#1 Engineering School in the country for Return on Investment - College Factual

#1 in South Dakota for value and starting salary - SmartAsset

#1 University for veterans in South Dakota - Zippia

#2 Chemical Engineering MS in the nation - Masters Program Guide

#2 in the nation for most affordable masters in engineering degree programs, #2 in the nation for the best mining engineering degree, and #3 in the country for master’s in construction management - Intelligent

#4 Best Online Graduate Programs - EDsmart

#4 Graduate Programs for Veterans - Military Friendly

A degree from South Dakota Mines has a lifelong value. A study by Georgetown University examining 4,500 schools in the country puts South Dakota Mines in the top 5% for ROI over a 40-year span. South Dakota Mines ROI is far above any other university in the state of South Dakota.